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Transportation in Guangzhou
 TransportationPublic transport in Guangzhou is extremely cheap and generally very efficient. It has a convenient transportation network both inside the city and connecting it to other parts of the country. The numerous ways to get around the city include the metro, buses, taxis and ferries. The following content may be helpful for you to arrive at your schools in a smooth and easy way as well as offers some tips for you to travel within the city or around the country. Arriving in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the main airport of Guangzhou, one of the three busiest air transportation hubs in China. Serving more than 110 air routes from Guangzhou to over 100 domestic and International cities, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has an average annual passenger flow volume of about 25 million. International students can conveniently process the ticket-booking issue of over 40 foreign airlines through their offices in Guangzhou. It's advisable for International students to have a general understanding of the terminal building.   Terminal Building Guide
With an area of about 370 thousand square meters, the Terminal Building of the Baiyun Airport is four-storied, formed by the Main Building, Connection Building, terminal concourses and elevated passages. The third floor is the Departures Hall; the second floor is the Arrivals Interlayer; the first floor is the Arrivals Hall; and the minus- one floor leads to the subway station and the parking lot. The Departure Hall on the third floor has eight entrances / exits. Taxis and Airport Shuttle Bus can stop on the doorway of the Departure Hall. Entering the No. 4 Gate of the Departure Hall, you can see a big electronic screen, on which you can see the flight information. Domestic Departures Hall There are 6 check-in islands and 144 check-in counters in the Domestic Departures Hall. The services relate to ticket inquiry on international or domestic flights, reservation, ticket issuing, changes of ticket and seat-reconfi- rmation for return flight, designated assistance on check-in, as well as reception of irregular flights, etc. International Departures Hall There are 4 check-in islands and 102 check-in counters in the International Departures Hall. Domestic Boarding Area The Domestic Boarding Area is made up of two areas – A and B. The Area A, located in the east of the Terminal Building, is divided into two concourses- East 1 Concourse (for the International flights) and East 2 Concourse (for domestic flights). There are 16 boarding gates in East 1 Concourse together with 15 boarding gates from A17 to A31 in East 2 Concourse. The Area B, situated in the west of the Terminal Building, is made up of West 1 and West 2 concourses. There are 17 boarding gates in West 1 Concourse as well as 13 boarding gates in West 2 Concourse. International Boarding Area All international flight passengers board though the East 1 Concourse of Area A. 
There are some useful tips which will help International students get though the capital airport processing.
The following procedure is for International arrivals:
1. Flight Arrival
2. Inspection & Quarantine
3. Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection
4. Baggage Claim
5. Customs Inspection
6. Leaving the Airport
For more information about arrivals & departures and transfers etc, the following list of phone numbers may be useful: Airport Ticket Office: +86 20 8613 0099 (International); +86 20 8613 0088 (domestic)
Airport Complaint: +86 20 3606 6315
Flight Inquiry: +86 20 3606 6999
Luggage Inquiry: +86 20 3606 6763 (domestic); +86 20 3606 6793 (International)
 Air Ticket BookingThere are various methods to book the air ticket.
First, you may get it through the largest flight booking center which is situated in the Yunfei Ticket Booking
Centre on first floor, No. 430, Huang Shi Dong Road.
Second, you may book the air ticket in the booking offices at major hotels.
Third, you may get the fast and reliable booking service from a lot of travel agencies.
Fourth, it’s also a good choice to book your air-tickets through the booking counters which was established
by various airlines in the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
How to get to your university from GBIA?
On arrival, there are four ways to get from the airport to your university: SICAS's airport pick-up service, the Airport Express train, airport shuttle bus, and by taxi. SICAS Airport Pick-up Service If you arrive in GBIA, you can book an airport pick-up service with SICAS.
E-mail to service@sicas.cn.
By Express Train 
There are six express bus lines (Line1, Line2A, Line2B, Line3, Line4 and Line11) supplying convenient transportation for passengers to and from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. By Airport Shuttle Bus 
Nine shuttle bus lines (Line5, Line6A, Line6B, Line7A, Line7B, Line8A, Line8B, Line9 and Line10)
are running between GBIA and downtown area. By Taxi 
A Guangzhou taxi charges RMB 7 for the first 2.3 kilometers, and RMB 2.6 for succeeding kilometers. Moreover RMB 1 is claimed as the fuel surcharge. It's very convenient to shuttle between the downtown of Guangzhou and the Baiyun Airport. However, it may cost much money. For example, it costs you about RMB 100 from the airport to Guangzhou Railway Station. Daily Transportation Guide
By Metro
Guangzhou was the fourth city in Mainland China to have an underground railway system. Currently
the underground network is made up of eight lines, covering a total length of 236 km. There are seven zhou South Railway and Foshan City.
The map of Guangzhou subway
By Bus There are more than 500 bus lines opening in Guangzhou City. Eighty percent of the city-buses are equi- pped with air-conditioner. The public bus in Guangzhou charges RMB1 to RMB 2. The only drawback could be the language. The destination and the route directions are all pasted in Chinese language, on the front and at the back of the buses. A foreigner would find it extremely hard to locate the exact route of the bus. For somebody who could understand and read Chinese, a bus transportation ride is probably the best form of communication inside Guangzhou. You can visit Google online map to check the specific routes. By Taxi A Guangzhou taxi charges RMB 7 for the first 2.3 kilometers , and RMB 2.6 for succeeding kilometers. Moreover RMB 1 is claimed as the fuel surcharge. Travel Around China As for domestic travel, trains and ships should be on your list of choice. By Train Train travel offers not only good chances to meet and make friends with people all over the country, but also the beautiful views from the train windows. You can travel to almost all the main cities in China from three railway stations in Guangzhou. The tickets are divided to four types, hard seats, soft seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers.
Passengers can choose the proper kind of ticket according to their journey distance and economic conditions. The hard seats are the cheapest, while the soft sleepers being the most expensive. The difference between the soft sleepers and the hard sleepers is that: for soft sleepers, 4 people share one compartment. For hard sleepers, 6 people share one open compartment without door. That's why the soft sleepers are about 20% more expensive than the hard sleepers. You'd better buy the sleeper ticket for any trip longer than 12 hours in order not to be too tired. Hot water is offered on the train. It is advised to you to take your own food on the train, such as instant noodles, fruit and sausages.   SICAS Reminder
In China, buying a ticket is sometimes both confusing and time-consuming, especially during the holiday peak seasons. So, it's reasonably for you to pay a small booking charge to your hotel travel service or front desk to get the ticket-buying service from them. Foreigners and overseas Chinese can enjoy the priority to buy ticket in the special counters in Guangzhou Railway Station. Usually, the railway stations can sell the tickets up to 6 days in advance. You can email to service@sicas.cn in case of questions. By Ship Besides train, traveling by ferry/boat is also a nice choice if you have more time and would like to enjoy a nice view on the way. You're able to travel to more than 100 domestic ports and over 300 foreign ports from Guangzhou. Some ports of Guangzhou provide passenger transport service. Panyu Lianhuashan Port provides high speed passenger liners between Guangzhou and Hong Kong daily. Huangpu Port offers ships to Xiuying Port, Haikou. Those who're looking for a ferry travel can dial +86 20 3468 9032/3468 9035. 
By Train Guangzhou has three railway stations handling passenger transport. Guangzhou Railway Station at Huanshi Road is the largest and the most important one, operating trains between Guangzhou and Beijing, Wuhan, Nanjing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, Lhasa and many other China cities. Guangzhou East Railway Station (Tianhe Railway Station) mainly provides through trains from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and frequent bullet trains between Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Guangzhou North Railway Station in Huadu District is a small station mainly operates bullet trains between Guangzhou and Wuhan. By Bus There are more than 500 bus lines opening in Guangzhou City. Eighty percent of the city-buses are equipped with air-conditioner. The public bus in Guangzhou charges RMB1 to RMB 2. By Taxi A Guangzhou taxi charges RMB 7 for the first 2.3 kilometers , and RMB 2.6 for succeeding kilometers. Moreover RMB 1 is claimed as the fuel surcharge. By Ship Guangzhou is one of the ten most famous port cities in China. Guangzhou Port is made up of Humen Port, Xinsha Port, Huangpu Port and many other inner ports. The ship routes lead to more than 100 domestic ports and over 300 foreign ports. Some ports of Guangzhou provide passenger transport service. Panyu Lianhua- shan Port provides high speed passenger liners between Guangzhou and Hong Kong daily. Huangpu Port offers ships to Xiuying Port, Haikou. Many of Guangzhou's schools are located in Guangzhou Higher Educa- tion Mega Centre (GHEMC), all of which are well-served by public transportation. GHEMC is located in Xiaogu- wei Island, Panyu District, Guangzhou, accessed through the toll Nansha Port Expressway, which links the island to Haizhu District to the north and Panyu District to the south. Two Guangzhou Metro stations are located on the island, offering quick access to Guangzhou's convenient metro system. The island is also accompanied with a dozen of bus routes with buses mainly running from and to the city centre of Guangzhou. 
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