Intercity Transport Apps in China

Railway 12306 is China Railway's only official online rail-ticket platform and charges no third-party booking markup. Its English website and app accept passports and supported foreign bank cards. Register and submit passport verification before sales open because review can take time, and enter every name exactly as printed in the passport. The passport is the travel credential for an electronic ticket, but foreign-passport holders may be directed to a staffed or manual gate. Trip.com offers a more familiar multilingual booking flow for trains, domestic flights and some buses, and it accepts international cards. It may add service fees, and a request placed before rail tickets are released is not a confirmed ticket until issuance. Current traveler reports in 2026 consistently favor 12306 for direct pricing and Trip.com for easier support. Popular trains can sell out quickly around national holidays, weekends and peak routes, so use the current release calendar rather than an old generic booking window. Never buy from a page that merely imitates 12306. At stations, arrive with the physical passport used to book and check the exact station because cities can have several major terminals far apart. Hong Kong cross-boundary rail tickets use immigration procedures in addition to ordinary boarding.