Fuzhou marks the start of a rail line which heads northwest via Wuyi Shan into Jiangxi Province; still under construction, there's also a western line into Guangdong via Longyan (the current terminus), with side-branches to Quanzhou and Xiamen - all of which are much more swiftly reached by bus. Train tickets are sold at the ticket office to the west of the station (the left as you face it). There's a special window for foreigners upstairs (daily 8.30am-noon & 1.30-5pm), which generally sells only soft sleepers, but which can sometimes be persuaded to part with a hard sleeper.

Long-distance buses to neighbouring provinces and everywhere in Fujian leave from both bus stations; note that there's a huge price discrepancy between standard and luxury buses. Travelling south to the airport , pick up the bus from inside the courtyard of the Fujian Civil Aviation Hotel, next door to the CAAC office - the journey takes an hour and you'll need to get to the airport at least an hour before your departure.

Boat services in and out of Fuzhou's port, Mawei, change seasonally, though the only certain service is that to Shanghai, which runs about six times a month each way and takes around 36 hours; tickets cost ¥87-287. Services to Wenzhou and Putuo Shan run irregularly in summer. You can buy tickets in downtown Fuzhou at the boat office towards the southern end of Wuyi Lu, on the west side of the street (daily 8-11.30am & 2.30-5pm; tel 0591/3268880 or 3263794).