Railway 12306 is the official ticketing app authorized by China Railway. Registration is required before booking tickets. The departure and arrival stations can be conveniently queried by simply entering Pinyin. For foreigners, they can buy tickets with their passport numbers, while Chinese citizens need to enter their ID numbers. Bank cards of major banks and Alipay can be used for payment. The user will receive a text message and an email that informs them of the order information, including the seat number. However, foreigners need to obtain physical tickets at the ticket office of the railway station in advance.

How to Buy Train Tickets Online?

Railway 12306 authorized by China Railway is generally used to buy train tickets online. You can log on to its official website with a computer or use the app. The booking time for each day is from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. For the rest of the time,it will be displayed as being under maintenance and no tickets can be booked.

Exchange paper tickets Method 

1: Automatic ticket fetching machine at the station Put the ID card directly in the ID card sensing area of the automatic ticket fetching machine at the train station, and the machine will automatically identify the ID card information. Then display the ticket information you ordered at 12306 on the screen, and click "Ticketing" , you will get the paper ticket. Note that the automatic ticket fetching machine here can only be used with the second-generation ID card. 

Method 2: Station Ticketing Window/Railway Ticketing Agent Some stations do not have an automatic ticket changer fetching machine.Then, you need to go to the special Internet ticket exchange window at the train station to get the ticket. Tickets can also be exchanged at the agency, but a handling fee of 5 yuan is required.