What Train Tickets China does
An English-language booking service for Chinese railway tickets, built for visitors who cannot use the Chinese-only 12306 system or whose foreign cards are declined there. It also publishes a station guide mapping each train to the exact station it departs from, because Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an each run several stations under one city name.
China's railway network is the fastest way to move between its cities, but booking a ticket from outside the country is harder than it looks. The official platform, 12306, was Chinese-only until 2020 and still rejects most foreign payment cards. Its English interface exists, but it assumes you already understand how Chinese stations are named.
Train Tickets China is a booking service for international travellers. You send the trip you want - origin, destination, date, train number if you have one, and passenger details exactly as they appear in your passport - and receive confirmation with either an e-ticket or a pickup reference. Payment is accepted in the currencies foreign cards actually work with, so the transaction does not fail at the final step.
The part that matters most is station matching. Tickets in China are matched to a specific station, not to a city. Beijing operates six passenger stations, Shanghai four, Guangzhou four and Xi'an three. A train to Shanghai may leave from Hongqiao, which is 18 km from the centre, while another leaves from Shanghai Station in the middle of town. Search engines and booking sites that accept a city name will silently pick one, and travellers regularly discover the mistake on the day of departure. This service resolves the station before the booking is made, and the site publishes a free English reference of Chinese railway stations recording which station in each city is served by which trains.
That reference is also released as an open dataset under CC BY 4.0, covering 3,404 stations across 432 cities, for anyone building tools or guides on top of Chinese rail data.
Best for
International travellers visiting China, including first-time visitors who cannot read Chinese, do not hold a Chinese bank card, and do not know that large Chinese cities operate several separate railway stations.
Not for
Travellers who are already inside China and can use the 12306 app or a station ticket window directly, and travel agencies looking for a wholesale supplier.
Questions, answered by the maker
What does it do?
It books tickets on China's railway network for people outside China. You send the trip you want and the passenger details from your passport, and you get back an e-ticket or a pickup reference. The site also publishes an English reference of Chinese railway stations recording which station in each city each train departs from.
Who is it for?
International visitors to China who cannot read Chinese, do not hold a Chinese bank card, and do not know that major Chinese cities operate several separate railway stations under one city name.
How much does it cost, and is there a free plan?
The booking service adds a service fee to the official Chinese Railways fare, and the total is quoted before you pay. The station reference on the site is free to read, and the underlying station dataset is published under CC BY 4.0.
How is it different from similar products?
The difference is station matching. Tickets in China are issued for a specific station, not a city, and Beijing has six passenger stations, Shanghai four, Guangzhou four and Xi'an three. Most booking flows accept a city name and pick a station for you. This one resolves which station your train actually leaves from before the booking is placed, which is the single most common way first-time visitors miss a train.
How do I get started?
Open trainticketschina.com, check the station guide for the cities on your route so you know which station your train uses, then send your journey details and passport names for a quote. Tickets are issued against passport numbers, so the name must match the passport exactly.