China high speed rail

[Queasymonster]

How long in advance must we check in before departure? I see some websites say 2 hr in advance. Anyone knows?

 

[beanstalk6]

How long in advance must we check in before departure? I see some websites say 2 hr in advance. Anyone knows?

2 hours is excessive. Is that flying? At least 30 minutes will do. Read the past page on the procedure.

 

[seanysp]

How long in advance must we check in before departure? I see some websites say 2 hr in advance. Anyone knows?

boarding closes 5mins before departure
usually i enter the train station 15mins before departure
if u wanna be safe, 30mins also more than enough

to summarise for everyone

1. book through 12306(require verification of passport, may be tedious if last min) or book through trip.com or 携程 app (minor admin fees involved)
2. no need to collect ticket unless u need to reimburse from local company
3. show passport at manual counter to enter station (for large cities with multiple layers of check like beijing)
4. show passport at manual counter of boarding hall to board train
5. after disembarking, show passport at manual counter to exit train station
6. trains depart ON TIME, if you are running late just reschedule through whatever channel you bought from(can reschedule once, afterwhich ticket is wasted and u need to buy a new one)
7. G and C trains no smoking
8. green-skinned trains aka slow trains (K or T or Z) can smoke in the connector passageways

very hasslefree actually and nothing to worry about

ps. i take the hsr every week

 

[turtle2018]

Recently I travelled to Beijing & Tianjin (leisure trip) & had bought the train tickets via the official “Railway 12306” App. While my memory is still fresh, I’ll like to share my experience here, hopefully will be useful for those who are planning to so in the near future.

Downloading “Railway 12306” App & Registering an account.

I downloaded from Google Play Store before the trip. During registration, choose the English version, which is developed for foreigners. You need to provide an “E-mail address” for verification. Initially I used G-mail a/c, but did not receive the e-mail message from the App for verification (subsequently I realized that the message was actually received, but was grouped into junk folder which I overlooked). In the end, I used my hotmail a/c to register & successfully verified my 12306 account via e-mail.

Inside the App, select “Me” & then select “Your Photo (you can leave it blank)”, you can see the “User Information”. The “ID number” can only be verified when you are physically present at any China train station.

The “Mobile number” only accept phone numbers from China mainland, Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan. Do not worry - you can still use the App to buy tickets even if the “Mobile number” is not verified. The purpose of this phone number is for the App to receive the detailed info (e.g. Train No, Date, Time, Seat No) of the ticket you bought. Even if the “Mobile number” is not verified, the App will still send the info to the “E-mail address”.

Buying Train Ticket at Train Station

I bought the train ticket from “Beijing South” to “Tianjin” at the “Beijing” station. Yes, you can buy the ticket from any train station, not necessary to be at the departing train station. I went about 7pm+, & the queue was not long. I suspect many Chinese are already buying their tickets via App, thus reducing the physical crowd at the stations. After I bought the ticket, I was thinking of asking the counter staff to verify my passport details in the App, but faced some network issues launching the App. In order not to hold back those queuing behind, the counter staff asked me to approach the counter “值班主任”.

Verification of “ID number” in the App

The process of verification at the “值班主任” counter was quite straightforward, taking about 5 to 10 minutes.

Buying Train Ticket using “Railway 12306” App

I bought the train ticket from “Tianjin” to “Beijing South” via the App. The initial attempt was done on the night (around 10pm+) before the intended travel date, & was unsuccessful. On the next morning, on my way to Tianjin train station (thinking of queuing to buy), I tried again, & this time was successful. There was a long list of payment options. I forgot to take a screenshot - but I vaguely recall besides Wechat pay & Alipay, can also pay by Visa or Mastercard or Union-Pay cards. I paid via Alipay App (linked to Youtrip Mastercard), & process was smooth.

Shall I Buy Train Tickets using “Railway 12306” App OR Trip.com?

I asked my ex-colleagues in Beijing which was a better option, & they said “12306”. Reasons being: Using the “Railway 12306 App” to buy, you can change date/ time (改签) for one-time without fees via the App. But note that after 改签 for one-time, you cannot 改签 anymore, can only choose to refund (fees apply). You should also search Baidu for the potential hidden fees if you buy from Trip.com. I do not have experience in doing so, thus will not comment.

Buying Train Tickets using “Railway 12306” App - no need to collect Physical Tickets (unless you want to seek reimbursement from Company)

There are 3 locations when checking is done: (1) Before entering the station (2) After entering the station but before entering the platform to board the train & (3) before leaving the destination train station. At each of above location, just look out for the station staff at the extreme left or extreme right of the gantries, who will manually check & key-in (or scan) your passport details, before letting you in/ out. No physical train ticket is needed.

To allow sufficient time for location (1), I usually try to arrive at the station about 30 to 45 minutes before the intended departure time, & is usually sufficient (this is because the security check of baggage at location (1) is way less stringent than at the airport). Location (2) only open around 15 min before train departure time, so arrive too early also need to wait.

 

[seanysp]

oh ya for those who dont like downloading many different apps
theres a 12306 mini program in both alipay and wechat (i personally use the mini program in alipay, just type 12306 in the search bar)

 

[rrr2015]

what's 候补? standby?

 

[seanysp]

what's 候补? standby?

yup means ticket sold out, u in queue if people cancel

 

[beanstalk6]

Just to add, no smoking on all high-speed trains. That is the C, D and G types.
For the inner train buff, what the letters mean:
https://www.topchinatravel.com/customer-center/types-of-china-train.htm
Chinese speakers can easily link the letter to the type eg. C=chengji (inter-city), Z= zhida(direct), K=kuaiche

 

[Eddied]

Recently I travelled to Beijing & Tianjin (leisure trip) & had bought the train tickets via the official “Railway 12306” App. While my memory is still fresh, I’ll like to share my experience here, hopefully will be useful for those who are planning to so in the near future.

just wanted to add on that once you create the account in the english version, change it to the chinese version to get more features out of the app, e.g. you can choose your seats in chinese but not in english

noticed you shared a lot of information across different threads which is quite accurate based on my experience, you should open a new thread to consolidate all these good info!

 

[Moguls]

Goodies from China High Speed train
With expiry dates too

 

[Gavin168]

In 19 Nov 2023 ST Sunday Times: Interview with James Liang, the co-founder and chairman of Trip.com Group.

"In 2017, CTrip bought Trip.com which was then a small American travel booking site."

"He (James) is a Singapore permanent resident and has a home here."

 

[seanysp]

Goodies from China High Speed train
With expiry dates too

business class jin shioks

 

[xqchnn]

Hi All,

I need to book train ticket from Trip/Ctrip because 12306's ID verification still failed (dun know why).
I need some advice on how to input the Surname and Given name for train bookings.
The Full name shows on my passport is Celleste Tan Xie Hui.
"Tan“ is my actual surname. So which format should i key-in.
1. Surname: Celleste, Given Name: Tan Xie Hui
2. Surname: Celleste Tan, Given Name: Xie Hui
3. Surname: Tan, Given Name: Xie Hui Celleste
4. Surname: Tan, Given Name: Celleste Xie Hui

Thank you.

 

[Moguls]

Hi All,

I need to book train ticket from Trip/Ctrip because 12306's ID verification still failed (dun know why).
I need some advice on how to input the Surname and Given name for train bookings.
The Full name shows on my passport is Celleste Tan Xie Hui.
"Tan“ is my actual surname. So which format should i key-in.
1. Surname: Celleste, Given Name: Tan Xie Hui
2. Surname: Celleste Tan, Given Name: Xie Hui
3. Surname: Tan, Given Name: Xie Hui Celleste
4. Surname: Tan, Given Name: Celleste Xie Hui

Thank you.

i can buy the tickets for you.

https://www.12306.cn/mormhweb/kyfw/question/201505/t20150511_16469.html#:~:text=登录后，请将您,相应提示操作购票。

我可以在12306.cn网站帮朋友买票吗？​

12306.cn网站提示身份信息核验状态为“已通过”“请报验”、“预通过”的注册用户均可以为自己或他人购票。登录后，请将您的朋友添加为常用联系人（乘车人），准确输入其姓名、有效身份证件类型和号码，12306.cn网站提示其身份信息核验状态为“已通过”“请报验”、“预通过”的，即可按12306.cn网站的相应提示操作购票。

 

[Moguls]

if your 12306 indicate "status is pre-approved"
mean not verify yet. call customer service to check
note your particular must be verified then can booked

 

[dilphinus]

Hi All,

I need to book train ticket from Trip/Ctrip because 12306's ID verification still failed (dun know why).
I need some advice on how to input the Surname and Given name for train bookings.
The Full name shows on my passport is Celleste Tan Xie Hui.
"Tan“ is my actual surname. So which format should i key-in.
1. Surname: Celleste, Given Name: Tan Xie Hui
2. Surname: Celleste Tan, Given Name: Xie Hui
3. Surname: Tan, Given Name: Xie Hui Celleste
4. Surname: Tan, Given Name: Celleste Xie Hui

Thank you.

Imputing Surname aka Family name is UNIVERSAL.

TAN is your surname aka family name.

Celleste is NOT your surname aka family name.

Don't need to try to be funny or whatsoever. If not they won't have a surname aka family name column right?

 

[Moguls]

Online registration and on the spot approval

 

[boringLife-]

12306 customer service quite rude 1. Trip.com live chat very polite and efficient

 

[Moguls]

12306 customer service quite rude 1. Trip.com live chat very polite and efficient

do you know the tickets from trip.com is more expensive than 12306 and also lesser choice and besides for 1st timer 12306 got 20 yuan discount

 

[xqchnn]

Imputing Surname aka Family name is UNIVERSAL.

TAN is your surname aka family name.

Celleste is NOT your surname aka family name.

Don't need to try to be funny or whatsoever. If not they won't have a surname aka family name column right?

If I book with surname "Tan", GivenNames "Celleste Xie Hui", the e-ticket will show as Tan Celleste Xie Hui. It is different from the passport display name "Celleste Tan Xie Hui". I am worry the china train official will reject my ticket.