Banks, Foreign Exchange and ATMs -- The most effective Bank of China is the city branch at Jiefang Lu 157 (tel. 029/8762-0755; open 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm weekends). It's about 400m (1/4 mile) south of the railway station, on the west side of Jiefang Lu, next to the Silk Road Hotel. The provincial branch is located in the center of town, on the corner of Juhua Yuan at Dong Dajie 306 (tel. 029/8726-7644; same hours). Counter 12 is for foreign exchange and windows 17 and 18 can give advances on credit cards. Several ATMs are accessible 24 hours and accept foreign credit cards. There's also a branch, with an ATM, just 180m (590 ft.) south of the Bell Tower at Nan Dajie 29 (tel. 029/8728-1287; same hours).
Internet Access -- In the railway area, there are many Internet cafes on Shangde Lu. A reasonable choice is the 24-hour Wangshi Ru Feng Internet Cafe (on the east side of the road, just south of the intersection with Xi Ba Lu), which charges the standard rate of ¥3 (40¢/20p) per hour. Branches of Starbucks (in the Drum Tower Square, another on Dong Dajie) provide free wireless Internet access for customers with notebook computers. Dial-up is tel. 169.
Post Office -- The main branch is at the northwest corner of the Bell Tower at Bei Dajie 1, open 8am to 8pm.
Visa Extensions -- Extensions can be obtained from the PSB, located 2 blocks west of the Bell Tower on the south side of the road at Xi Dajie 138 (tel. 029/9727-5934; open Mon-Fri 8:30am-noon and 3-6pm); they take 3 days to process.
