Airlines CAAC, Xilinguole Lu, is just
south of Xinhua Square (Mon-Sat, 8am-9pm; tel
0471/6964103). MIAT (the airline of the Republic
of Mongolia; tel 0471/4953250) is in the east of
the city next to the Mongolian Consulate and
near to the Neimenggu Jiancai Xuexiao (Inner
Mongolia Construction Materials College). To
reach the MIAT office, take a taxi or ride a #2
bus east to Nongwei bus stop, then walk a little
farther east, and a couple of blocks south.
Banks and exchange The easiest place
to change money, including travellers' cheques,
is inside the Zhaojun Hotel, which
changes money for non-guests and offers the same
rates as the bank, and it operates at weekends.
The head office of the Bank of China (Mon-Fri
8am-noon & 2-5pm, Sat am only) is actually
across the road from the hotel.
Bookshops There is a Foreign Language
Bookstore on Xilinguole Lu, across the road from
Xinhua Square. There is also a branch of Xinhua
Bookstore on Zhongshan Lu, across the road from
(and a couple of minutes to the south of) the
Nationalities Market.
Consulate The Consulate of the
Republic of Mongolia (Mon, Tues & Thurs
8.30am-noon; tel 0471/4303254) is in the east of
the city, next to the MIAT office. Visas are
fairly easy to obtain, though they cost ¥500
for a month and may take some time to be issued.
Internet A spanking new and very cheap
Internet café is upstairs in the Telecom
Office, next door to the post office (daily
8am-6pm; ¥8 per hour).
Post and telecommunications The main
post office (Mon-Sat 8am-7pm) is on the south
side of Zhongshan Lu, just east of Xilinguole
Lu. The Telecom Centre (8am-6pm) is adjacent,
with a small 24-hour office.
PSB In the government building to the
south of the junction between Zhongshan Lu and
Xilinguole Lu.
Travel agents There are numerous
travel agents in town, many of whom will find
you before you find them. They nearly all have
English-speaking employees, and deal in
grassland tours as well as booking train
tickets. CTS, in the back building, third floor
of the Inner Mongolia Hotel (tel
0471/6964233 ext 8936), has some pleasant,
approachable staff. The Tongda Hotel also
holds several travel services.
