What we do for you
Every ticket on this site is bought by a person, on the railway's own system, in your name. Nothing is resold from stock we hold in advance.
Six things that happen before you get a ticket
1. We stand in the queue
Chinese ticket offices still issue paper tickets at the counter, and some things — student concessions, group bookings, a seat that only appears when a clerk looks — cannot be done from a screen. When that is what your booking needs, someone from our team queues for it.
2. Bought by hand, one order at a time
We do not sell from a block of tickets bought in advance. Each order is placed after you pay, against your passport, by a person who can see the seat map — and who can move to a different carriage or a nearby departure when the first choice is gone.
3. Booked in your name, on your passport
Chinese rail is real-name. The passport number you give us goes on the ticket, and only that passport opens the gate. There is no way to transfer a ticket to somebody else later, which is why we ask for the details up front.
4. Bought the moment sales open
The railway opens each travel date 15 days ahead, and popular trains are gone within minutes. If your date is further out than that, we hold your order and buy on the morning sales open for that date — not "sometime that week". Your order page shows the exact day.
5. Passport and name checks
A Chinese ticket has to match the passport character for character. We check the order of surname and given name, the spacing, and the passport number before the order goes in — a mismatch is refused at the gate, not at the counter.
6. Somebody answers, in English
support@traintickets.travel reaches a person, not a bot. We answer in English about seat classes, station transfers, changes and refunds — including the questions the railway's own site does not answer.
What you pay for
The ticket price, plus one booking fee per order. The fee covers the work above: queueing, placing the order by hand, checking documents, and answering you in English afterwards. The fee table is on the pricing page.
The full amount is shown before you pay. Nothing is added afterwards.
What we don't do
- We don't sell a seat we do not have — if it cannot be bought, you are refunded in full.
- We don't keep your passport. We store a masked number, and nothing else.
- We don't move you to a different train without asking. If the train you booked is not available, you get the choice: a nearby departure, or a full refund.
- We don't claim to be the railway. We are a booking service, and your ticket is issued by China Railway in your name.
Still deciding?
Read the fee table, the common questions, or the change and refund rules. If something is still unclear, write to support@traintickets.travel — we answer before you book, not only after.