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As one of the most important economic and business hubs in central China, Wuhan is one of the few transportation hubs in China with a reasonably efficient transportation system. Not only is the city backed by the Yangtze river, but an established railway system, the huge Yangtze River bridge and an international airport all allow for convenient transport to the rest of China and elsewhere. |
By Air
By Train
By Bus:
By Boat:
City Transport:
By Air
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is the biggest airport in central China, located 26km northwest of Wuhan. Transport to and from the airport to the city are convenient. Airport coaches go between the Hankou bus terminal and the airport. The journey takes approximately 23 minutes (RMB15). There are daily flights linking Wuhan and numerous other destinations in China.
By train
Wuhan consists of three districts; Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. Each district has its own railway station serving different destinations across China.
Wuhan has three main railway lines; the Jingguang railway (from Beijing to Guangzhou), the Handan Railway (Hankou to Danjiangkou and on to Chongqing and Chengdu), and Wujiu railway(from Wuchang to Jiujiang and further to Shanghai). The two major railway stations are in Wuchang and Hankou.
If you are heading north (to Beijing) along the Jingguang railway, trains arrive and depart from the Hankou station, if you are going south (to Guangzhou) use the station in Wuchang. If you are heading for or coming from Chengdu, Chongqing and other western cities, you will probably arrive or depart from Wuchang railway station. If you are coming from or heading to Jiangxi province and further on to Anhui, Zhejiang and Shanghai, Hankou station is where your train will leave from and arrive at.
To complicate matters even further, Wuchang and Hankou have a few railway stations. The major passenger station in Wuchang is south of the city center, known simply as "Wuchang Station" while the biggest station in Hankou is in the west of the town, known as "Hankou Station". A lot of public transportation will take you to the stations, but bear in mind the station names in case that you mistaken them with others.
One thing to bear in mind about trains in and out of Wuhan is that the Yangtze River creates a divide many trains cannot cross. Often therefore, it is easier to cross the river by bus as many train journeys either involve a long and complicated route or are practically impossible.
By Bus
Transportation to Wuhan by bus is fairly convenient. New express routes have been constructed in the past year and destinations as far away as Nanjing and Shanghai can be reached on an overnight trip. In Hankou, the major station is on Jiefang da dao at the intersection of Youyi Lu. This is the biggest station in the city and buses to some northern cities leave and arrive from here. In Wuchang, the bus station is on Wu Luo Lu. Buses to some southern cities leave and arrive from here. Buses for Nanjing, Shanghai and Hefei leave from both stations. (Telephone: 8579-2424)
By Boat
Wuhan is situated along the edge of the Yangtze river, and there are now passenger ships between Wuhan and Shanghai and Wuhan and Chongqing. This is not however, a speedy means of transport. For instance, ships from Shanghai to Wuhan take 3 days, although the fare is pretty cheap, only around RMB150 for a hard sleeper.
Boats are available daily between the aforementioned routes.
City Transport
Getting about in Wuhan itself can be a tiresome and lengthy task. The city is HUGE and although there are numerous buses here plying the routes between Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang, the traffic here is very crowded. The standard fare for the bus is RMB2 wherever you go in the city. It can take a good two hours to cross from one side of the city to the other. Taxis here are failure expensive. The trip from Hankou to Wuchang will cost about RMB200-300. New regulations have just been implemented in Wuhan regarding the taxis. To relieve the city of congestion, taxis with even numbered registration plates can only pick up passengers on even dates. Taxis with odd numbered plates can only work on odd numbered dates. It is worth bearing this in mind when trying to hail a cab!
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