Overview & preparation
China’s trains: the basics
High-speed rail connects cities. Your journey includes the station, identity and security checks—not only the train ride.
Have ready
- ✓The passport or accepted identity document used for your booking.
- ✓Your booking confirmation and the full departure station name.
- ✓Time in your plans for reaching the station and completing checks.
Know where to look
- ✓China Railway 12306 is the official booking and service channel.
- ✓Ticketing, station navigation and boarding decisions belong in the action guides below.
Free sample · From the complete guide
Try this part of your Shanghai journey
Missed the train? Finish the change before heading to a gate
Stay at a staffed ticket or service point
Show your original passport and confirmed booking to railway staff. Open the order in the original booking channel; if an agent sold it, use that agent's support as needed. Say: 我错过了这趟车，请帮我确认能否改签。 — I missed this train; please check whether I can change it.
Compare the actual replacement
Read the offered date, full departure station, destination, train, class and any charge before accepting. Rules depend on the original ticket and timing; do not assume a free change or refund. A new station can require a cross-city transfer.
Confirm the new ticket, then travel
Complete the approved change/payment and find the newly confirmed order with its passenger, train and seat or valid ticket status. Keep the old reference for follow-up. A request in progress or waitlist is not permission to board another train.
About this excerpt
Selected from Navigate Shanghai's railway stations and board the right train. Guide updated October 5, 2026. App labels and local arrangements can change.
Inside the Full Guide
Included in the Full Shanghai Guide, together with this city’s Quick Cards.
- Navigate Shanghai's railway stations and board the right train
All three journey stages
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