E-tickets Have Arrived For China Trains - Everything You Need To Know
Paper tickets are quickly becoming a thing of the past. China trains have recently introduced e-tickets at a number of stations in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. The main advantage for foreigners is that you don’t have to wait in line to pick up your tickets every time – your passport is now your ticket – yay!
What are the advantages of e-tickets for China Trains?
- No need to line up, ever. Save precious time
- More environmentally friendly
What does this mean for foreigners?
Great news actually. Each gate to board the trains will have a dedicated document scanning machine which can scan passports and will allow you to directly enter the train. There’s no need to bother with any form of paper ticket, or even with the QR code, which is what most locals will be using from now on. (Although foreigners using mobile booking apps which produce a QR code can use these too if they want).
Which stations have e-tickets?
In total, more than 80 stations are already supporting E-tickets, with the biggest ones being Shanghai Hongqiao, Nanjing South, Hangzhou East, Huangshan North etc.
- Quanjiao
- Huangshan North
- Shanghai Hongqiao
- Lu'an
- Hefei South
- Yuyao North
- Zhuangqiao
- Shuijiahu
- Hefei Beicheng
- Yixing
- Shaoxing North
- Changlinhe
- Shaoxing East
- Chaohu East
- Huainan East
- Wuwei
- Huzhou
- Jixi North
- Tongling North
- Nanling
- Jingxian
- Jingde
- Shexian North
- Jiangning West
- Jiangning
- Jurong West
- Pingyang
- Lishui
- Wawushan
- Liyang
- Fanchang West
- Yijiang
- Dangtu East
- Nanjing South
- Sanmenxian
- Bengbu South
- Hefei
- Deqing
- Jiashan South
- Yuhang
- Quzhou
- Lishui
- Ninghai
- Linhai
- Ruian
- Sanyang
- Hangzhou East
- Ningbo
- Yiwu
- Hangzhou
- Wuhu
- Wenzhou South
- Taizhou
- Jiaxing South
- Tongxiang
- Jinhua
- Yongkang South
- Wenling
- Zhuji
- Sheyang
- Xiangshuixian
- Huaibei North
- Binhaigang
- Ganyu
- Jinzhai
- Shenfang
- Yongjia
- Jiande
- Huaibei
- Fuyang
- Tonglu
- Jinshan North
- Songjiang South
- Lianyungang
- Fenghua
- Jinyun West
- Chizhou
- Anqing
- Tongling
- Haining West
- Longyou
- Jiangshan
- Qingtian
- Yandangshan
- Yueqing
- Cangnan
- Qiandaohu
- Ma'anshan East
- Changxing
- Jinhua South
- Wuyi North
See the map at the bottom of the page for more the location of each station.
When will this be rolled out to the whole country?
This is currently unknown. At the moment, the Yangtze River Delta Area (the area around Shanghai) is acting as the test area. If all goes smoothly our best guess is that this will be rolled our nationwide in 2020.
Are there any disadvantages to e-tickets?
- When you enter the train station, you still need to show your ID and your ticket booking number (at some stations). There’s no word as to when passport scanning machines will be built to enter the stations themselves.
- If you’re working for a Chinese company which requires the tickets for reimbursement, you will need to go to a special counter at the train station to get the invoice.