Train booking question

Question

Hi, two days ago I reserved a place on an overnight train Shanghai to Xian 22/10/25 on Trip.com. I’ve made the reservation over 5 weeks before I travel.

My place is reserved and won’t be confirmed until after 14.45 on 08/10/25

It’s possible I don’t get a seat if it’s fully booked. Then I might be struggling to find an alternative.

What are my chances of getting a ticket?

Thanks for any help

Answer

When you reserve a place on Trip.com for a Chinese train more than 5 weeks in advance, the system typically holds your booking as a “pending” reservation until the official ticket release date and time, which in your case is 14:45 on 08/10/25. This means that your seat is not fully confirmed yet, and the system will try to secure a confirmed ticket when the official sale opens.

Your chances of getting a confirmed ticket depend on several factors:

Train Popularity: Overnight trains between Shanghai and Xi’an are popular, especially if your travel date falls close to a weekend or public holiday. If it’s a regular weekday, the chances are better.
Booking Platform Efficiency: Trip.com usually has a high success rate in converting pending reservations to confirmed tickets, but it is not guaranteed if the train sells out immediately at the official release time.
Ticket Type: Soft sleepers, hard sleepers, and seats have different availability. Soft sleeper berths tend to sell out faster.
Alternative Trains: There are usually multiple overnight trains between Shanghai and Xi’an daily, so if one train is full, there may be other trains available.

Practical tips to improve your chances:

Be ready exactly at 14:45 on 08/10/25 to monitor or refresh your Trip.com booking page so that you can confirm the seat quickly.
Have a backup plan for alternative trains or even high-speed day trains (Shanghai to Xi’an takes around 6–7 hours by high-speed rail), in case your overnight train is fully booked.
Consider checking with Chinese railway 12306 app (requires registration) or local ticket offices as a backup. Some foreign credit cards may not work on 12306, but hotel or travel agency assistance can help.

Overall, your chance of getting the ticket is reasonable but not 100% guaranteed. Being flexible and having alternatives will reduce stress if your preferred train is fully booked.

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