How to buy Chinese train tickets...

How to buy tickets at the station...

• It's easy to buy tickets yourself at the station.  In big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai you should look for the special English-speaking ticket window for foreigners.
• Take your passport!  Remember to take your passport (and that of all other passengers) with you.  New rules introduced in June 2011 make it essential to show a passport to get a ticket for all high-speed C, D and G category trains.  You'll also need your passport to board the train.  A Chinese citizen's ID card, foreigner's temporary residence permit, exit-entry permit or diplomatic certificate can be used to buy tickets instead of a passport.
• When do reservations open?  Reservations for the best C, D, G or Z-category express trains open 10 days before departure, but reservations for other trains (such as K or T category) only open 5 days before departure.  You cannot buy tickets before reservations open.  If the train you want starts its journey somewhere else and calls at your boarding station already well into its journey, tickets may only be available 2 days before departure.  The exact rules vary by city and by train.
• Which routes can be booked at which stations?  Chinese Railways now have a central computer reservation system, so you can normally buy tickets for any route, not just ones starting at the station you're at.  Though it's usually easier to get tickets for a train starting at the station you're at, rather than one starting somewhere else and calling at your station en route.
• Tickets are best booked at least 2-3 days in advance, apart from peak periods (the Spring Festival, May Day 1st May, National Day 1st October) when they should be booked as soon as reservations open.
• There are self-service ticket machines at main stations but these cannot be used by foreigners to book high-speed C, D & G category trains as they only accept Chinese ID cards, they cannot recognise foreign passports now necessary to buy tickets for these trains.  They can, however, be used to book tickets for slower T & K category trains, and they have an English language facility.
• In Beijing, you can buy tickets at Beijing Main station (metro Bejingzhan), or Beijing West station (called Beijing Xi or Xizhan, metro Junshibowuguan sometimes called 'Military Museum').
• At Beijing Main station, the ticketing office for foreigners is on the north west corner of the ground floor, accessed via the soft seat waiting room.  It is open 05:30-07:30, 08:00-18:30, 19:00-23:00.  Only domestic Chinese tickets are sold, not international tickets.  One or two of the many ticket windows are designated for foreigners.  Allow plenty of time to buy your ticket, as you may have to queue.
• At Beijing West station, one ticket window in the main hall is marked 'English speaking', open 24 hours.  Service here is reported as 'fluent & efficient'.  Alternatively, you can buy train tickets at BTG Travel & Tours, on Fwai Dajie between the New Otani and Gloria Plaza Hotels, open 08:00-20:00.  To buy Trans-Siberian tickets from Beijing to Ulan Bator or Moscow, see the Trans-Siberian page.  To buy tickets from Beijing to Hanoi, see the Vietnam page.
• In Shanghai central station, the English speaking ticket window at the main station was window 43 though this has now been reported as changed to window 10 on the ground floor of the main ticket office to the southeast of the main station.  At Shanghai's new Hongqiao station, from where most fast trains to Beijing now leave, head upstairs to the departures area on the 2nd floor.  You'll need to go through X-ray and metal detectors security checks to reach the ticket office.  The English-speaking window will be indicated by a sign.

How to buy tickets from outside China...

There are several ways to arrange Chinese train tickets from outside China.  Just remember that reservations for the best D- & Z-category express trains open 20 days in advance, but for most other trains bookings only open 5-10 days before departure.  Even an agency cannot positively confirm your booking before reservations open and they buy your ticket!

1. Ask your hotel...

Book a hotel, and ask them to arrange train tickets for you.  This may well be the cheapest & easiest option, although new rules from 1 June 2011 requiring passports to be shown when buying tickets for C, D & G category trains means it's not now possible for all journeys.  Many hotels will buy train tickets for you for a small fee, perhaps RMB 50.  The new rules currently don't apply to other trains such as Z, T or K category, so your hotel may well be able to buy tickets for these trains for you.

2.  Buy from train ticket agencies www.chinatripadvisor.com, www.chinatraintickets.net or www.china-train-ticket.com

If you want to book a Chinese train in advance from outside China, you can do this with several reputable agencies, including www.chinatripadvisor.com, www.chinatraintickets.net orwww.china-train-ticket.com.  Tickets cannot be posted abroad, but it's more usual for them to be delivered to your hotel in China to be picked up when you get there.  Buying through one of these agencies will cost more than buying a ticket yourself at the ticket office, but if you really need to be on a particular train on a particular date, it can be worth paying their fee, especially at peak times, such as around the time of the Spring Festival, 1st May, or 1st October.  The agencies know the tricks of the trade, and know exactly when bookings open for the train you want, so they can get your booking in ahead of the crowd.  Sample prices charged by agencies are shown in the timetable sections below, so you can compare with the cost of buying yourself at the station.  All these agencies are reputable, and www.chinatripadvisor.com has been recommended by a number of seat61 correspondents as being helpful and efficient.  You will need to supply the names, passport details and usually copies of passports of all passengers.  If you have any feedback from using either of these agencies, please e-mail me.

How to read a Chinese train ticket...

Buying tickets for departures from Hong Kong...

You can book departures from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai by email at the official (cheap!) ticket office price through KCRC (Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation) Customer Services.  Visit their website at www.mtr.com.hk (click 'customer site' then 'intercity passenger services' then 'more information'.  Note that the online booking system on their intercity trains home page is only for the HK to Guangzhou intercity trains, for the Beijing & Shanghai through trains you'll need to email their customer services department.  When looking up times and fares on their website, remember that Hong Kong is shown as 'Hung Hom').  You will be given a reference number and can then pick up and pay for tickets at Hong Kong's 'Hung Hom' station in Kowloon.  Note that Hong Kong ticket office does not accept credit cards, only cash.  However, there is an ATM just round the corner from the station.