How to Book China Train Tickets?
Train is one of the most important transport in China. For the Travel to China, many prefer to take the train, especially the convenient bullet train. Here are offering useful tips and guidance about how to book China train tickets for your reference. There are mainly 4 ways to book China Train Tickets.
Booking tickets with China’s travel agencies
You could also book tickets with some travel agencies in China. If you plan a China tour and need to travel by train during your journey, Visit Around China is very glad to help you with your travel planning and is quite willing to booking train tickets for you.
Booking China Train Ticket Online
You could also book online with china Railway customer service center. The website of China Railway Customer Service Center is www.12306.cn. You can book all domestic trains on this website, between 6:00 am and 23:00 pm daily. However this website is just available in China and it is only in Chinese language.
Tips:
1. The tickets could be booked and issued in 30 days usually in advance currently.
2. After you reserve your train ticket online, you still have to get the paper ticket for getting on train at the train station ticket window office. The automatic fetching machine is only available for PRC Resident ID Card.
3. Applicable banks cards for payment online: Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. You could open up the e-currency before use the payment service.
Telephone Booking
Booking train tickets on phone is available.
Bookings Hotline: 95105105 (Do not forget to add the area cord of your departure area in front of it)
Directly Buy Ticket at the Railway Station
At some big cities in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, there are English-speaking ticket counters for foreigners in railway stations. You could buy ticket at these counters with your passport or other identity document.
There are no international tickets selling in railway station, and you could only buy domestic tickets. And as there are many people choose to travel by train in China, and sometimes you need to wait in a long queue, you should allow plenty of time to buy the ticket.
Pay Attention
1. Make sure the opening date for purchasing of the ticket. For a period of time, China train tickets can be purchased 60 days before departure. But now, according to the regulations of China railway, all trains including high speed trains (except the temporary trains and new trial trains) can be purchased or booked online, by telephone or at train station 30 days before departure.
2. Passengers can buy ticket at railway ticket agency or a ticket vending machine 28 days before departure.
3. The opening date may be different during Spring Festival period.
4. Avoid the public festivals for Chinese people, and then it could be less crowed in the train.
4. Avoid the public festivals for Chinese people, and then it could be less crowed in the train.
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