Nanchang sprawls away from the east bank of the Gan Jiang into industrial complexes and wasteland, but the centre is a fairly compact couple of square kilometres between the river and Bayi Dadao , which runs north through the heart of the city from the huge Fushan roundabout and past Renmin Square , becoming Yangming Lu as it turns east over the Bayi Bridge.

Xiangtan airport is 28km south, and you'll need to take a taxi into town (¥100), but other transit points are more central. Nanchang's new train station is 700m east of the Fushan roundabout at the end of Zhanqian Lu; some buses from Lu Shan, Jinggang Shan and farther afield terminate here, but the main long-distance bus station , with user-friendly timetables and helpful staff, is 1km away on Bayi Dadao. The ferry port lies just south of the Bayi Bridge, handling daily services to towns around Poyang Hu and less frequent traffic south along the Gan Jiang. Taxis (expensive at ¥10 standing charge) and motor-rickshaws cruise downtown arrival points, while city bus #2 runs from the train station along Bayi Dadao, and then makes a circuit of the central area, either passing or coming close to all the hotels.