Railway 12306 is the official ticketing platform of China’s railways, run by the China State Railway Group on its website and mobile app. Passengers check train schedules and seat availability, buy, refund and change tickets. Foreigners can register with their passport, and an English version of the website guides them through booking.
What can you do on 12306?
12306 brings together the main railway travel services:
- Schedules and availability: national train timetables and real-time seat availability, with a filter for high-speed trains only.
- Tickets: purchase, refund and rescheduling (called endorsement on the English site).
- Travel information: train punctuality, station displays and travel guides.
- Special assistance: reservations of help for passengers who need it.
Because rail is the main mode of long-distance travel in China, 12306 is used by a very large share of the population, and demand peaks sharply around the Spring Festival travel rush and National Day Golden Week, when tickets for popular routes sell out fast.
How do foreigners register on 12306?
- Open the 12306 English website or the app, and click “Register”.
- Choose your nationality: the English website states that only foreign passports are accepted for registration on it.
- Enter your name exactly as it appears in your passport, your passport number and its expiration date, your date of birth and your gender.
- Choose a username and a password, and give an email address: notifications are sent to it. The app may also ask for a mobile phone number, with its international area code.
- Read and accept the terms of service and the privacy policy, then submit. Registration is complete once the system has verified your details.
How do you book a train ticket on 12306?
- Log in, then enter the departure station, the destination and the travel date, and click “Search”.
- Compare the trains listed: train number, departure and arrival times, travel time and price per seat class (business class, first class, second class, standing ticket on high-speed trains; hard seat or soft sleeper on others).
- Click “Book” on the train and seat class you want.
- Add the passengers: for another traveler, enter their passport details exactly.
- Choose your seat preferences, check the details and submit the order.
- Pay with one of the methods offered, such as UnionPay, Alipay or WeChat Pay.
- Find your tickets in “Order Query”, and board the train with your passport.
Trip.com, the international edition of Ctrip, also sells Chinese train tickets in English. Our guide to the best apps for Shanghai lists the other apps that help you travel around China.
Is 12306 open to businesses?
No: 12306 is a public ticketing service, not a marketplace, and it does not sell advertising or host merchants. Companies use it like individuals, booking tickets for their employees with each traveler’s ID or passport details. Its main lesson for companies that build their own apps with an app development company in Shanghai is technical: a booking system has to stay stable when millions of users connect at the same time. The platform uses a distributed architecture, caching and data analysis to absorb these peaks, and encryption, firewalls and intrusion detection to protect user and payment data.
How QPSoftware can help
Apps that serve Chinese users at scale, like 12306, need clear booking flows, local payment methods and an architecture built for traffic peaks. QPSoftware’s Chinese app developers design and build iOS and Android apps and WeChat Mini Programs for foreign companies in China, and prepare their launch on Chinese app stores.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can foreigners buy train tickets on 12306?
Yes. Foreigners register on 12306 with their passport details: name as written in the passport, passport number and expiration date, date of birth and gender, plus an email address. Once registered, they search for trains, book seats for themselves or for other travelers whose passport details they enter, and pay online with one of the methods offered.
Is 12306 available in English?
Yes. The 12306 website has an English version, with English booking pages, search results by seat class and a quick guide that answers common questions, such as the ID documents accepted and the rules for changing a ticket. Station names are shown in English with their Chinese characters, which helps to match them with the signs in stations.
How does 12306 differ from Trip.com or Ctrip?
12306 is the official railway ticketing platform of the China State Railway Group: it only sells train tickets, directly. Trip.com and Ctrip are travel agencies that also sell train tickets, next to flights, hotels and tours. Many travelers use 12306 for train tickets, and Trip.com when they want everything in one English app.