Open the issued order before choosing a remedy
Find the passenger, date, train number, exact stations and current ticket status. Then identify what happened: you want to change plans, you missed departure, or the railway cancelled the service. These lead to different procedures. If departure is close, ask station staff promptly with the original booking passport and order reference ready.
This guide covers ordinary paid adult domestic China Railway tickets, including the Beijing–Shanghai journey. It excludes cross-border and international trains, reward tickets, group and periodic products, and individual illness or compensation claims. Source text reviewed 18 October 2026; the current Chinese operator regulations state an effective date of 1 June 2026. Times use Beijing time. This is a planning guide, not a live decision on your order.
Before departure: change the trip or cancel it
A change — 改签, called endorsement in parts of the English service, moves an existing ticket to an eligible available service. A refund — 退票 cancels travel on that ticket. Check the alternative and total cost before cancelling a usable booking.
For an ordinary change:
- Open the issued ticket through its booking channel. Check whether it has already been changed: the ordinary allowance is one change, subject to available tickets.
- Search a service you can reach, including its exact stations and new arrival time. A different city destination uses the separate change-of-destination — 变更到站 process; the rules require at least 48 hours before the original departure. Do not assume any station can replace your original one.
- Read the settlement screen for the fare, change charge and any refund of a fare difference. Complete required payment and check that the new ticket is actually issued.
- Replace the saved train details and station directions. Update your pickup, hotel arrival and any fixed visits affected by the change.
12306’s Chinese change FAQ and English endorsement answers describe the availability requirement and separate destination-change conditions. If the order is with an agent or another purchaser, use that order’s service route or ask a station counter; do not assume logging into your own account imports it.
What a change can cost
For the ordinary paid-ticket rules reviewed, changing at least 48 hours before departure carries no change fee. Within 48 hours, moving to a train on the original travel date or earlier also carries no change fee. Moving to a later calendar date can incur a fee based on the lower of the old and new fares:
- At least 24 but less than 48 hours before departure: 5%.
- Less than 24 hours before departure: 15%.
- After departure, with the change completed before midnight that day: 40% for a next-day or later train within the sale period.
These are change charges, not the complete settlement. A higher fare still needs paying; a lower fare can have a refund charge applied to the returned difference. Depending on payment handling, the screen may require payment of the full new fare while the original payment is refunded. Read the actual amount before confirming. Chinese change FAQ, questions 6–9.
If you want a refund before departure
Ordinary voluntary refunds must be handled before the departure shown on the ticket. Do not wait for the station gate to close before deciding. The 12306 refund instructions give these standard fare-based bands:
Count back from departure at the ticketed boarding station:
- At least 8 days: no refund charge.
- At least 48 hours but less than 8 days: 5% of the fare.
- At least 24 but less than 48 hours: 10% of the fare.
- Less than 24 hours, before departure: 20% of the fare.
These are the ordinary bands, not a quote for every ticket. The operator applies rounding and minimum-charge rules. A ticket changed from less than eight days before departure to a service more than eight days away does not automatically become eligible for a free refund; a 5% rule can still apply. Changed tickets travelling during the Spring Festival travel period have a separate 20% refund rule. Check the order’s conditions and displayed amount, especially after an earlier change. 12306 English refund FAQ.
Just bought the wrong ticket?
For eligible travel dates from 2 February 2026, registered users buying through the official 12306 website, app or Alipay mini-program with electronic payment can qualify for accidental-purchase free refund within 30 minutes of purchase and at least four hours before departure. The purchasing account is limited to one eligible order per calendar day.
This is not a blanket cooling-off period. The published exclusions include changed tickets, multi-ride or periodic tickets, Railway e-Pass, advance-reservation and waitlist purchases, air–rail and waterway–rail products, and group tickets. Reward-point rules are outside this guide. Check eligibility on the actual order rather than assuming a recently fulfilled waitlist qualifies. Official Chinese accidental-purchase conditions, cross-checked against English FAQ question 17 under endorsement and refund.
If you miss the train
Ask about a change before midnight on the original travel day, with available tickets still required. This is the deadline for completing the change, not permission to wait until then to seek help.
The current rules allow an eligible change to another train on the same day without a change fee, or to a later date within the sale period with the relevant charge. The new fare and any difference still matter. Tickets changed after departure cannot be refunded. Do not board the next train using the old booking; obtain the confirmed replacement first. Current operator regulations, articles 28 and 46.
If no usable alternative remains, ask staff what applies to your order and reorganise the night before buying another journey. For the Beijing–Shanghai itinerary, tell the Shanghai hotel about a changed arrival and remove the next fixed visit if necessary. A missed train does not establish a refund right for a separately booked hotel or flight.
If the railway cancels the service
Check the official order and service notice. Your own inability to reach the station and an officially cancelled train are different cases. Article 52 of the current operator regulations permits a refund without a refund fee from publication of the cancellation information until within 30 days after the ticketed travel date.
Use the cancellation instructions attached to your affected booking. For delays, changed arrangements or connecting tickets, ask the operator which procedure applies; do not apply that cancellation window to every disruption. Hotel, flight and other onward-booking terms need checking separately.
If the app fails or the money has not arrived
A station ticket counter is the practical fallback when you cannot complete the eligible operation online. Take the original passport used for purchase and the order number, plus the error or transaction record. Cash-purchased tickets need a station counter for changes. Machine capability and account verification can differ; do not rely on a passport working at every self-service machine. Chinese regulations, articles 29–30 and 47–48, and change FAQ question 4.
For an electronic refund, first establish whether the railway operation succeeded. Save the confirmation and amount. Refunds return through the original payment route; the bank’s posting time is a separate step. If the order is unresolved, contact the booking channel or 12306. If the railway confirms a refund but it is not reflected in your account, use the payment provider or issuing bank’s official support with that record. No universal arrival time is promised here. 12306 English refund FAQ, question 13, and Chinese change FAQ, questions 6–7.
These are teaching examples to adapt to your own order:
I missed this train. Can this ticket still be changed, and what would it cost?
我没赶上这趟车。这张票还能改签吗？需要支付多少钱？
I used this passport to book. I cannot complete the change online.
我用这本护照买的票，现在无法在线完成改签。
Has the refund been completed? Which payment account will receive it?
退票已经办好了吗？退款会退到哪个支付账户？
Once you have a replacement ticket, repeat the station, passport and boarding checks using the new order.