Getting around Guangzhou isn't difficult, though the city is too big to walk everywhere, and bicycles are not recommended because of the heavy traffic conditions. Most often, you'll find yourself using Guangzhou's cheap and painfully slow bus and trolleybus network, but where possible you should plump for Guangzhou's metro . Opened in 1999, the speedy east-west line runs west from Guangzhou East train station and Tianhe, through the centre along Zhongshan Lu, then turns south past Shamian Island and across the river. The sixteen stations can be hard to locate at street level; keep an eye out for the logo, two converging lines that look a bit like a vase with no base. Magnetic-card tickets can be bought for single or multiple journeys at all stations - the latter is no cheaper, but saves you from queuing each time - and fares are currently ¥6 irrespective of distance, though this will certainly change. A second north-south line , running from the airport straight through town along Jiefang Lu, is still under construction.

 

Taxis are plentiful and can be hailed in the street. Fares start at ¥8, but larger vehicles charge more - all should have meters. Few drivers give any trouble, though the city's complex traffic flows can sometimes make it seem that you're heading in the wrong direction.

Guangzhou is notable for its quantity of street signs in English, with large bilingual maps , randomly distributed around the main streets, which indicate restaurants, hotels and museums. Portable versions of varying detail and quality are sold for ¥2-5 by hawkers at the train and bus stations, and at numerous bookshops, hotels and stalls around the city; none illustrate all of Guangzhou's 200-plus bus routes.