Passport / Visa

Guangzhou is one of the Chinese cities that supports the 72-hour transit visa on arrival program, which means that selected nationalities (all citizens of the European Union, as well as several other countries including Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Japan, Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine, and United States) are eligible for a transit visa on arrival via the Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. For more extended stays, the visa must be pre-arranged in advance, so consult your local embassy for details. You must have your passport at all times, and all hotels will insist on seeing it for check-in. It is now mandatory to present your passport when buying train tickets; you will also need it for using internet cafes that accept foreigners. The Chinese government requires that your passport must be valid for at least six months after the expiry date of your visa when entering the country. You will need at least one entire blank page in your passport for the visa. Take an ID card with your photo in case you lose your passport and make photocopies of your passport: your embassy may need these before issuing a new one in case of loss. You must report the damage to the local Public Security Bureau (PSB), who will issue you with a 'Statement of Loss of Passport'. Long-stay visitors should register their passport with their nation's embassy.

Taxis are cheap, quick and convenient. There are more than 80 taxi companies in the city, so you can easily get hold of a taxi, although it can be hard during peak hours. Each taxi company has its own colour. For example, Guangjun taxis are yellow, the GZ Transport Group drive dark red cabs, and Baiyun taxis are in sky blue. Small taxi companies operate green and golden coloured taxis. To get one easier, you can go to one of the taxi stands. These taxi stop boards are mostly located close to the bus station boards, and many of the large departments and shopping malls have a special stop for taxi passengers. Always use a legitimate taxi driver, and make sure the taxi has a meter and a taxi company logo on the car. You can also use taxi cab hailing service with WeChat or Alipay (like the Chinese version of Uber).

You can easily find a pharmacy in Guangzhou as they are scattered around the whole city. Guangzhou CanAm International Medical Center is a medical centre with more than 200 medications, both prescribed medications and over-the-counter drugs.

Post offices are generally open from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM and there are plenty of them scattered around the city.