Travel China Guide were extremely helpful and communicative, managing to get us tickets around the crazy Chinese New Period, and responsively discussing options via Whatsapp. We had a wonderful trip as a result. I would certainly use them again. Highly recommended!

They arranged our train tickets for us and were very professional right through. From giving us options (when some tickets did not work out), to giving us a letter for the visa and promptly refunding the money, it worked very well

Excellent service. We had requested tickets just before the New Year Bank Holiday and initially it appeared they were all sold out. However, 24 hours later they managed to secure tickets for us.
Would recommend,

I use the service primarily for train tickets, because I am an experienced Chinese traveler. For this the service is excellent, with responsive communications with booking changes and adjustments. I often book train tickets from the United States and it is easy, using only your passport to board trains. So great! Thank you for the fantastic service.

The support and prompt responses from the Team at Travel Guide China, train bookings made my business trip to China run without any problems, issues or inconveniences. Over a two week period I took 16 trips covering over 8 locations all booked through Travel Guide China travelling over 4,000 kms. What was amazing was that I was travelling in the lead up to the Chinese New Year celebrations and the rail system was at capacity. Yet for each trip, I was given alternatives when the trip was overbooked which always worked perfectly. The service was brilliant, any query had a response, I really felt like I was their only customer with the amount of attention and help I was given. Thanks Simon

Very responsive and efficient! What more can I say? They got me the right train ticket as soon as they become available. Always answered with clear emails.

This is my second time using this company to book my high speed train ticket for China whilst in the UK. Both times the service has been superb. They responded quickly to my request and were in constant contact with me via email.

I will always use this company to book my train tickets.

Easy to book and also to pay (Paypal). All information about how to get into the train station and also the train is provided. If any trouble, there's is a consultant available to help you.

Only "but": booking seems to be manual so it is not "immediate", usually takes 24h to get the actual reservation.

Booked my return fast train tickets via China Travel. The service of the tickets and communication was good. If you’re planning your trip in China from overseas and are a bit confused by the multiple sellers on line, conflicting advice, and uncertain if you actually get a ticket, or a QR code or just use your passport as a ticket. Read on (current info 2025).

Some of the confusion about buying tickets for fast trains in China is more easily understood when you remember the train network has doubled in size almost every two years for the past decade. So the systems the train authorities run for selling tickets has changed about every two or three years as well. So there is a lot of outdated info on the web, but confusingly it’s not that old. Maybe only two years old web posts are no longer relevant. So you need to read the current websites to get the current method for ticketing. As of 2025 here’s what I know.

There are no more paper tickets issued or QR codes for fast trains in China. All ticketing is replaced (as far as my experience is) with use of your passport in the scanners at the ticket gate. The scanner reads your passport number and name details and bingo, the gate opens for you. For Chinese people they use their national ID cards, but for foreigners - passport is the way to go. This is super simple and efficient but…. If you hold more than one passport as some people do, remember to book your tickets under the exact same passport as what you will travel on. Otherwise the scanner won’t match you to your booking.

The China Travel Service email after you purchase the tickets will record your passport number and allocate you designated seats in the desired class of travel. As a tip for first timers, if you’re weighing up to save money on 2nd class or pay more for first class in terms of price vs comfort, just go 2nd class. There’s not a lot of difference and seats in 2nd class (they are very good as well). Perhaps the only time I think about first class is on a trip over four hours. And of course Business Class on China Trains is the top top seat, like a mini cocoon pod. And the price for those is pretty expensive.

Book early for trains. They get super busy and you can end up missing out. China Travel is a reliable booking partner and can help if the train you want is over booked. Sometimes they will suggest you buy a ticket from a stop earlier than where you want to get on. This sounds odd at first, but is a reflection of the way the tickets are sold and optimized by the train company. They prefer fully sold trains so sometimes buying a blank sector (for a tiny amount extra) means China Travel can get you a seat on the actual sector you want to travel on, even when the online booking system shows there are no seats available between the two stations you want to travel between. This is probably the No1 reason for booking through China Travel only their type of service can know this detail.

Travel China Guide are very helpful to book train tickets throughout China. They have real people that you can contact and they are very quick to reply. This was my first trip to China with my teenage son and we wanted to travel by train to see the country. We took 5 bullet trains trips including 12 hours from Chengdu to Shanghai. I 100% recommend using Travel China Guide for all train bookings.

Been using this service for 10 years booking trains to many China cities. Always do a superb job and the customer service if you need anything is very responsive.

We used Travel China Guide to book train tickets. Communication was perfect and service delivery very good. They also helped us out quickly when we had a little issue, and responded to all our questions. Well done !

Got my HSR tickets from HK to GZ easily. The tickets were purchased without a hitch. Ensured a smooth journey. Will buy the rail tickets again through Travel China.

Train ticket booking service was great. It was to and fro between Kunming and Lijiang. Cissy has been so helpful with all the explanation and clarification that I asked for. It’s the peace of mind that we really needed and received, especially when we were a big group of 8 and had very specific timings to board the train. Thank you.

I've ordered train tickets. All my wishes were considered properly (seats location) and realized on time and without any mistakes. Sales Consultant Cissy Li was services-oriented and proactive. She even noted my mistake and let me know on time. Good and fast service! Thank you!

Thanx to TravelChinaGuide we successfully booked high-speed train tickets during our travelling in China: from Beijing to Luoyang, then Luoyang - Xian and back Luoyang - Beijing. Everything run smoothly: paid in advance, issued in time and to the trains/time we selected. The booking system is very convenient - the only thing you have to know is at least basics in English as the web-site is in English. We needed 7 tickets together for two families and there was a minor problem for one of the 4 trips: there were no tickets next to each other in the same carriage. In this case TravelChinaGuide suggested to take the next train 30 minutes later and after our approval the tickets were issued. The staff communicated with all respect and answered questions quickly, payment system is also convenient (PayPal, MC cards attached), so I would recommend TravelChinaGuide for tickets booking in China (especially if you are not keen in Chineese :)).

Maria Xue & company book the best train tickets!
Patient & understanding!
An excellent company!
I will do business again!

This is the second time we booked train tickets with Travel China and they are amazing: great service. They do all the process very easy and the’re always available for any support! I will recommend them with any doubt!

Super fast booking and very convenient and easy to understand. Payment process also very smooth and they also show the complete timetable.

Purchasing high speed train tickets with Travel China Guide is easy and highly professional. All I had to do was goto their website, search under the category of Trains, choose my route from and to, dates and times, then paid for them using my international credit card. The tickets were then entered digitally into a soft copy of our passports, this making our passports the tickets in themselves. The TCG staff who assisted us, Cissy Li, was ever courteous and helpful. Tops with their service and performance.

I booked my speed train ticket travelling from Xiamen to Hong Kong through Travel China Guide website. It was a smooth process. There is no hiccup during the journey.

Booked train tickets from HK to Chengdu. Was initially a bit concerned that I had to pay upfront when tickets aren’t issued until 2 weeks before their date, but that is standard for Chinese railways. Tickets were sent through as soon as they were available and the trip was great. Good modern trains with quick service

Maria has assisted on the booking of train tickets on my Kunming -> Lijiang -> Dali -> Lijiang -> Kunming trip. Has also instructed her to helped secured business class tickets which she did for most of the sectors. Very helpful and friendly! Thank you!

I booked some tickets to Forbidden city & terracotta army & Tang paradise- entrance tickets and some trains from Beijing to xian and shanghai. The tickets are issued on time and the service from Cissy is excellent. She always replies to my emails and keep me updated. definitely will book from Travel China Guide in the future.

We booked the train from Yangshuo to Guangzhou. Booking was easy, seemless and easy. Very foreign friendly. We just need to be early and the train is very prompt.

I am a foreigner and required sympathetic assistance in my booking travel- not once but twice due to my shortcomings. Christina from China Train Guides was exceptional. Patient and professional.

Very prompt in responses (it's like they work 24/7!), strong command of English (I was pleasantly surprised) from officers who attended to my emails. Ordering process is fuss-free and smooth. I will definitely utilize their services again if I visit China in the future.

Very good booking service and very helping I missed my train due my flight delay they help me rescheduling . Very cooperative. Thank you .

Although the journey is short but do impress with the efficiency at the checking in except tt when we book online it did not mentioned as far as I noticed that we need to check the seat nos when we arrived at the station and where to get the seat nos.
Cheers

I used Travel China Guide for all of my train bookings throughout a 6+ week through mainland China and was stunned by their professionalism and effectiveness. They were critical to my trip being a success and I strongly recommend their services to any foreign visitors to mainland China.
Some examples of their helpfulness:
Caught a mistake I made in my train itinerary in which I selected a different month from all of my other bookings - contacted me immediately and made the switch with no charge. I would not have caught this mistake had they not alerted me.
Were available constantly through email/WeChat to provide advice on my itinerary and make last-minute adjustments. Consistently did so in a way intended (successfully) to save me money.
Offered to speak on my behalf to any agents at the train station etc.
Once again, TCG was fundamental to my having a successful trip. I strongly recommend them to anyone visiting China!

I missed my train due to delayed flight. This lady, Christina helped me to recover my ticket cost and booked another train again.. it would have been so stressful without her help. Thanks alot!!

I used Travel China Guide to book Bullet Train tickets for my family on our recent trip to China. The tickets only become available 2 weeks before the travel date, so it was a little nerve racking. But Christina managed to secure the tickets we needed for all 3 train legs, including one sleeper train leg, making our holiday a great success. I would definitely recommend and will be using TCG to purchase rail tickets in China in future.

Awesome trip, neat hotel, tickets correctly booked. Thanks for a great experience! I will certainly book with you guys again.

Always use the team for my fast train tickets when in China for business; fast, efficient and responsive service every time!

Great train booking service. They offered more options than other sites at very reasonable prices. The confirmation arrived very quickly after we submitted our details. I would recommend and use these guys again.