How to take a City Centre Bus

The first thing you need to know about taking a bus in Nanchang is that Nanchang's buses have two sets of doors, one set at the front and the second in the middle of the bus. You get on at the front and get off in the middle.

The second thing is that the majority of city buses have a fixed fare of either 1 or 2 yuan, no matter how many stops you travel. You need to prepare the right amount of money as drivers will not give you change. When you get on the bus there is a box located next to the driver. Drop your money in the box and move down the bus. You can also buy a card which you swipe over a reader and the fare is automatically deducted.

Buses can often be very crowded so be careful of your personal belongings. There are also signs reminding passangers to give up their seats for the elderly, pregnant women etc.

One habit many passangers in Nanchang have is that they often sit in an aisle seat leaving the window seat empty and will not move to the window seat in order to let you sit down. Additionally they will rarely stand up to allow you to get to the window seat, so you often have to scramble over them in order to sit down. The same applies when you are ready to get off.

Buses tend to stop at every bus stop on their route so generally you don't need to let the driver know you want to get off. However, if the bus is crowded it may take time for you to get to the doors so start to get ready to get off as you approach your stop. If the doors close before you get off just give a shout in the direction of the driver (if you can't speak Chinese even just "Oi, I'm getting off" will do as your fellow passangers are likely to take up your cause for you and let the driver know).

Be careful of your belongings on buses, espescially when crowded. Some thieves even carry razor blades to slash bags.

Most buses do not have a regular timetable, just a time when the service begins in the morning and ends in the evening. However, most buses are quite frequent.

Bus stops can be found throughout the city and it will save you a lot of money if you take the bus compared to taxis. Most bus stops have a sign listing which buses stop there and routes for those buses (in Chinese). Ask a friend or colleague to help you to know which routes (bus routes are by number) are most useful for you. It may be confusing at first but you'll soon get the hang of it.