China train tickets with a foreign passport: Yunnan guide

Booking and boarding your train

Choose your booking channel

The official 12306 English site supports foreign passports. Registration requires an email address, so you do not need a mainland Chinese mobile number to create an account. The official app is 铁路12306 (published by 中国铁道科学研究院集团有限公司), which offers both English and Chinese interfaces.

If you prefer a commercial booking service with English customer support, Trip.com China trains is an option. Compare the total shown before paying. A preorder or payment request becomes a confirmed journey when the ticket is issued.

Travellers using other supported regional documents should use the Chinese 12306 site or buy directly at a station ticket window. The English registration portal handles foreign passports only. For example, a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents (台湾居民来往大陆通行证) and a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents (港澳居民来往内地通行证) use dedicated document fields. If you hold a residence permit for Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan, choose the matching option in the Chinese system.

Enter the traveller's full name and current document

Activating your account by email is only the first step; passenger identity verification must be completed separately. Add each traveller to your account with their exact name and document number. In the Chinese interface, a status of 已通过 indicates that identity verification is complete. Complete verification for the purchaser and each selected passenger before buying.

For a passport, enter the full Latin name in the order on the document. Keep all surnames and given names, including spaces within them, with one space between surname and given names. Include a second surname or middle name when it appears in the passport. Add each passenger with their own details.

If 12306 prompts for manual verification, upload a photo of your passport information page via the app or take your original passport to a station counter. Finish this step ahead of your booking date. After a passport renewal, check that the passenger selected for this journey has the number of the passport you will carry.

Pick the exact station and buy when sales open

Search using the exact station name rather than just the general city:

Destination	Station name in booking searches
Kunming city centre station	昆明
Kunming South (high-speed hub)	昆明南
Dali	大理
Lijiang	丽江
Xishuangbanna (Jinghong)	西双版纳
Shangri-La	香格里拉

The sales window covers 15 days including today, so the furthest date is 14 calendar days ahead. As checked on 13 October 2026, tickets are released at these times at the departure station (UTC+8):

14:30: 昆明 and 昆明南
15:00: 香格里拉
16:15: 大理, 丽江, and 西双版纳

These release times determine when bookings open for that departure station, which is distinct from your scheduled train departure time.

To complete your booking:

Search for your departure and arrival stations and travel date.
Pick your train and seat category. Second class (二等座) is a practical choice for daytime trips. Choose a seat ticket if you want an assigned seat; 无座 has no assigned seat.
Attach the verified passenger profiles for everyone travelling.
Check your names, document numbers, dates and stations, then submit payment before the countdown timer expires.
Open the issued ticket and save the date, train number, departure time, both stations, carriage (车厢) and seat number (座位).

Book children under their own identities

Passenger age is calculated based on the travel date. One paying adult can bring one child under six years old for free without an assigned seat; you must declare the child during booking and present their original ID. A young child needing their own seat, or any additional child under six, requires a child ticket. Children aged 6 to 13 (under 14) travel on child tickets, while travellers aged 14 and older require adult tickets.

Register the child using their own passport or identity document. Fares depend on the train type and seat class rather than a flat percentage across all services.

Arrive, pass security and find the train

For your first station visit, plan to arrive about 60 minutes before departure. This is a planning recommendation. Use the gate-closing time announced at the station.

Make sure you are at the correct station named on your ticket. Foreign passport holders should head to the staffed lane (人工通道) at the entrance instead of automated ID turnstiles. Present your passport for identity verification, place your luggage through the X-ray scanner, and check the main departure boards for your train number (e.g., G-series, D-series or C-series). Multiple trains depart for the same destination, so always match the alphanumeric train code.

The display board shows your waiting hall and boarding gate (检票口). When boarding starts, show your passport at the staffed gate next to the automated barriers. On the platform, board your assigned carriage (车厢) and find your seat (座位). Keep your passport within reach for ticket checks onboard and at the destination exit gates.

For a domestic electronic ticket, the original booking document is your travel credential. You do not need to collect a paper ticket before boarding. A screenshot helps you read the train, carriage and seat details.

Continue from the arrival station

For a same-station connection, follow the signed internal transfer route 便捷换乘 where available. Keep the next ticket and its original booking document ready, then find the next gate and its closing time.

昆明 (Kunming Station) and 昆明南 (Kunming South) are separate stations. A connection between them needs time for the city transfer, another station entrance, security and boarding. Compare the exact stations on both tickets before choosing the connection.

Kunming Station north facade and golden bull sculpture, photographed in 2012 — Photo by Ken Marshall

Change a booking or cancel it

If you booked through an agency or platform like Trip.com, process your changes or cancellations within that platform. If you purchased directly via 12306, manage the ticket in the app. Each ticket can be altered once, subject to seat availability on the new service. Any price difference is calculated separately from change fees.

Cancellation and refund fees for tickets cancelled before departure follow this schedule:

Time remaining before departure	Refund fee
8 days or more	0%
At least 48 hours, under 8 days	5%
At least 24 hours, under 48 hours	10%
Less than 24 hours	20%

Refunds are credited to the original payment method. Standard refunds cannot be processed once the train has departed.

Changing at least 48 hours ahead has no change fee. Under 48 hours, moving to the same date or an earlier date also has no change fee. Moving to a later date costs 5% when 24 to under 48 hours remain, or 15% under 24 hours. After departure, request a change before midnight that day: a train on the same day has no change fee, while a later date costs 40%. These percentages use the lower of the old and new fares; a lower new fare can also produce a refund fee on the difference.

For an eligible new ticket paid electronically through 12306, a mistaken purchase can be refunded free within 30 minutes of payment if departure is still at least four hours away. This allowance covers one order per buying account per calendar day. Changed, waitlist and reserved tickets are excluded.

Pack for the rail journey

The standard free baggage allowance is 20 kg per adult and 10 kg per child. On high-speed (EMU) trains, the sum of an item's length, width and height must not exceed 130 cm. Portable power banks must have clearly legible capacity markings and must not exceed 100 Wh. Keep your passport and onward journey details easily accessible throughout the trip.

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