• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Travel China Cheaper

Travel China the smart way! Expert tips and travel advice for China tourists and expats.

PLANNING A TRIP TO CHINA? Start Here

  • Resources
    • China Travel Handbook
    • China Travel Resources
    • Free PDF Downloads
    • Blogger Resources
  • Travel Tips
    • Best Travel Insurance for China
    • Getting Your Chinese Visa
    • How to Pack for China
    • Vaccinations Needed for China
    • Top China Tourist Scams
    • Best Times to Visit China
    • Getting Money to China
    • How to Travel China on a Budget
    • Tips on Tipping in China
    • How to Bargain in China
    • How to Take a Taxi in China
    • Using your Cell Phone in China
    • How to Open a China Bank Account
    • Best Virtual Mailboxes Reviewed
  • Travel Guides
    • Best China Travel Agencies
    • Best Beijing Guide Books
    • Best Shanghai Guide Books
    • Best Hong Kong Guide Books
  • Learn Chinese
    • 75 Best Language Learning Tools
    • Best Voice Translation Apps for China
    • Learn to Write Chinese
    • Learn To Read Chinese
    • Top 5 Mandarin Phrase Guides
    • How to Travel without Mandarin
  • China Visas
    • Complete China Visa Guide 2021
    • Visa-Free Transit Guide
    • US Citizens Guide
    • Best China Visas Services Reviewed
    • Getting a Chinese Visa in Hong Kong
    • Understanding the 10-Year China Visa
  • China VPN
    • Best VPNs for China 2021
    • Blocked Websites in China
    • Is Using a VPN Legal?
    • How to Watch Netflix in China
    • China VPN Tips
    • ExpressVPN Review
    • VyprVPN Review
    • Private Internet Access Review
    • Tutorial: Apple TV w/ VPN
  • About
    • Contact
    • Work with Us

How to Buy China Train Tickets Online in 2023 | Step-by-Step Tutorial

February 6, 2023 By Josh Summers

Is it possible to purchase China train tickets online before you travel? The short answer is yes, but there are a couple different ways that could be done. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through two different methods for purchasing China train tickets online in order to hopefully make your trip to China much easier and care-free!

Buy China train tickets online 2022 tutorial

For most Chinese people or those expats living in China, it’s quite simple to either visit a train ticket office (火车售票点/Huǒchē Shòupiàodiǎn) or purchase China train tickets using WeChat or Alipay.\

If you’re not already in China or you’re a tourist who can’t use mobile payment, you’re stuck with few options.

Is it possible to pre-purchase China train tickets as a foreigner?

Yes, it is. There are two primary methods to do this and I’m going to walk you through both of them below.

I’ve personally used both of these methods and while there’s a difference in price, there’s also a big difference in ease and convenience.

To purchase China train tickets online you can:

  1. Purchase Directly Through the China Railway Bureau: This option is absolutely free but has limitations for foreigners. For example, you’ll need to be able to read/write Chinese characters in order to navigate the all-Chinese website and you’ll also be required to pay using a Chinese bank account. I’ve described the process step-by-step below, but if you don’t fit the criteria, you’ll need to consider option #2 which is…
  2. Purchase Through a 3rd Party Travel Company: While there’s an additional fee involved here, the whole process can be done in English and paid for using a foreign credit card. Tickets can be delivered anywhere in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau. I highly recommend this option and the service I’ve used many times before is China Highlights.

With both of these options, you can purchase China train tickets up to 30 days in advance of your travel date. This is part of some new rules about buying train tickets in China that have been in effect for a few years.

Using a 3rd party travel company like China Highlights, you can send in your booking even earlier than 30 days but the tickets won’t actually be purchased until they go on sale 30 days prior to your travel date.

Now, I’m going to give you a step-by-step process for each method of purchasing China train tickets online.

*Note* Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost, I may be compensated if you choose to use any of these services. Rest assured, I only recommend companies that I’ve personally used and enjoyed. Thank you for your support that makes this website free!

Buying China Train Tickets Using China Highlights

There are a number of different 3rd party China train ticket providers (such as China’s Trip.com), but for the sake of ease and the fact that I’ve used them before, I’m going to walk you through the process with China Highlights.

The first thing you’ll see when you get to their homepage is a place where you can search China train schedules. This is a great resource even if you decide not to purchase tickets through China Highlights since you’ll get an idea of when trains are available and how much tickets will cost.

China Highlights China train tickets online search service

You can search for multiple trains, a single train or even an international train that originates in China. For the purpose of this tutorial, I chose to search for a train that was going to help me travel from Beijing to Shanghai.

One you’ve click the “Search” button, you’ll be directed to a page that shows you the schedule, availability and China train ticket prices.

China train ticket schedule and pricing on China Highlights

As you can see, you have the option to filter the search by specific train types and then choose which class of ticket you like. After choosing your train, you’ll be directed to a booking page that looks like this:

China train ticket online booking page for China Highlights

On this page you not only put in the names and passport numbers for each passenger (a copy of each passport will be required in order to purchase tickets), you also have the option to select which seats you would like to reserve and where to send the tickets.

Unblock the Chinese internet with ExpressVPN

You can pick up the tickets at the train station, but you’ll have to wait in line and there’s added stress if you’re a China traveler who can’t speak Chinese. Unless you’re really on a tight budget, I recommend having the tickets delivered to your hotel.

At the end, you’ll secure your booking by paying with Paypal or a major credit card.

China Highlights Checkout page for train ticket purchases

When all is said and done, you’ll get a few emails from China Highlights confirming your booking and later an email confirming that the tickets were successfully purchased. In my experience, this usually happens within a few hours.

In all, this method of buying China train tickets online takes about 5 minutes if you know what train you want to take. Because it’s so fast and easy, I recommend you consider a service like China Highlights to book your China train tickets online, in advance.

Visit the China Highlights Website

Buying China Train Tickets Using 12306.cn

Before you start this process, remember: You will need a Chinese bank account in order to purchase the tickets you reserve on 12306.cn. This website is the official website of the China Railway Bureau.

To begin, you will need to open up the website www.12306.cn using either Internet Explorer or Safari web browsers. I personally use Chrome for my daily browsing, but in this case you will need IE or Safari because of a security applet you might be forced to download during the payment process.

Once you reach the homepage for 12306.com, you’re going to see a familiar search box on the top. You’ll need to type in the cities between which you will be traveling and the date you wish to leave.

You will need to use Chinese characters to input the city names and there is an option at the bottom for student ticket prices if that applies to you.

Homepage for the 12306 website that sells China train tickets online

In the example here, I am looking for a train between Beijing (北京) and Urumqi (乌鲁木齐) for the 8th of May.

Since I am not a student, I kept the “regular ticket” checked and then clicked the button to search for available trains on that day.

China train ticket schedule page for 12306.com

What you see here is that two trains are available. In the table it will show which type of tickets are available on each train (i.e. hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, soft sleeper, etc.). You don’t have to choose which one you want yet, just click on the train you wish you book using the blue buttons on the right.

Creating a 12306.cn Login (Translation)

At this point I will need to have a 12306.cn login in order to continue. It’s not that hard to create a login but you will need to have your phone handy.

12306.cn registration translation screenshot

Using the guide you see to the right here, fill the blanks in with the following information:

  • Username: This can be whatever you want it to be
  • Password: The website will tell you the strength of your password and then you will need to retype the password again below.
  • Spoken Password: Just type in a memorable number (at least 6 digits), which will be used if you ever needed to call customer support. Retype the password again below.
  • Security Question: There is a dropdown menu of questions that you can answer.
  • CAPTCHA: Type what you see.

Once you’re finished with that, click the checkbox that says you agree with their terms of use and click Submit!

The next page requires you to fill in more detailed information about the passenger (you) that will be purchasing the tickets. It is incredibly important that you have all of this information filled out accurately or they may not let you on the train.

Passenger information request screenshot on 12306.cn

The information they require includes:

  • Last Name: That would be your family name on your passport
  • Gender: Are you male 男 or female 女?
  • Form of ID: In the dropdown menu, you will want to choose passport or 护照.
  • ID #: Here is where you put your passport number
  • Birthday: What year/month/day were you born?
  • Email: This will be used to confirm your tickets.
  • Cellphone Number: Again, to confirm your identity.
  • Additional Info: Are you an adult, kid, student or disabled veteran?

The rest of the info is not marked with a red asterisk so don’t feel like you need to fill out your address unless you want the tickets delivered directly to your door (although there will be a place later to add this info if you decide to have the tickets delivered).

Paying for Online China Train Tickets on 12306.cn

Once you’ve confirmed your ticket order (确定) you will then need to worry about actually paying for the tickets. You will want to find the pay online option (网上支付) and do this within half an hour of booking the tickets or else your booking will be lost.

Hong Kong Hotel 50% OFF!
Get 5 Free International Moving Quotes!

Because there are so many different ways to pay I’m not going to dive into all the details here. I personally used my UnionPay card which I had already set up with my bank to allow online payments. With just a few clicks I had paid for my tickets and received a confirmation email.

Picking up your Online China Train Tickets from 12306.cn

You can’t just walk into a train station with a printout from 12306.cn, you need a physical ticket. There are multiple ways that you can get your tickets in hand, including having them sent by mail to your hotel or home (in China).

The easiest way, however, is to just to arrive at the train station the day before – or even a few hours before – and go to what essentially amounts to “will call” in the ticket hall. There are kiosks that can do this, but it doesn’t work with foreign IDs so you’ll need to unfortunately stand in line with the confirmation number they sent you via email and your passport.

They’ll hand you your ticket and you’re good to go!

Get 5 Free International Moving Quotes!

Online China Trains Tickets in 2023

As you can see, it’s entirely possible to purchase train tickets online with confidence. You can purchase tickets up to 30 days in advance, which should give you plenty of time to make sure you get what you need. For an even deeper dive into this subject, check out the TravelChinaCheaper China Train guide.

If you can read/write Mandarin and have a Chinese bank account, the best method is to purchase the tickets yourself using 12306.cn.

If you can’t read/write Mandarin Chinese or you haven’t opened a China bank account, the next best method is to use a travel company to do it for you. There are plenty of companies that claim to do this but in my opinion ChinaHighlights is the easiest.

Pin this Image on Pinterest!
Pin this image about how to buy China train tickets online!

Further Reading & Resources

  • Where to buy China flight tickets
    Best Websites to Buy China Flight Tickets in 2023
  • Rules to buy China Train Tickets
    Understanding the Rules for Buying China Train Tickets
  • A tutorial on how to watch Netflix in China in 2021
    How to Watch Netflix in China 2021 | Step-by-Step Tutorial

Traveling or Moving to China Soon?

Download "44 Tips You MUST Know Before Traveling to China". These simple but often overlooked tips could make or break your trip!

Download the Tips Here

Avatar for Josh Summers

About Josh Summers

Josh is the founder of TravelChinaCheaper.com who has been living in China with his family since 2006. Over that period of time he has traveled by plane, train, car, motorcycle and even camel to explore almost every corner of the country.

Primary Sidebar

Find answers to your China questions:

Coronavirus Health Alert for China Travelers

COVID-19 and the Future of China Travel in 2023 and Beyond

Travel Insurance Comparison

Best Travel Insurance for 2023 | Guide & Reviews

Receive Free China Travel Tips!

Get some of the best China travel tips delivered to your inbox. We'll even send you our free guide "44 Things You MUST Know Before Traveling to China"!

Recommended China travel resources

Recommended China Travel Resources

ExpressVPN Logo MarkExpressVPN (Best VPN for China)
Passport Visas Express Logo MarkPassport Visas Express (China Visa)
Trip logo markTrip.com (Best China Flights)
World Nomads Logo MarkWorld Nomads (Best travel insurance)

Recommended Chinese Learning Resources

eChineseLearning Logo MarkeChinese Learning (online tutoring)
Skritter Logo MarkSkritter (includes 10% discount!)
The Chairman's Bao logo markChairman's Bao (Use TCC20 for 20% off!)
Check out our recommended China travel agencies

Recent Articles on TCC:

  • 6 Must-Read Books on China | Recommended Reading for 2023
  • How to Watch Disney+ in China in 2023 (where it hasn’t been launched)
  • 5 Cheapest Ways to Get Money to China in 2023
  • Do VPNs Still Work in China? (even in March 2023?)
  • Best VPNs for China in 2023 (+ my strategy to use them)

Are you planning to travel or move to China soon?

Don't miss out on these 44 money-saving tips!

Learn More by Clicking Here

© 2022 Go West Ventures LLC   |  Best-Selling China Travel Guide   |   Contact   |   Affiliate Disclaimer   |   Privacy Policy