We've spent years working in China's inbound travel industry — putting together itineraries, arranging guides, sorting out hotels, and dealing with the small operational details that make or break a trip. Through that work, we kept noticing the same friction point: train tickets.
For our clients, booking a train ticket in China was rarely smooth. The 12306 system asks for information foreigners don't have. Third-party sites quote one price and charge another. Schedules look simple in English but station names get confused (Shanghai or Shanghai Hongqiao? Beijing or Beijing South?). People would arrive at the wrong station, miss their train, or pay double because nobody told them about the cheaper second-class option.
So we built China Train Travel.
The idea is straightforward: if you're already coming to China for a holiday, the train system shouldn't be the thing that makes you anxious. We handle the booking with your passport, send a clean confirmation in English, and tell you which station to actually walk into. No 12306 account, no Chinese phone number, no guessing.
What sets us apart from a pure ticket-booking site is what we do around the train. Because we come from a tour planning background, we can pair train tickets with the rest of your trip — local guides in Beijing, a half-day Forbidden City visit, a Mutianyu Great Wall trip, a tea-house dinner in Chengdu, airport transfers between cities. Tickets are just one piece. The whole journey is what matters.
What We Help With
China Train Tickets
Real-time schedules, all major routes, booked with your passport. Email confirmation, no Chinese phone number required.
Custom China Itineraries
Multi-city trips with trains as the backbone — Beijing → Xi'an → Shanghai, or whatever works for your schedule and interests.
City Tours & Guides
Local English-speaking guides for Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guilin, and other major destinations.
Hotel Bookings
Vetted hotels in convenient locations — close to subways, near major attractions, or right by the train station for early departures.
Train Station Transfers
Pre-arranged pickup at any major station or airport. Driver waits with a name sign, helps with luggage, knows where to go.
Private Cars & Day Trips
Half-day or full-day chartered cars for places the train doesn't reach — Mutianyu Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, Zhangjiajie. English guide on request.
Who We Are
A small team based in China. Some of us are Chinese, some are long-term expats. We've worked with thousands of travelers over the years — solo backpackers, families with kids, retired couples on once-in-a-lifetime trips. We use the trains ourselves, regularly, for work and our own travel. When we say a station is confusing or a route has nicer scenery, it's because we've been there recently.
China Train Travel
A local inbound travel team based in China. We handle train tickets, itineraries, and on-ground support — so international travelers can focus on the trip, not the logistics.
How We Work
- Plain-English communication. No template replies. Real questions get real answers, usually within a few hours.
- Transparent pricing. The price you see includes our service fee. Nothing hidden, no surprise add-ons at checkout.
- One point of contact. Whether it's a single ticket or a two-week itinerary, you talk to someone who knows your booking.
- Honest recommendations. We'll tell you when a tour isn't worth it, when a faster train isn't worth the extra cost, or when you'd be better off skipping a city.
Why We Started This
Helping someone plan a good trip to China is satisfying work. But watching them stumble at the train station because of a small detail nobody warned them about — that's frustrating. China Train Travel is our attempt to close that gap. Combine the booking, the planning, and the practical know-how into one place that actually speaks your language.
Contact
Questions about a route, a custom trip, or anything in between — reach us through our contact page. We typically reply within one business day, often the same afternoon if you write during Beijing hours.