Choose an official channel you can use
The English 12306 website accepts valid foreign passports under its stated conditions. A station service counter is another route to investigate if online setup is not working for you. Channel choice does not remove the requirement for accurate passenger details and an actually issued ticket.
Sources: 12306 Ticketing FAQ, especially the identity documents and purchase-channel questions, and Shanghai’s booking guide, updated 11 June 2026. Text reviewed 18 October 2026. The city guide is sourced to 12306, so this is not two independent providers’ confirmation. No ticket was purchased for this article.
Prepare the information before searching
Keep the passenger’s original passport available and enter the information as required by the booking system. Have the travel date, intended departure and arrival stations, and a payment method you can use. If booking for someone else, use that traveller’s details rather than the buyer’s identity.
Confirm which channel you are using: the English website, a version of the 12306 app, a counter or a separate agency may have different interfaces and document handling. This page does not generalise the English site’s foreign-passport rule to every identity document on every channel.
Resolve passenger verification before paying
Check both the buyer’s account and the actual passenger record in the service you are using. The Chinese identity-verification notice defines 已通过 as passed, 待核验 as being verified and 未通过 as not passed. Under that notice, pending or failed verification blocks online purchase; it describes original-document station verification and a photo-upload route for foreign-passport users.
The English FAQ, Ticketing question 5, instead says that users and passengers marked “verified” or “ready to be verified” may buy according to its prompts. The reviewed pages do not establish that the English label and Chinese 待核验 are the same operational status. Do not translate one label into a universal permission or prohibition across channels. Follow the actual account/passenger instructions; if they conflict or you cannot proceed, ask 12306 or a station counter with the original passport before relying on the trip.
For the Chinese online route, the public passport-verification page describes document-photo submission and verification. This guide has not submitted documents or established a review time for your account. A completed upload, working login or payment attempt is not an issued ticket.
Enter the passport name using the actual form’s instructions. The Chinese notice’s foreign-passport name section requires the English name in document order, including applicable spaces, and full English names for foreign-passport holders. Do not apply an older generic truncation rule or invent an abbreviation if the form cannot accommodate your name; ask the official service about the specific problem. Source text and the difference between these pages were checked 18 October 2026.
Work through the booking
- Open the official 12306 service and register or sign in if using an online account.
- Follow the identity steps and eligibility prompts for the actual buyer and passenger records. Resolve a blocked or unclear status through the official service before relying on a booking.
- Search using your date and intended stations. Recheck the station name after selecting a service, especially in a city with several terminals.
- Add the correct passenger, choose the offered seat/class options, and review the service, date and journey.
- Follow the displayed payment instructions and deadline, then check the final order and ticket status.
Shanghai’s guide supports this general sequence. Availability, price, sale-opening time and authentication details must come from the service you are using for that actual booking. This guide gives no fixed presale window or promise that registration will finish within a particular time.
Record what will get you to the right train
After the ticket is issued, keep a usable record of the departure date and time, train number, departure station, arrival station, coach/seat and the passenger/document attached to the booking. Save the booking reference for assistance. A screenshot is useful supporting information, but it is not a substitute for the identity document used for boarding.
The operator’s FAQ explicitly distinguishes an itinerary sheet from a check-in ticket. Do not go looking for a paper ticket simply because an old travel article describes a collection queue; check the instructions for your actual e-ticket and service.
If the order is pending, unavailable or wrong
Read the status and any error before placing another order. If identity verification is unresolved, use the official help route or ask at a staffed counter with the original document. If the service is unavailable, select a workable alternative and recheck the station transfer. If already booked through an agency, resolve the order through that booking channel as appropriate rather than assuming 12306 can manage an unrecognised agency request.
Before departure, use the boarding guide to plan the station process. If an issued ticket needs changing or cancelling, continue to changes, refunds and missed trains. Child-ticket rules and individual claims remain outside this booking guide.