China train tickets - booking info

Question

I’m currently in China travelling with a 7 year old. Posting here about my experience booking Chinese trains through trip.com. In summary, we had a really bad experience but it might be ok if there are no unexpected changes.

What I wish I’d known before I booked… First, if you don’t get on at the starting station, then the train company reserves most of the seats for passengers who will buy the full route. Then they slowly release seats in blocks as the departure date comes closer. When booking through a Chinese website you are able to select your seats, and you have to keep checking manually to see if more or better seats are available. That’s a hassle but you know where you stand. With trip.com you request a reservation, and the system will keep checking for available seats for you. But it will simply buy seats when available, regardless of whether or not they are next to each other. Which really, really doesn’t work if you’re travelling with kids. Trip.com offers no facility for switching seats, even if you pay to do so and a bunch more seats are released and available on the train.

In addition, if you have a seat on a train, the train company will not let you book another seat on the same train. So if you want to get around the hopeless trip.com booking system, you have to cancel the first seat before you can book another one. Sounds ok.

Except trip.com takes more than 12 hours to cancel a train ticket online. That is, if it manages to cancel the ticket. Meanwhile those seats might sell out leaving you high and dry. That’s in addition to charging additional fees for every ticket cancelled. And in our case they cancelled one ticket but mysteriously not the other one. And we were unable to re-book tickets due to train company regulations about double booking.

Customer service was utterly useless in resolving the issue. They said I should go to the train station and use my best (non-existant) Mandarin to sort out what they couldn’t. They said they couldn’t book a train ticket for me (uhh, isn’t this a ticket booking site?). And I’m still waiting for them to contact me back about my (in their words) « urgent » inquiry meanwhile my Chinese friend who managed to make it to the train station tells me all the train tickets are now sold out, including first class.

So my child and I will have to take a slow train. And pay all those fees, and have all that aggravation. If it’s starting to sound like a cheapo site nightmare, it should. Needless to say I’ll do my best to avoid trip.com in the future.

Answer

Booking train tickets in China, especially when traveling with children, can be challenging if using third-party platforms like Trip.com. While Trip.com offers the convenience of monitoring seat availability automatically, it does not allow you to choose adjacent seats, which is critical when traveling with kids. This can result in families being split up on the train.

Key points to consider when booking Chinese train tickets:

Seats on a train are often reserved for passengers traveling the full route. Partial route bookings may have limited options initially, with more seats released closer to departure.
Chinese websites allow you to manually select and monitor seats, providing more control if traveling with children or in groups.
Trip.com automatically purchases seats as soon as they become available, without regard to whether seats are together. There is no facility to switch seats if better options appear later.
If you want to rebook a seat on the same train, you must cancel the original ticket first. However, Trip.com’s cancellation process can take more than 12 hours and may not always successfully cancel all tickets, creating additional complications and risk of losing seats.
Additional fees are charged for cancellations, which can add up quickly if multiple attempts are needed.

Customer service issues have been reported, including:

Inability to resolve seating problems or cancelation issues efficiently.
Advice to go to the train station in person, even for users who do not speak Mandarin.
Delayed or absent follow-up on urgent inquiries.

Practical recommendations for traveling with kids in China by train:

Consider booking directly on official Chinese railway websites or at the train station to select seats together.
Be prepared for partial seat availability and monitor ticket releases carefully if traveling on popular routes.
Allow extra time in case of seat or booking issues, especially when traveling with a child.
Avoid relying solely on Trip.com for families needing adjacent seating, as its automatic booking system may not accommodate your needs.

In summary, while Trip.com may be convenient for solo travelers or those without specific seating needs, it can create major headaches for families and those requiring flexible or guaranteed seating. Planning ahead and using Chinese-language platforms or in-person bookings may save stress and additional fees.

China train tickets - booking info

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