Banks and exchange There are branches of the Bank of China on Guluangyu Island, and on Zhongshan Lu, back from the seafront (Mon-Fri 8.30am-noon & 2.30-5pm, Sat 8am-12.30pm).

Boats To buy tickets to Hong Kong, head into the port area (ignore the barrier) and continue south until you see buildings on your right across the rail tracks. The office on the left here is open 8-11.15am and 2.30-5.15pm (tel 0592/2022517). Boats sail on Wednesdays, and berths for the eighteen-hour trip start at ?300.

Buses Both bus stations have frequent departures to Fuzhou and Quanzhou, several daily to Longyan and Yongping, and at least daily services to Guangzhou, and Shantou.

Post office Xiamen's main post office, where IDD telephone calls can also be made, is on Xinhua Lu, south of the junction with Siming Dong Lu.

Trains Useful rail lines run north from Xiamen to Wuyi Shan and Jiangxi Province; the route west into Guangdong Province via Longyan is due to open in the near future. Services to Fuzhou are very circuitous; it's much faster to take the bus. Buying tickets is not too problematic, though queues are often lengthy - foreigners should use window #2 (8.10am-noon, 1.40-6.10pm & 7.20-9.30pm).

Travel agents CITS are upstairs in the building immediately west of the Bank of China building on Zhongshan Lu (tel 0592/2103911).