China Train Ticket Booking Policy

Thank you for booking China train tickets through visitourchina.com. Please read the following booking terms and conditions carefully. Placing a booking implies that purchasers and passengers have read and accepted these terms.

Reservation

◆Correct Information: Please make sure the passengers’ information you fill in the booking form is exactly the same as what appear on the passports (some passport number also includes letters), no abbreviation, omission, inversed or misspelling. Any difference will result in your not being able to collect tickets and board train at station, and you have to buy a new ticket (probably without refund). You will be responsible for any damages or losses incurred in such a situation.

◆Passport: The passport used for booking train ticket should be the same one for collecting the ticket and boarding the train. If you make the booking with an old passport and have the passport renewed later, you will be rejected while collecting ticket with the renewed passport.

◆Disclaimer: VisitOurChina shoulders no responsibility for any rejection for ticket issuing, collection or boarding that caused by passenger’s incorrect information provided by your side.

▶Most of train tickets will be released 30 days before the train departure date(the selling period for train tickets sometimes updates), and the selling date is under total control of China Railway Corporation. VisitOurChina can only purchase tickets after they are released.

▶It is advisable to avoid train travel during peak times, including Chinese New Year (2 weeks in January/February), New Year’s Day, Labor Day, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day (October 1st-7th), during which the tickets are often sold out.

▶Please provide train alternatives, as there is a possibility that your chosen train can go unavailable. Situations that can cause unavailability include: tickets are sold out before you finish payment; limited number of same-class railway routes in operation on the very date you choose; China Rail’s adjustment on routes and tickets. Tickets can be sold out fast while we wait for your reply.

▶ We always try to issue the best available seats/ berths for our customers, that is adjoining seats or sleeper berths in the same compartment. But for some popular rail lines, or urgent bookings, there might be limited tickets left and dotted in different areas, and then we will have to issue these tickets to guarantee you a smooth trip.

▶The train info listed on our website is for your reference only. Please refer to the ticket info issued by the railway authorities as the final confirmation. VisitOurChina is not responsible for train schedule changes by China Rail.

▶Availability of train tickets is under the total control of China Railway Corporation. VisitOurChina has no influence over release of train tickets. We will do our best to buy train tickets, but can't 100% guarantee the availability.

Price

▶Total price = ticket par value + service fee +delivery charge (if you require delivery).

▶If you collect the ticket by yourself at train station, no extra cost when you get it from the departure station. An extra cost of CNY5 per ticket will be charged at the ticket counter at other stations. For example, if you have booked tickets of Beijing – Shanghai, and Shanghai – Guilin, you can collect two tickets together at a train station in Beijing, but for the latter journey, you’ll need to pay CNY5 service fee to the railway station, as it not departing from Beijing.

▶Our quotation is based on the updated exchange rate between US Dollar and CN Yuan.

▶Our sleeper train ticket price is quoted based on the lower berth, but tickets are issued stochastically in China. There is a very slight price difference among upper, middle and lower berths, so this will not be adjusted in your bill in the event of your being allotted other than lower berth.

▶About Child Ticket:

According to the ministry of China Railways’ policy, child between the height of 120cm and 150cm accompanied by adult can buy ticket with child fare.

Each adult is allowed to bring along one child shorter than 120cm for free, however, no seat/berth is provided. If the child would like to have a seat/berth, a child fare ticket is required.

Child fare is 50% (for seats on all trains); or about 75% (for sleepers on ordinary trains, such as K, T, Z train) of the adult full price. But please note child fare does not apply to sleepers on high-speed (D & G) trains. We will charge adult full price and refund price difference after the ticket being issued.

The above statements about child ticket are not applicable to international trains and trains to and out of Hong Kong.

Payment

▶Full payment for all tickets is required before issuing the train tickets.
Please inform us and provide transaction record if the payer is not a passenger.

▶Paying instantly online is available via Paypal. You can also pay via Western Union or Wire Transfer after receiving our travel advisor's instruction by email. The bank transfer fee is at your expense. If you pay by Paypal, the transaction fee of 3.5% charged by PayPal will be added onto the total price.

▶Full payment is 100% refundable if we are unable to offer you the required tickets.

Changes

▶All changes must be sent to VisitOurChina by email (contact@visitourchina.com or email address of your travel advisor) at least 24-48 hours prior to the departure time.

▶FREE change before payment.

▶FREE change before ticket is issued.

▶China Railway Cooperation allows one-time change. Second time change is regarded as Cancellation.

▶Once the ticket is issued, the change fee will fluctuate based on the time of the changing request made and the way of ticket collection: 

1) If you are collecting the ticket at train station by yourself: no further service fee will be charged by our side. China Rail will charge you 5 to 20% of the ticket par value as change fee.

• Change ticket 48 hours (not including 48 hours) before the departure time: 5% of the ticket par value will be charged as change fee. 
• Change ticket 24 to 48 hours (not including 24 hours) before the departure time: 10% of the ticket par value will be charged as change fee.
• Change ticket within 24 hours (including 24 hours) before the departure time: 20% of the ticket par value will be charged as change fee.
• Change ticket after the departure time: it is also workable yet it can only be done at the departure station as stated on the paper ticket and provided that there are trains and seats available for the rest of that day.

2) If you are expecting ticket delivery but it hasn’t been sent out yet: USD10 per ticket will be charged by VisitOurChina as further service fee. And China Rail will charge you 5 to 20% of the ticket par value as change fee.

3) If your expected ticket delivery that is already on the way: change shall be made at train station in person. And you can pay in cash in case of surplus price difference.

Cancellation and Refunds

▶All cancellations must be sent to VisitOurChina by email (contact@visitourchina.com or email address of your travel advisor) at least 24-48 hours prior to the departure time.

▶FREE cancellation before payment.

▶FREE cancellation before ticket is issued.

▶Cancellation after the ticket is issued but before delivery or collection: The cancellation fee is 20% of the ticket price, and the service charge is non-refundable.

▶Cancellation after the ticket is collected or delivered, cancellation can only be made at train stations. Passengers need to take the paper tickets and all passports to ticket window and do the cancellation in person, and the service charge is non-refundable.

▶For the self-collected ticket, China Rail will only offer you the receipt and the money will be returned to our account. Please provide us the receipt via email and then we will refund the same amount in accordance with the receipt to you.

▶For the delivered ticket, you will get refund in cash directly at the station.

▶Cancellation request after the train departure won't be accepted by China Railway Corporation, therefore there will be no refund.

Some Important Information

▶From May 29th 2015, change or cancellation of tickets for trains to/ from Tibet can only be processed in person at train station. Passengers should present their original passports and paper tickets at any train station in Mainland China. After the tickets are issued, VisitOurChina cannot make any change or cancellation on behalf of passengers.

▶To avoid inconvenience for your tour, please take every step of train tickets booking seriously.

Ticket Collection and Delivery

▶If you choose to collect the ticket by yourself at train station, then you can collect it at any train station in mainland China, we will send you a confirmation email with detailed instructions. If you have booked multi-trip tickets, you are suggested to collect all of them at the first departure city.

▶If you choose the delivery service, train ticket will be delivered by express delivery to your appointed address which can be reached by express in China. If it’s a personal address, the detailed address in Chinese is required. Please make sure the addressee can communicant in Chinese and can be easily contacted by phone in daytime.

▶Please be noted some hotels might refuse to receive and keep express parcel for guests, especially for the guests with no reservation, or who are not check in.

▶VisitOurChina is not responsible for failed delivery caused by incorrect delivery address; no/ inaccurate receiver's name; incorrect check-in date; unconfirmed reservation provided by purchasers/passengers, or rejection from the receiver. Any relevant loss is on the customer's side.

▶If passenger wants to change the original collecting/ delivery method, a confirmation email is required at least 7 days before train departure date. To make a supplementary payment for the delivery fee or to enjoy a refund for the delivery charge if delivery is no longer required.

Check-in and Check-out

▶You must bring the paper ticket to board the train.

▶It is advisable that passengers arrive at the train station at least 60 minutes before the train departure, and check in with valid ID and the paper ticket. If you need to collect your paper ticket, you’d better go to the train station at least 90 minutes before departure, and even earlier during the public holidays and weekends, we suggest you collect your paper ticket one day before if possible.

▶Ticket widows of railway stations in big cities open 7/24.

▶Please keep the train ticket safe with you. You are required to show the ticket while exiting the train station. VisitOurChina shoulders no responsibility for any rejection of carrying on the trip due to losing travel documents or tickets.

▶Read more on How to Board and Get-off a China Train.

Luggage

▶Luggage space on train is limited, and your luggage must be stored in the sitting/sleeping compartment along with other passengers’. You’d better travel with limited luggage, which should not be left unattended.

▶Most train stations in China have a considerable number of stairs to climb to reach the platforms. Baggage has to be carried up and down these stairs. Many stairs have a steep ramp so that wheeled bags can be dragged up when you walk up the stairs. Please take care as these ramps are usually narrow and inconvenient to use.

▶Some stations have porters who can carry luggage for passengers with a charge of RMB 5-10 Yuan per piece. Follow the porter closely and keep your eyes on your luggage if you use this service.

Free Carry-on Luggage

• ●Ordinary passenger: 20 kg per person
• ●Child with a half-price ticket (120cm-150cm) or no ticket (under 120cm) : 10 kg per person
• ●Total length of each item cannot exceed 160cm, unless rod-shaped.
• ●Note: The above limitation is not applicable to wheelchairs, which can be brought onto train for free.

Booking Policy for International Train Tickets

Requirements for ticket booking to other countries differ from that in China, and the following policy is just presented to satisfy general booking procedures anyway possible.

Firstly please note that VisitOurChina doesn’t guarantee 100% for ticket obtaining. Your payment is refundable if we cannot obtain the required ticket.

Booking Time

Pre-sale period differs by specific international trains. To ensure for valid booking and ticket issuing, VisitOurChina sets up the following time frame for different routes:

• ●(1) To/from Beijing, Shanghai and Nanning: 
  2 months ahead until 10 days prior to the departure date. 
  (E.g. for booking a train to Ulaanbaatar from Beijing on July 20th, tickets can be booked from May 20th but we won’t process bookings that are made during July 10th to 20th.)
• ●(2) To/from Guangzhou: 
  2 months ahead until 10 days prior to the departure date.  \

Documents needed to book International Train Tickets

A scanned copy of valid passport for each traveler is required. Please feel assured the scans will be used for purchasing tickets only.

Note: Traveler must obtain visa for the destination country (if needed) before booking the train ticket. If the train has stopovers in more than one country, traveler shall apply for transit visas of the stopover destinations. VisitOurChina shoulders no responsibility for boarding rejection caused by invalid visa.

Special requirement for Nanning to Vietnam/Vietnam to Nanning Train

Both scanned copies of your passport and Vietnam visa are required. VisitOurChina shoulders no responsibility for not obtaining the ticket due to invalid passport or Vietnam visa provided by your side.

After Buying Train Tickets

After the ticket is successfully issued, we will deliver the paper ticket to your appointed address. Please note:

• ●1) Passenger will be rejected to board the train if passport number doesn’t match with the ticket.
• ●2) Any hand-written juggling on the paper ticket will cause ticket invalidation. Transferring to another passenger is not allowed. Passenger will be rejected to board in these cases.

Cancellation and Changes

Due to the special requirements of China Rail, VisitOurChina doesn’t accept any request regarding changes or cancellation to international train tickets (including those to and out of Hong Kong) after the tickets are issued, please take every step of train ticket booking seriously.

Boarding International Trains

▶Both passport and paper ticket are required to board the train.
(Note: when passing the custom, you will be required to have a passport and visa check. VisitOurChina shoulders no responsibility for any rejection of carrying on the trip due to invalid passport or visa, or losing travel documents or tickets.)

▶It is advisable that passengers arrive at the train station at least 2 hours before the train departure. International train ticket has English instruction that can be used to find your platform, designated seat /sleeper.

▶Taking a train that passes more than one country, passengers shall not get out of the train station during any stop en route.

Free Carry-on Luggage

• ●Adult passenger: 35kg per person
• ●Child under 12 years old (not including 12): 15kg per person
• ●Luggage cannot exceed 200cm with length, width and height combined.
• ●Note: A stroller doesn’t fall as excess weight as long as it belongs to the child passenger.

Missing the Train

Passenger who has missed the train is entitled to present verification for refund at the train station in 3 hours after the train has departed.