How do I buy China train tickets with a foreign passport: 12306 or Trip.com in 2026? →
Use 12306’s English website or app to buy train tickets with your foreign passport.
Checked 26 Sept 2026Get ready to travel by train.
Check your booking window, documents and boarding preparation.
Not quite your case? Ask it.
The lists.
Full reference · rules and source lists
The presale clock & payment
The window
Seats open about before travel (counting the travel date), and you can buy until before departure.
- You cannot buy earlier than the window — for peak dates, set an alarm for the on-sale moment.
- 12306 sells tickets in RMB only; keep a working foreign card plus Alipay/WeChat as backup.
- Sales & endorsement run 05:00–01:00 (05:00–23:30 on Tuesday); query and refund are 24h.
Sold out? → Check again at midnight Beijing time for released cancellations, or take a slower/overnight train. Availability can differ between 12306 and an authorized agent.
How you board
Your passport is your ticket
China rail is e-ticket: you reserve the e-ticket and board by showing the passport you bought it with. There is no paper ticket to collect for a normal e-ticket.
- Bring the exact passport used to book — not a photo, not a different document.
- Automatic gates are built for Chinese ID cards; use the staffed / passport ID-check lane.
- Security check, ID verification, and the ticket gate are separate steps — leave buffer time.
Gate can't read your passport? → Go to the manual ID-check lane or staffed window with your booking confirmation and passport. Allow a few extra minutes.
Fees & changes
What refunds and changes really cost
- Refund: free + before departure · if over 48h · within 24–48h · under 24h · minimum .
- Endorsement (change): you can change the date, train, or seat — but NOT the departure/arrival station (except within the same city).
- One change only per ticket; no refund once the trip starts; Spring Festival peak endorsements carry a refund fee.
- Accidental purchase: one free refund is possible within of buying and at least 4h before departure, on official platforms (conditions apply).
Rule → Refunds/changes go back to the original payment method. Numbers here come from 12306's published FAQ — if a figure is not sourced it is not shown.
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