Information Travelling Bus in China

Long Distance Busses
Despite the ever-widening net thrown by the rail lines, there are still many parts of China unreachable by train - in which case buses are often the only means of getting there.
Cities may have one central main bus station; or several separate suburban depots located on the side of town in which traffic is heading or arriving from (usually named after the relevent compass point); or both.
Private depots - often with faster, more modern vehicles are often located in the big squares outside train stations. Services are frequent, even to remote places, and some cities have so many competing depots it can be hard to find the right departure point.
Unlike train tickets, bus tickets are easy to buy: ticket offices at main stations are often computerized, queues are nowhere near as bad as at train stations, and - with the exception of backroads routes, which might only run every other day - you don’t need to book in advance and are guaranteed a seat.
At private depots, you often buy tickets from a nearby booth, or pay on board. You’ll do this too if you hail a bus in passing; destinations are always displayed (in Chinese characters) on the front of the vehicle. Bus station timetables are often inaccurate; ticket staff are pretty helpful, however.
As with trains, there are various types of bus in China, though there’s not always a choice available for particular routes. If there is, the station staff will assume that foreigners will want the fastest, most comfortable service - which will also be the most expensive.
Ordinary buses (putong che) are cheap and basic, with wooden or lightly padded seats; they’re never heated or air-conditioned, so dress accordingly. Seats can be cramped and luggage racks tiny; you’ll have to put anything bulkier than a satchel on the roof,your lap, or beside the driver. They tend to stop off frequently, so don’t count on an average speed of more than 50km an hour; Sleeper buses (wopu che) cost a bit more than ordinary, have basic bunks instead of seats, and can be either comfortable or excruciatingly cramped; road travel at night is also more dangerous.
Lower bunks (xiapu) are a bit more expensive than upper bunks (shangpu), but are better because you don’t get thrown out of bed every time the bus takes a corner. Bags can sometimes be stored, if you get in early, otherwise there’s a shoebox-sized luggage rack per bed and nothing else. One advantage to sleeper buses is that if they reach their destination before dawn, passengers are left to sleep on.

There are a few downsides to bus travel in China. Roads are not always in good condition, though the number of fast expressways is continually rising. Drivers, mobile phones in one hand, wheel in the other, have the dangerous habit of saving fuel by coasting down hill or mountainsides in “angel gear” - neutral, with the engine off. Airhorns (banned in some places) can make the experience noisy, too, as drivers are obliged to announce their presence before overtaking anything, and so earplugs are seriously recommended. Take some food along, because though buses usually pull up at inexpensive roadhouses at mealtimes, they have been known to take
two drivers and plough on for a full 24 hours without stopping. Only the most upmarket coaches have toilets; drivers generally pull up every few hours or if asked to do so bypassengers (roadhouse toilets are some of the worst in the country, however). Owing to the frequent police checks on roads in China, buses are seldom illegally overcrowded.

Finally, note that foreigners need to buy PICC insurance to use buses in some parts of rural China.