China Travel Advice

Q: What is the time schedule of express bus from Xiamen to Shantou at Hubin Station? Which bus station at Shantou do we embark? What is the time schedule of express bus from Shantou to Xiamen? How far is Shantou to Ambou (a small village near Shantou? What is the bus no. to get there?

There should be Shantou-bound buses departing from Xiamen throughout the day, every hour or so. Express buses are called "zhida" - "direct reach". You can check with bus stations. Hubin Changtu Qiche Zhan (Hubin Long Distance Bus Station): address, Hubin Nan Lu Zhongduan 59 hao (No. 59 Hubin South Road Central Section); tel., 0592-2215283. Jimei Changtu Qiche Zhan, address, Jimei; tel., 0592-6068319. Songbai Changtu Qiche Zhan, address, Lianyue Lu 211 hao (No. 211 Lianyue Road; tel., 0592-5089328.

Bus fare is approximately 100 Chinese dollars, and the distance between Xiamen and Shantou is about 300 km. Travel time is around to 4 hours or less.

For your return trip, you can take a bus at Shantou Qiche Keyun Zhongxin Zhan (Shantou Bus Passenger Transportation Central Station), located on Taishan Road in Longhu District. Tel. 0754-?0754?8881 7729. There should also be departures throughout the day. Just verify that your bus is "zhida" or express to Xiamen.

By "Ambou" do you mean "Anbu"? North of Shantou there is a place called Anbu. "Ambou" is not standard romanization of Chinese characters. Anbu is about 10 km north of Shantou and 25 km or so south of Chaozhou. Anbu is like a town but it is the county seat of Chaoan County. There is a line of city bus in Shantou that goes to Anbu (7 Lu - Line 7). There are 20 stops on the route, including Shantou long distance bus station mentioned above. You can also take a taxi to get from Shantou to Anbu.