How to Buy China Train Tickets for a Foreign Friend on 12306
How to Buy China Train Tickets for a Foreign Friend on 12306
If you live in China and have friends or family visiting, the quickest way to get them on a high-speed train is often to book for them from your own 12306 account. The official system allows it. In practice, as Xiaohongshu users who've done it report, the passport check is where things stall. This guide covers the official rules, the workarounds that helped other people, and what your friend should do before travel day.
Checked on 6 October 2026 against the 12306 English FAQ. Book only through official channels: the railway says it won't handle problems with tickets bought on other websites.
Can you buy a ticket for someone else?
Yes. According to 12306 (12306 FAQ):
- At a station ticket window, you can buy for another person if you bring the original or a copy of their valid ID.
- On 12306, a registered user whose own ID status is "verified" or "ready to be verified" can buy tickets for other people. You add your friend to your My Passengers list with their name, ID type and number. Once their status shows "verified" or "ready to be verified", you can buy for them.
The official platforms are the 12306 website, app and Alipay mini program (12306 FAQ).
Step by step
- Log in to your verified 12306 account.
- Add a passenger. Choose passport as the ID type and enter your friend's details exactly as in the passport.
- Wait for verification. Foreign passports go through a check before the status changes.
- Book the ticket once the status is "verified" or "ready to be verified".
- Send your friend the booking details. On travel day they show the passport used for the booking (12306 FAQ).
What goes wrong, and what helped
A Xiaohongshu user who registered foreign friends, and the commenters under the post, described the sticking points (惠发财_DE):
| Problem | What worked for them |
|---|---|
| The foreigner's own registration kept failing | Adding them as a passenger from a verified Chinese account. The author says the manual review passed within seconds |
| Typing passport details led to errors | Scanning or uploading the passport photo page so the details are read automatically |
| The English version of 12306 wouldn't complete registration | Switching to the Chinese version |
| Verification codes didn't arrive | Codes may need a Chinese phone number, so they used a friend's |
| Name rejected | Commenters say put the surname first, and that very long names can fail |
| One of three friends never passed | Commenters say review results vary; have a backup plan |
These are user reports, not 12306 policy. They're still a useful checklist when the official process stalls.
The ride code problem
One commenter points out that when someone else buys the ticket, the ride code shows only in the buyer's account. The foreign passenger only sees their own code after registering their own account (惠发财_DE). Since check-in uses the passport for e-tickets (12306 FAQ), this matters less than it sounds, but send your friend a screenshot of the booking anyway.
Picking up a paper ticket
If your friend's status is still "to be verified" when you book, 12306 says they need to take the original passport used for the booking to the station ticket counter for ID verification. After that, they can collect a paper ticket (12306 FAQ). Build in extra time before the first train. The FAQ also warns there may be queues at the ticket window, security, ID check and the gate (12306 FAQ).
Changes and refunds
This is the catch with booking for someone else. 12306 says a passenger can change or refund their own ticket bought by someone else on the website only if they have registered on 12306 and completed facial identity verification in the mobile app (12306 FAQ). If your friend hasn't, you'll need to handle changes from your account or at a station window.
Some other rules worth knowing (12306 FAQ):
- Changes (endorsement) can alter the date, train or seat if there's availability, but not the departure or arrival station, except stations in the same city.
- Accidental purchase: for travel from 2 February 2026, tickets bought on an official 12306 platform with e-payment get one free refund per day, if you refund within 30 minutes of buying and at least 4 hours before departure. Some ticket types are excluded.
- Online hours: ticket sales and changes run from 5:00 to 1:00 the next day (5:00 to 23:30 on Tuesdays). Refunds and enquiries are 24 hours.
Alternatives
If adding the passenger doesn't work, commenters suggest two routes (惠发财_DE):
- The station ticket window, with the traveller's passport, or a copy if you're buying for them. This is the official route in the 12306 FAQ.
- A travel booking platform that sells rail tickets. If you use one, remember the railway's warning about non-official sites.
What your friend should do before travelling
- Send you their passport photo page so you can enter details exactly
- Register their own 12306 account and passport too, if they can. A visitor checklist on Xiaohongshu recommends doing this before arrival (全A少女瑞秋)
- Complete facial verification in the 12306 app if they want to change or refund tickets themselves
- Carry the passport used for booking on every journey
- Arrive early for the first trip, especially if they need to verify at a counter
Checklist for you
- Your own 12306 account is verified
- Friend added to My Passengers, surname first, details matching the passport
- Status shows "verified" or "ready to be verified" before booking
- Booking screenshot sent to your friend
- Plan for changes: you handle them, or your friend completes facial verification
For a full guide to booking as a foreigner, see how to book China's high-speed trains. If your visitor is on a 240-hour stopover, check every destination is inside the permitted areas with our transit checker, and see the 240-hour transit explainer.
Traveller reports we referenced
We used these Xiaohongshu posts and their comments for practical experience and wrote our own summary. Nothing was translated or copied, and the rules above come from 12306.
- Buying train tickets for foreign friends, by 惠发财_DE (Jun 2025)
- Entry preparation checklist for foreigners, by 全A少女瑞秋 (Mar 2026)
Sources
- 12306 China Railway: English FAQ