Airlines CAAC, 264 Zunyi Lu (daily 8.30am-5.30pm; tel 5823000). Very organized and straightforward booking office; at the time of writing there was no airport bus, and taxis charged ¥50 to the airport.

Banks and exchange The main Bank of China is on the southeastern side of the Yan'an Lu-Zhonghua Lu roundabout (foreign exchange Mon-Fri 9-11.30am & 1.30-5pm). Hotels generally change money only for guests.

Bookshops The Foreign Language Bookstore on Yan'an Dong Lu, despite the name, has little in English beyond dictionaries and technical manuals.

Buses Before buying a ticket, note that long-term roadwork means that it's both faster and more comfortable to get to Kaili or Zunyi by train. Guiyang's chaotic main bus station is on the corner of Yan'an Xi Lu and Zhaoshan Lu, with long-distance traffic to just about everywhere it's possible to reach by bus from town, at least as far as Anshun, Kaili, Zunyi, Chongqing, Nanning and Kunming. The Jiefang Lu station has more regular departures to Anshun and points west; Zunyi; Congjiang and Rongjiang in the far southeast; Kaili; and Nanning. The Zunyi Lu depot, up from the train station square, has further services to Anshun and Xingyi; Kaili; Zunyi; Nanning; and Guangzhou; and is also the place to find early-morning day trips to the Huangguoshu area.

English corner Held every Sunday morning in the old Taosit temple/tea house on Zhonghua Lu, just north of the Zhongshan Lu crossroads.

Hospital Guiyang Emergency Centre (Guiyang Shi Jijiu Zhan) is on Huaxi Dadao on Guiyang's western side.

Internet There's an Internet area (8am-5pm) at the post office, in a separate room to the left of the main entrance, but machines are very slow. Faster services can be found across the road on the top floor of the new commercial Telecom building, where terminals are available at ¥10 an hour.

PSB The foreign affairs department is in the city centre on Zhongshan Xi Lu.

Post and telecommunications Guiyang's Post and Telecommunications building is at the southern end of Zhonghua Nan Lu (daily 8.30am-5pm), handling all phones, mail, parcels and poste restante needs.

Shopping For expensive, high-quality ethnic ware - Anshun batiks, Miao clothing and silver - try shops in Cuiwei Yuan, but give the overpriced, poor-quality stock in the Guiyang Tourist Shop on Xihu Lu a miss. For Mao-era badges, Communist commemorative crockery, pulp comics and the like, visit the Sunday market outside Qianming Si.

Telephone The telephone code for Guiyang is 0851.

Trains Routes out of Guiyang head east into central China and beyond via Kaili; north to Zunyi and Chongqing; west to Kunming via Anshun and Lupanshui; and south to Liuzhou and other destinations in Guangxi. The timetables at the station are difficult to follow, but the staff are helpful, and many speak English; ticket offices open at various times, basically 7am-5pm. If you're heading to Zunyi or Kaili, train is much faster than bus.

Travel agents CITS is at 20 Yan'an Zhong Lu (Mon-Sat 8.30-11am & 1-5pm; tel 5825873 or 5823927, fax 5823095). An exceptionally helpful office with youthful, polylingual staff who will happily sit down with you and a cup of tea and discuss any aspect of the province. They can also make ticket and tour bookings.