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China’s railway network is a fast-paced wonder that makes exploring the fantastic cities of China - including Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Guilin, Huangshan, Hangzhou and etc. much easier. There are several ways available to book a high speed train tickets in China. You can have a better understanding about that after read the below details.
Pre-sale period about train tickets refers to the days prior to the train departure. It is subject to change.On June 1, 2022, the train tickets pre-sale (include high speed train tickets) period in China had was changed to 15 days from previous 30 days. More trains will be arranged during the major Chinese festivals.
If you are going to buy Hong Kong high speed train tickets from counters and automatic ticket machines at Hong Kong West Kowloon Train Station in Hong Kong, you can but the tickets 15 days in advance. Or if you book online, through telephone and authorized agents, you could book train tickets 15 days ahead of departure. Read more about How to Book Hong Kong High Speed Train Ticket!
Warm tip: You are highly advised to make a booking as EARLY as possible! High Speed Train Travel has gradually become more and more popular, especially during the Chinese Holidays. And Pre-sale Period for some routes may be changed due to special factors, such as diversion routes (though not often happen), thus please try to book tickets in advance, so as not to delay your trip.
In November 2020, China Railway officially launched an English version of its ticketing website, 12306, allowing foreign passengers who don't understand Chinese to register and purchase train tickets themselves. It is important to note that currently, the English version only supports the registration of valid foreign passports. When registering an account and adding passengers, the English version only requires an email address and does not require a Chinese phone number. The website supports multiple payment methods such as VISA, MasterCard, JCB, and Diners, etc.
Warm tip: Our China high speed train tour packages include train tickets booking service, making you trouble free and worry free about booking a high speed train ticket in China.
After called the Customer Service Phone number 95105105, you can deal with almost all the affairs about tickets, such as book, cancel and delivery. Unlike booking through the official website, there is a time limitation for you to collect your paper tickets. If you phone the official before 12:00 am, you must collect before 12:00 am on the 2nd day. If you phone the official after 12:00 am, you can collect your tickets before 24:00 of the 2nd day. The staffs may only speak Chinese, so it is may be hard for you if you cannot speak (not read) Chinese well. And, International calls cost MUCH, so it is recommended as an alternative plan for you.
Most stations open 24 hours except some modern stations that only have daytime high speed trains (a few window available after 11:00 pm), and its pre-sale time is 15 days before departure. You should queue in front of ticket selling windows (售票窗口) inside the ticket office (售票厅). Always long queues in front of the counters there, especially during holidays.
Only selected staffs in metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai MAY speak English, so you can show the below sentences when you encounter with some language barrier:
● Some modern stations that only have daytime high speed trains.
● Your favorite tickets may be sold out during the waiting time, especially during Chinese holidays, so you’d better prepare alternatives.
● Print out or write down the key information about your selected train in advance, like train number, class, departure station, departure date, arrival station, and show them to the staff so as to save your travel time.
● You CAN NOT obtain tickets from Automatic Ticket Machines at train stations, because they only recognize Chinese issued ID cards.
● Remainder of train tickets showed on the Big Ticket Display Screen next to (or above) the counters, but they are only in Chinese and number.
With a pre-sale period about 15 days before departure, local ticket outlets (火车票代售点) found throughout cities in the mainland China, and operate generally from 9 am to 5 pm. Hand over your passport and payment (an additional CNY 5 per ticket included), and the staff of the outlets will show you available trains on a screen for you to choose. For the staffs may only speak in Chinese, you’d better write the key information about your selected train in advance too.
To date, most of China bullet trains still keep a fixed fare. The price of the same class seat is the same while there will be slightly difference between different trains. In the second half of year 2018, there will be a train operation diagram adjustment, and the floating price policy will be applied between 6 rail lines, including Hefei to Wuhan, Wuhan to Yichang and etc.
Children are required to be accompanied by adults on the train. Children between 1.2m and 1.5m need to book child ticket (about 50% for seats on all trains) while those under 1.2m are admitted for free. Note that there is no separate seat for the children with no tickets, which means your children have to share the only seat with you. Considering the comfort of your trip, you’d better book another child ticket for your child if you have a high quality requirement or want more space to view the wonderful sightseeing outside of the window during your China High Speed Train Trip.
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