At the intersection of the Beijing-Nanjing-Shanghai and Lianyungang-Zhengzhou rail lines, XUZHOU, China has received an unfair reputation among travellers in the past few years of being a sooty, dull industrial railhead with little to detain the traveller. Granted, the city is primarily a coal-mining and food-processing centre, but it hides some interesting attractions that can keep visitors entertained for at least half a day, most notably the Guishan Hanmu (Gui Mountain Han Dynasty Tomb) in the northwest of town, which holds the grave of a first century BC duke, and is one of provincial China's better-displayed sights. More than 2000 years ago, Xuzhou was the home of Han Dynasty Emperor Liu Bang, of whose stay here little unfortunately remains.

The train station lies in the east of town and has connections to places as far-flung as Guangzhou and Ürümqi. Local bus #1 runs from here to the centre of town at the intersections of Huaihai Dong Lu and Zhongshan Lu, from where you can pick up bus #37 to take you to Guishan Hanmu, several kilometres northwest of town (8am-5.30pm; ¥15). This 2100-year-old tomb contains the bodies of Liu Zhu, the third Duke of Chu, and his wife. They (and the slaves who worked for them) went through much trouble to ensure that their treasures would remain with them to the afterlife: the entrance to the mausoleum was cleverly built into the contours of the neighbouring turtle-shaped hills (Guishan means Turtle Mountain) and was only discovered in the 1980s, by quarrying peasants. Excellent English captions explain the purpose of each of the twenty-plus caverns, from the stable, where live horses were supplied with feed by servants sealed in here with the duke's body, to the squat toilet, which bears an uncanny resemblance to those in China today, the treasure room (today filled with replicas), and the coffin rooms themselves.

South of town are two more sights worth your time. In the southeast stands the 3000-strong brigade of the Xuzhou Terracotta Army Museum (daily 8.30am-4.30pm; ¥14), a miniature (both in size and number) version of its more famous Xi'an counterpart. The army is believed to have protected the grave of a local prince from the Han Dynasty or earlier. Four pits are home to a myriad of archers, foot soldiers, clay horses, chariots and servants, each of whose postures and facial expressions is different. Bus #5 runs here from downtown. On the other side of town, the Hanhua Stone Engravings Museum (daily 8.30am-5pm; ¥5), along the eastern shore of Yunlong Hu, has a rather extensive collection of Han Dynasty stone carvings, many from Liu Bang's era. The art provides a fascinating glimpse into market life, transportation options and entertainment in that period, although there are no English captions. Bus #22 runs from the sportsground just to the south of downtown all the way here.

Xuzhou's accommodation options for foreigners are limited. One of the best bets is the centrally located Heroes Hotel (tel 0516/5730001), on Jiahe Jie, off Zhongshan Bei Lu, two blocks north of the Huaihai Lu intersection and the square marking the centre of town.