How to buy Train Tickets in 12306.cn

More and more expats choose to study, work, or travel in China. For whatever purpose, when they first arrive in China, how to buy tickets is the most difficult problem. However, the most convenient way to travel in China is high-speed rail. If you learn to buy tickets online, you will save a lot of time.

Passports are required to purchase Chinese train tickets and board the train.

Foreign passengers can buy train tickets directly at the ticket window or on the official website (www.12306.cn). It should be noted that the passport can only pick up a ticket from the window.

However, the English version of this website has not yet been enabled, so here, we provide you with a booking guideline. Using a web translation plugin will help a lot.

After that, it will switch to the following page. You only need to fill in the information as prompted:

TIPS: The last item of “certificate type” is “passport”, and the first item of “tourist” is “adult”. When you have finished registering, you can log in and buy a ticket.

Then, log in to your account.

You need to click on the image to verify when you log in. Therefore, students who are not good at the Chinese can look up the meaning of words in the dictionary.

After logging in, foreigners have to enter their passport number, full name, country, and so on. Click on the new passenger and input information,  the verification will appear on the page.

Back to the homepage, select your starting and ending station, travel time.

Passenger information appears. If you have booked a ticket on the website before, the information is in.

Choose your seat and click ‘confirm’.

Important: The passenger information you submit must be accurate. Incorrect information could mean you won’t be able to train.

Once submitted, no modification is allowed. 

Facts about the site

Before you start, you need to understand the following points.

• There is no reservation fee. The website does not charge any additional fees.
• Tickets can be booked 30 days in advance.
• It may be difficult to access the site during peak travel. 
• Please use your reservation number and passport when collecting tickets at the train station or any other counter with train tickets.