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China Train Ticket Booking Policy

China Train Ticket Booking Policy

Written by FabioUpdated Jan. 23, 2024

Please read the following booking policies carefully. Placing a booking implies that you have read our policies and accepted them.

Reservations

  • Please make sure the passengers' information you fill in on your booking form is exactly the same as that on their passports, with the same order, no abbreviations of passengers' names, no changes, and no typos.
  • Any difference in names or passport numbers will result in the inability to board the train at the station. In this case, new tickets will have to be bought, because China Railway doesn't accept name or passport number changes after tickets are issued. China Highlights will not be responsible for any loss caused by incorrectly-completed information.
  • After you submit your booking and pay online, our travel advisor will respond to you within 12 working hours. No contract between China Highlights and the purchaser will come into effect until China Highlights issues a formal confirmation by email.
  • According to China Railway's policy, reservations open 15 days in advance if booking on its official website, and 15 days in advance if booking offline at a ticket office. Tickets on certain trains can be purchased only for several days (or even a shorter period of time) before departure.
  • China Railway's booking system closes from 23:30 to 05:00, Beijing time. This means train tickets can only be booked/changed/canceled from 05:00 to 23:30, Beijing time.

Prices

  • The ticket price includes net ticket price, service fee, transaction fee (which is charged by a third party), and delivery fee (if delivery is required).
  • The third-party transaction fee, which is around 3% of the total amount, is non-refundable under any circumstances.
  • Our quotation is based on the current exchange rate between US Dollars and Chinese Yuan when you place the order on our website.
  • For sleeper trains, there are slight price differences between upper, middle, and lower berths (there are only upper and lower berths in the soft sleeper and superior soft sleeper compartments). At the moment, our system cannot quote accurate prices for different berths. So for simplicity, our sleeper train ticket price is based on the lower berth price. As sleeper berths are randomly allocated, we don't know what kind of berth you will get until after your ticket is issued. If you don't get a lower berth, the price difference will not be refunded.
  • Please be aware that China Railway reserves the right to adjust ticket prices without prior notice. Should such adjustments occur, additional payment will be required to cover the price difference

Children's Tickets

  • A child's ticket price is half that of an adult ticket, except for sleeper tickets, which are 75% of the adult ticket price.
  • Children's fares for D-category overnight bullet trains are the same as adult ticket fares.
  • Children younger than 6 years of age can travel for free, but without their own seat or berth. A child ticket is needed if a seat or berth is required.
    One adult can bring only one child (younger than 6 years of age) for free. If there is only one adult and more than one child, the other children need to buy children's tickets.
  • Children between 6 and 14 years of age, are eligible for children's tickets.
  • Children more than 14 years old need to buy adult tickets at the full fare.

Payment

  • China Highlights requires payment to be made by one of the passengers. If the purchaser is not a passenger, we'll require other documentation to confirm the payment.
  • If we are unable to supply the required tickets, payments are 100% refundable.

China's Mainland Train Tickets Changes

  • Change requests must be sent to China Highlights by email at least 24 hours prior to the departure time. Please call us if it is urgent or if you don't receive our reply in 12 hours.
  • The departure station and passenger information cannot be changed after the tickets are issued. We can only cancel the previous tickets and buy new ones if you need to change the departure station or passenger information after your tickets are issued.
  • The requests for change will be subject to our confirmation.
  • Changes before payment, or before the tickets are issued, will be free.
  • Changes made after the tickets are issued: we can change the tickets online without an extra service fee. China Railway will charge fees as follows:
    Fee for Train Tickets Change
    More than 8 days before departure Free
    48 hours to 8 days before departure 5% of the ticket price
    24 to 48hours before departure 10% of the ticket price
    3 to 24 hours before departure 20% of the ticket price
    Less than 3 hours before departure We cannot change the tickets for you
  • Changing tickets after the departure time: This needs to be done at the departure station stated on the paper tickets and on condition that there are trains and seats available to the same destination later that day. Tickets can be changed to travel on any train that departs on the same day no later than 11:59 pm. They can only be changed once, and cannot be cancelled or refunded afterwards.

China's Mainland Train Tickets Cancellations

  • Cancellation requests after the departure time won't be accepted by China Railway.
  • The requests for cancellation will be subject to our confirmation.
  • Cancellation requests should be sent to us by email at least 24 hours prior to the departure time. Please call us if it is urgent or if you don't receive our reply in 12 hours.
  • Cancellation before payment, or before the tickets are issued, will be free.
  • Cancellations made after the tickets are issued: we can cancel tickets online. China Highlights will keep the service fee, and there is a cancellation fee charged by China Railway. Refund details:
    Refund for Train Tickets Cancellations
    More than 8 days before departure Refund: 100% of the ticket price
    48 hours to 8 days before departure Refund: 95% of the ticket price
    24 to 48 hours before departure Refund: 90% of the ticket price
    3 to 24 hours before departure Refund: 80% of the ticket price
    Less than 3 hours before departure We cannot cancel the tickets for you

Hong Kong High-Speed Train Ticket Booking Policy

Changes

  • Changes must be sent to China Highlights by email at least 24 hours before departure time. Please call us if it is urgent or you don't receive our reply in 12 hours.
  • The departure station and passenger information cannot be changed after tickets are issued.
  • The requests for change will be subject to our confirmation.
  • Changes made after tickets are issued: we can handle the changes for you without an extra service fee. However, China Railway will charge fees as follows:
    Fee for Hong Kong High-Speed Train Tickets Change
    More than 8 days before departure 5% of the ticket price
    48 hours to 7 days before departure 30% of the ticket price
    48 hours before departure 50% of the ticket price
    Less than 3 hours of departure Tickets cannot be changed

Cancellations

  • Cancellation requests after departure time won't be accepted by China Railway.
  • The requests for cancellation will be subject to our confirmation.
  • Cancellations before payment, or before tickets are issued, will be free.
  • Cancellations made after tickets are issued: China Highlights will handle the cancellations for you. We will keep the service fee. China Railway also charges a cancellation fee. Refund details:
    Refund for Hong Kong High-Speed Train Tickets Cancellations
    More than 8 days before departure Refund: 95% of the ticket price
    48 hours to 8 days before departure Refund: 70% of the ticket price
    3 to 48 hours before departure Refund: 50% of the ticket price
    Less than 3 hours of departure Tickets cannot be cancelled

International Train Booking Policy

Reservations

  • Unlike China's domestic train tickets, international train tickets can only be bought offline. We cannot check train ticket availability online, but have to check availability and purchase tickets at an appointed train station.
  • Your tickets will not be confirmed until a confirmation letter, indicating a successful ticket purchase, is sent to you. Your money will be fully refunded if we cannot obtain your tickets.

Changes and Cancellations

  • Before international tickets are issued, it will be free of charge to change or cancel.
  • After tickets are issued, according to China Railway's policies, a change or cancellation can only be made at the designated international ticket office by passengers themselves using their original passports.

When Your Train Is Canceled by China Railway

China Railway is a state-owned company responsible for constructing and managing all of China's railways, including railway stations, and overseeing train operations throughout the country. The railway company possesses the authority to cancel trains when necessary, although it is important to note that train cancellations are infrequent and always conducted with valid justifications.

The primary factors leading to train cancellations can be attributed to natural disasters and severe weather conditions. We understand the inconvenience caused by train cancellations, and our dedicated team strives to help you find suitable options, such as transferring to another train or providing alternative means of transportation, such as flights or buses.

In the event that no viable alternatives are available for your canceled train, we assure you that a full refund of the train ticket price will be promptly processed. We will only retain the service fee.

Disclaimer

  • Issuing of tickets is under the total control of China Railway. China Highlights will do its best to buy your train tickets, but can't make 100% guarantees of purchase.
  • Seat allocation is controlled by China Railway. You can select your preferred seats. China Highlights will do its best to book the seats you requested, but we can't guarantee it, especially when there are only a limited number of tickets available. For structural reasons, some of the window seats don't have window views. China Highlights will bear no responsibility for the final seat allocation.
  • China Highlights will bear no responsibility regarding failure to obtain tickets in the following uncontrollable situations:
    a. Due to railroad or station construction or operational deployment, or interim adjustment of train cars and seats, or when no prior notice is given regarding seat rearrangements or price differences.
    b.Due to dysfunction or instability caused by a system upgrade at China Railway, travelers cannot collect tickets at the ticket window after booking successfully online with China Highlights. (Suggestion: try at another window or contact us immediately.)
    c.Certain train routes are cancelled without any prior notice.

Privacy Statement

China Highlights pays great attention to protecting your personal information and privacy. In order to provide a better service, we collect personal information with your consent, including names, ID document numbers, telephone numbers, email addresses, addresses in China, and other travel information.

We will not disclose such personal information to any third party. You have the right to require us at any time to delete your personal information.

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