Planning a Trip

Getting There

The Tongren Bus Station (tel. 0973/872-2014) connects Tongren with Xining (14 buses; 4 hr.; ¥30/$3.90/£1.95) between 7:20am and 4:30pm; with Lanzhou (7 hr.; ¥55/$7.15/£3.60) at 6:50am; with Xiahe (4 hr.; ¥21/$2.75/£1.35) at 8am; with Liujia Xia (3 hr.; ¥16/$2.10/£1.05) at 9:30am; and with Linxia (4 hr.; ¥34/$4.40/£2.20) at 8am. Uphill from the bus station is a large roundabout. To the right is Zhongshan Lu, the main street, which runs west to Xiaqiong Lu.

Tours and Guides

The Rebgong Cultural Center at Fengwu Zhonglu 217 (tel. 0973/879-7139; rebgonglibrary@yahoo.com) is the town's community center. The center features a library of Tibetan, Chinese, and English books, and can help arrange art classes and an English-speaking tour guide. Sherab, the director, is a jolly ex-monk who knows everyone in town.

Fast Facts

Banks, Foreign Exchange and ATMs -- None available.

Internet Access -- Immediately east of the entrance to the Telecom Hotel is the nonsmoking Huangnan Dianxin Fengongsi Wangba (tel. 0973/872-4196; open 8am-midnight) which charges ¥3 (40¢/20p). Dial-up is tel. 165.

Post Office -- The main post office (Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:30pm; Sat-Sun 10am-4pm) is located on Xiaqiong Zhong Lu, next to the junction with Zhongshan Lu. Unless you read Chinese the post office has nothing to sign itself and is without the familiar logo; it's the yellow building with a small China Telecom plaque outside.