Most people arrive in Yangshuo by bus along the speedy Wuzhou-Guilin expressway, lined with stalls selling bamboo furniture and seasonal gluts of pomelos, plums and peaches. This highway bends in from the west to the bus station , runs east for about 500m as Pantao Lu, then kinks off due south en route to Moon Hill, Liuzhou and Wuzhou. Yangshuo's two main streets run northeast off the highway to the Li River ; Diecui Jie extends from the bus station through the village centre, while east and parallel is pleasantly cobbled, vehicle-free Xi Jie, extending past Western-oriented cafés and accommodation, plus old wooden shops, down to the docks .

There's an unusual quantity of information to be had in Yangshuo. The hotels have information desks, and the helpful CITS office is located at 103 Xi Jie (daily 9am-9pm; tel 0773/8827103, fax 8827102). However, many people make all arrangements and bookings by shopping around Yangshuo's ubiquitous cafés . Specifically geared to Western travellers, these act as meeting places to swap the latest news - some have noticeboards, others leave journals out for you to write in and read - and offer book exchanges and deals on everything that it's possible to do during your stay here.

For other services, the bank is on the waterfront between Xi Jie and Diecui Jie (foreign currency transactions daily 9am-noon & 1-5pm); the post office (daily 8am-5pm; parcel and post restante services available) is over on the highway; while you'll find IDD telephones all around Yangshuo and in the bigger hotels. Internet services are offerd by several places along Xi Jie, though prices are high for China at around ¥30 an hour - try bargaining. Should you get sick, there's a foreigners' clinic next to the Xilang Hill Hotel on Diecui Jie, and also a Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Xi Jie.

Moving on , minibuses to Guilin orbit the bus station all day long, though the station ticket office is generally unhelpful to those wanting long-distance bookings to Guangzhou, Liuzhou, Nanning and Wuzhou - either go to Guilin first, or use hotels, cafés and the CITS to avoid frustrations. Local agents can also book flights, taxis to Guilin airport (¥200), hovercraft and ferries from Wuzhou, and, with at least three days' warning, train tickets from Guilin.