Wuhan spreads more than 10km across, and, with a choice of transit points all over the place - each of the three districts has a separate train and long-distance bus station - it's important to know where you're arriving before you get here. Most people stay on the northern bank of the Yangzi in Hankou , which, as the city's trade and business centre, contains most of the services and accommodation. South across the smaller Han River is lightly industrial Hanyang , while Wuchang recedes southeast of the Yangzi into semi-rural suburbs and parkland.

The new Tianhe airport lies 30km to the north of Wuhan along a good road, with a bus link from here to both the airline office in Hankou's Great Wall Hotel on Hangkong Lu, and Hankou's train station . This is Wuhan's main rail terminus, set on the northern edge of Hankou along Fazhan Dadao, but many services also call in at Wuchang's station, right across town on Zhongshan Lu.

It's a similar story with long-distance buses . The major depots are on Jiefang Dadao in downtown Hankou, on Hanyang Dadao in Hanyang and near Wuchang's train station on Zhongshan Lu. Buses from all three depart for rural Hunan and beyond. Looking like a ferry itself, except covered in tiles, the Yangzi ferry terminal sits on Yanjiang Dadao in Hankou - current timetables and ticket offices are within, and you'll probably have to change boats here if you're travelling the entire 2500km between Shanghai and Chongqing.