Traffic along Renmin Bei Lu here were moving from Guangzhou Railway Terminal area towards the direction of Zhong(中)san(山)Qi(七) Lu(路).The stretch of road from the junction near Dong Fang Hotel till the railway and coach terminal has the most garments,textiles and consumer goods wholesale shopping complexes.
The building here with lanterns in front is the Kapok International Fashion City.
The word kapok is the city tree of Guangzhou. Guangzhou(also known as 'City of Ram') is the South Gate of China and prior to 1980 was called Canton. So the main local dialect is Cantonese.
Crossing the road around this traffic circle is diallowed so you need to use either the overhead pedestrian bridges or underground tunnel which has a few junction inside and mind you the crowd is very big.
Liuhua Passenger Coach Terminal is directly link to the overhead bridge located on the upper floor next to Kapok International Fashion City.
Liuhua only has five operational ticketing counters but only two counters were opened. There was a big screen flashing the destinations,time and fares but all were in Chinese. The disadvantages is there weren't any information counters to cater for enquiries.
Direction ahead to Guangzhou Railway Station,local provincial bus terminal while right is Liuhua Passenger Coach Terminal nearby.
The building on the left is Guangzhou Long-Distance Bus terminal.
Guangzhou has several long-distance bus stations and the three useful stations were around the main Guangzhou train station.
These are the Liuhua bus station (Liúhuā Chēzhàn) across Huanshi Xilu in front of the train station, the Guǎngdōng long-distance bus station (Guǎngdōng shěng qìchē kèyùn zhàn; Huanshi Xilu) to the right of train terminal and another long-distance bus station (shì qìchē kèyùn zhàn) over the footbridge leading from the train station.
View of Guangzhou Long Distance Bus ticketing hall.
The destinations,time and fares flashboard were in red,green and yellow digital display spreading over the nearly twenty odd booking counters.
It keeps on changing after one minute due to the fact that there were too many China cities to display.
Since the cities name were all flashed in Chinese,foreigners should walk to the information counter on the left and seek assistance.
The girls at the reception will check on their computers and will let you know on the spot the availability of seats on your requested date and destination.The girls were very efficient and do understand English. Once you've got the details,make sure you ask her write on a piece of paper which will be very handy when you proceed to the booking counters.
Counter 207 is somewhere in the middle of all the counters with the word "Foreigners Priority"
Very Important note: "It is a general ruling that any person or persons booking a bus ticket must produce his or her identification papers,so remember to show your passport as for foreigners or mainland Chinese citizen ID.
Booking a bus ticket is simple,just mention the destination and time.The booking officer will repeat it via a loudspeaker. If you have problem mentioning the city in Chinese,the written note from the information counter do help.
Local Provincial Buses in front of Guangzhou Railway Station.
All of these stations have buses to Shēnzhèn (Y60, two hours, every 12 minutes 6am to 11pm), Zhūhǎi (Y72, 2½ hours, every 15 minutes 7am to 9pm), and Kāipíng (Y45, 2 hours, every forty minutes).
Buses for other destinations leaving mostly from the long-distance bus stations include: Shanghai-12:35 (415Yuan),18:40(460Yuan)=1,700km
Haikou (Hainan Island)-12:35,18:45,20:30,22:00=260Yuan=672km
Guilin-09:10,10:15,11;30,13:00,20:30,21:30,22:30,23:30=200Yuan=672km Chaozhou:09:20,11:20,12:20,15:30,18:20,22:10=165Yuan=482km
Xiamen-11:15,20:00,22:00=260Yuan=769km
Kunming-11:30=430Yuan=1,482km
Nanning-11:0019:00,20:30,22:30=200Yuan=770km
Nanjing-18:00=260Yuan=884km
Guangzhou Railway Station (广州火车站) at West Huanshi road in Yuexiu District once was the busiest railway station in the city.
In the early 1990s, many people came to Guangzhou to seek their fortune.
The railway station became a commercial hub and has played an important role in Guangzhou transportation ever since.
Many commercial areas are centered on the station.
The station covers an area of 43,000 square meters (10.6 acres), comprising a station building, 11 railways, 4 platforms, a station square, parking lots, gardens, underground parking lots and markets.
There are four floors in the station buildings, the first of which is the Ticket Hall.
The upper three floors contain waiting rooms, shops and restaurants. Escalators connect the waiting rooms and the platforms.
It operates non high speed trains to Beijing,Wuhan,Kowloon and Zhuhai and has numerous T-trains that stopped at main stations along the way to Wuhan,Nanchang,Kowloon,Shanghai,Tianjin,Zhengzhou and Jinan.
Now that the new Guangzhou South Railway Station (Guangzhou New Railway Station) is open, the Guangzhou Railway Station only deals with some of the passengers to Beijing, Maoming, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, and Wuhan, and some short-distance, multi-stops, and low-speed lines.
It still provides very convenient service to some medium and small cities.
Guangzhou Baiyun City Hotel is beside the railway terminal.
There were many unscrupulous touts trying to deceive local travellers into booking a hotel room only to find that they were being conned.
The 'gong an'(policemen)find it difficult to track their activites as these touts only carry with them pamplets.
My plans to book a train ticket to Xiamen didn't materialised as I was in the wrong railway station.
After checking with the information booth near the main compound entrance in front of the terminal,the officer who spoke slight English gave me a map and told me to go to Guangzhou EAST station that is at Tianhe Road.
This is Huanshi West(pinyin:Xi) Road that link to Shamien Island which is quite far away.
Nearby is the Wan Tong Complex and the Clothing Market,Huanan Cinema,Global International Trade Centre,Yu Jing International Footwear Plaza,Hualigong Hotel.
Off the main road were Yuexiu Hotel,Guangzhou Children and Maternity Hospital,Xindalu Footwears Wholesale Mall,Kowloon Hotel,Guan Sheng Hotel,police station,Shenyang Hotel,R & F International Shoes Trading Centre,Ziyou Frozen Food Market,Xicang Electronic Mall and many schools around here.
Try using Metro Line 5,stop at Xicun subway station and take a leisure walk back to Guangzhou Railway station,you'll have a better chance of sourcing products and discovering the best of Guangzhou.
Metro Baiyun Airport Line 3,the fourth stop at Jiahewanggang station,get off and switch to Line 2,count the eighth stop is Guangshou Railway Metro station.
Guangzhou to Xiamen bus ticket aircond sleeper berth 260 yuan,Departure 8:00pm.
Passengers can buy railway or bus tickets in the ticket office of the station or at the railway ticket windows in Guangzhou City 10 days in advance.
Passengers in the city can also book their tickets via telephone 10 days in advance.
Two ticket booking hotlines are available from 8:00-21:00 everyday.
The numbers are 96020088, 95105105 (in Chinese language).
Bus Routes to Guangzhou Railway terminal:
Take Bus No. 30, 31, 52, 180, 201, 210, 211, 228, B10 (234), 254, 257, 257 (Express), B2 (269), 275, 529, 550, 552, 803, 805, 807A, 807, 840, 862B, 862, 7 (Night) , 8 (Night), 11 (Night), 14 (Night), 15 (Night), 18 (Night), 25 (Night) and 41 (Night) and get off at Guangzhou Railway Station stop.
Subway Lines: Take Subway Line 2 and 5 and get off from Exit D.
Upper floors are the shopping arcades and the Liuhua Passenger Coach Terminal.
Below is another bus terminal which is for the local intercity buses.
In the evening during rush hours,the whole station is swarmed with passengers lining up to catch the buses.
The fares will be 2 Yuan for night buses irrespective of distance.
Behind this local city bus terminal is the Xindadi Clothing Market,Xindadi Hotel beside Chinese-Muslim Restaurant,Xin Xing Clothing Wholesale Market,Liuhua Clothing Wholesale market.
The Hazrat Saad Bin Abi Waqas Mosque is across the road from Guangzhou Railway terminal.
Before entering this bus departure hall,passengers will have their luggage scanned and the embarkation time will be flashed on a screen.
The two tiered sleeping berth inside the bus is much more comfortable than the one which I took from Vinh to Hanoi in Vietnam.
Seemed that most people prefer to go by train so there were excesses and passengers just choose any sleeping berth available.
Maybe this is also the off season but it is the semester break for most of the local universities.
Travelers should stay off on the following holidays unless you are willing to join the exodus and paying for double the premium tickets
1. New Year's Day: Jan 1-3.
2. Chinese New Year: late January or February
3. Ching Ming - the Tomb Sweeping Festival: April 3-5
4. International Labour Day: May 1-3 Like most countries in the world, Labour Day is celebrated on May 1, and is a public holiday in China.
In the 1990s, the Labour Day holiday was extended from 1 day to 3 days.
The Chinese government made it a 7 day holiday by moving the prior and upcoming weekends together with these 3 days.
The Labour Day holiday was one of the three Golden Weeks in China, allowing millions of Chinese people to travel during this period.
But Starting January 1, 2008, China reduced this holiday period down to 1 day, while simultaneously reviving three traditional Chinese holidays: Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
5. Dragon Boat Festival: June
There are few sites more spectacular than a fleet of painted dragon boats racing toward the finish line, with a drummer in each boat hammering out the rhythm for the rowers to follow.
Zongzi, the sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves that are an essential feature of any Dragon Boat Festival celebration. (Date: fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month).
6. Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival: September
When the autumn harvest moon is at its fullest, the Chinese celebrate by lighting colorful lanterns and enjoying delicious mooncakes. Learn more about the legends behind the festival and try some mooncake recipes. (Date: fifteenth day of the eighth Chinese lunar month).
7. National Day: October 1-7 The new China was founded on October 1, 1949 with a ceremony at Tian’anmen Square, Beijing.
The Central Government passed the resolution and declared that October 1 is the Chinese National Day. The National Day Holiday is a golden week in China.
When the anniversary is a multiple of five (e.g. the 50th, 55th, or 60th), large scale official celebrations may be held, including an inspection of troops on Tiananmen Square.
The year of 2012 is the 63rd anniversary.
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