Getting There
Wenzhou is connected by air to 38 Chinese cities as far-flung as Urumqi, including Beijing (two to three flights daily), Guangzhou (four or five flights), Hangzhou (four or five flights), Shanghai (both airports six or seven flights), and Shenzhen (three to five flights). There are also five flights a week from Hong Kong. The main CAAC ticket office (Wenzhou Minhang Shoupiao Chu) is at the junction of Minhang Lu and Jinxiu Lu (tel. 0577/96555 domestic, or 0577/883-24311 international -- only Hong Kong from Wenzhou). Prices include ticket delivery. The airport is 25km (16 miles) east of town, served by an airport bus that makes 13 trips from 5:40am to 8pm for a fare of ¥10 ($1.30/65p).
Wenzhou has a railway station but not many useful connections; these are all to the interior, such as sleeper trains to Hangzhou and Shanghai. The ticket office (open 8am-7pm) is at the far left side as you face the station. Left luggage is to the right; it's open from 6am to 11:40pm and charges ¥5 (65¢/35p) per piece.
The fastest way along the coast north or south is by luxury bus on the new coastal highways. Buses from Ningbo (4 hr.) mostly arrive at the Xincheng Keyun Zhongxin Zhan (tel. 0577/8891-1927), well to the southeast of the center and northeast of the railway station. This is the main station for the excellent Zhejiang Quik company's connections with Ningbo (13 departures 7:30am-5:10pm; ¥116/$15/£7.50), Shaoxing (9:30am and 2:40pm; ¥108/$15/£7), and Hangzhou (25 departures 6:40am-6:20pm; ¥120/$13/£6.65). The Wenzhou Keyun Zhongxin Zhan (tel. 0137/678-8822), south of the center, has buses to Taishun, a tortuous, winding 191km (119 miles) away (5 hr.; ¥54/$7/£3.50), with departures at 7am, 9am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm. The ticket windows are to the left of the entrance. The Xin Nan Zhan, just west of the railway station, has buses to Fujian Province, but as elsewhere in China, cross-border services are more limited. The best bus to Fuzhou is a luxury daytime sleeper bus at 8:30am (8 hr.; ¥154/$20/£10). The bus station automatically adds ¥2 (25¢/15p) in insurance. There's also an overnight sleeper service. Shoes must be taken off and placed in a bag provided. Berth allocation is random, so come early. There are also services from here to Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and beyond.
Getting Around
Taxis have a flagfall of ¥10 ($1.30/65p), which includes 4km (2 1/2 miles); after that, it's ¥1.50 (20¢/10p) per kilometer, and 50% more after 6km (3 3/4 miles). Add another 20% from midnight to 5am. Public buses have a minimum fare of ¥1 (15¢/10p); most charge that as their flat fare. Buses serve all parts of the city and while the signs at stops do not have any English, route maps give very useful visual representations. For shorter distances there are lots of sanlunche, which make a surprisingly ecofriendly alternative to the usual traffic fumes. There are ferries to Jiangxin Island from the Jiangxin Matou (dock), well marked in English on Wang Jiang Dong Lu. From the dock there are also tourist river trips for ¥50 ($6.50/£3.25) at 6:30pm (tel. 0577/8819-9073).
