China CRH Trains - No Passport - No Ticket

[Cruiser Elite]

Anybody intending to visit China and experience the high speed trains (CRH) be critically aware you CANNOT purchase a ticket to ride these trains unless you have your passport with you - no exceptions.

Previously you could just front up to ticket window and buy tickets - however the scalpers were cleaning up big time during peak travel periods and re-heating them for a nice tidy little earner - so Chinese Govt clamped down.

Chinese nationals MUST have ID card to purchase ticket - foreigners MUST have copy of passport to purchase ticket - no exceptions.

Well maybe a few exceptions:

1. I hate carrying my passport outside hotel if I am staying longer than 1 night - so I scanned, printed and laminated data page of passport - tried presenting that and accepted no problem
2. Last few visits just presented my Victorian drivers license and it has been accepted no problem
3. Last Tuesday Mar 27 I arrived Beijing South railway station to buy ticket to Tianjin and realized I had no photo ID on my at all - nada zilch zippo. Quickly sought out English speaking assistant at help desk - she calls over Supervisor - Supervisor quite adamant CANNOT buy ticket - I make pleading gesturing body motions - she beckons over male accomplice who asks me follow him.

I follow him to entrance gate 20/21 where Tianjin train was about to depart - he talks to gorgeous female Chinese gate attendant - beckons me to follow - we go through side gate - down escalator to platform - he points to train and says number 4 - clearly pointing me to carriage no 4.

Carriage 4 is dining car - any of you guys who have travelled CRH trains will know what I mean - all seats taken but I am permitted to stand. 10mins into 30min journey conductors come along checking tickets - I just flash a red Mayo and voila they produce electronic ticket selling device from rear pocket - 59RMB later I am holding printed standing ticket - just 8RMB shy of best first class seat on this route.

See - no ID - no ticket - no exceptions.

Return journey I am facing same dilemna - get to window - Beijing - first classs? Passport? Mayo (don't have) - she looks at me - I throw over to her Westpac Singapore Airlines Platinum Visa Card - she looks at it - laughs - prints me ticket - takes mt 67RMB.
See - no ID - no ticket - no exceptions.

Welcome to China - the land complication and contradiction - always expect the unexpected.

 

[kpc]

We got caught out by this as well last Dec in Shanghai. Arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to catch the CRH train to Hangzhou...photo ID requested to buy train ticket:shock: I had a photocopy of my passport but +1 had nothing. Tried looking for an internet cafe to download a copy of hers but no internet cafe to be found:evil:. Had to catch subway back to hotel to fetch said passports; 1.5 hours wasted of our day trip to Hangzhou!

 

[seanpodge]

Anybody intending to visit China and experience the high speed trains (CRH) be critically aware you CANNOT purchase a ticket to ride these trains unless you have your passport with you - no exceptions.

Previously you could just front up to ticket window and buy tickets - however the scalpers were cleaning up big time during peak travel periods and re-heating them for a nice tidy little earner - so Chinese Govt clamped down.

Hopefully, the real ID system will crack down on scalpers. However there are many who suggest that a significant amount of the scalping was due to inside jobs from the ticket sellers themselves. A few stories on CCTV news about raids on people with large quantities of CR tickets and matching fake IDs when I was over last.

Obviously, it should be said that you should make sure that you have the ID you used to buy the ticket with you when you're on the train for ticket inspection.

Carrying around a passport all the time can be a fair hassle, although while it's a legal requirement, usually it's not necessary. I was last in China for six months and didn't get asked for ID from police on the street once. Just really have to remember it for tasks such as buying train tickets.

 

[one9]

Anybody intending to visit China and experience the high speed trains (CRH) be critically aware you CANNOT purchase a ticket to ride these trains unless you have your passport with you - no exceptions.

Previously you could just front up to ticket window and buy tickets - however the scalpers were cleaning up big time during peak travel periods and re-heating them for a nice tidy little earner - so Chinese Govt clamped down.

Chinese nationals MUST have ID card to purchase ticket - foreigners MUST have copy of passport to purchase ticket - no exceptions.

Well maybe a few exceptions:

1. I hate carrying my passport outside hotel if I am staying longer than 1 night - so I scanned, printed and laminated data page of passport - tried presenting that and accepted no problem
2. Last few visits just presented my Victorian drivers license and it has been accepted no problem
3. Last Tuesday Mar 27 I arrived Beijing South railway station to buy ticket to Tianjin and realized I had no photo ID on my at all - nada zilch zippo. Quickly sought out English speaking assistant at help desk - she calls over Supervisor - Supervisor quite adamant CANNOT buy ticket - I make pleading gesturing body motions - she beckons over male accomplice who asks me follow him.

I follow him to entrance gate 20/21 where Tianjin train was about to depart - he talks to gorgeous female Chinese gate attendant - beckons me to follow - we go through side gate - down escalator to platform - he points to train and says number 4 - clearly pointing me to carriage no 4.

Carriage 4 is dining car - any of you guys who have travelled CRH trains will know what I mean - all seats taken but I am permitted to stand. 10mins into 30min journey conductors come along checking tickets - I just flash a red Mayo and voila they produce electronic ticket selling device from rear pocket - 59RMB later I am holding printed standing ticket - just 8RMB shy of best first class seat on this route.

See - no ID - no ticket - no exceptions.

Return journey I am facing same dilemna - get to window - Beijing - first classs? Passport? Mayo (don't have) - she looks at me - I throw over to her Westpac Singapore Airlines Platinum Visa Card - she looks at it - laughs - prints me ticket - takes mt 67RMB.
See - no ID - no ticket - no exceptions.

Welcome to China - the land complication and contradiction - always expect the unexpected.

If you speak some basic chinese, you can ask one of the people hanging around the ticket office to accompany you to buy the ticket and they use their ID card. You just need to pay them 10 or 20 rmb. I have done this before.

 

[psi999]

Thread from the dead.

I would like travel Beijing - Shanghai on the HSR in 2 weeks time.

From all those knowledgeable should I look at pre booking (how?) or arrive and buy a ticket on the day (or a couple of days before).... If it helps i don't speak any of the local language at all

Thanks in advance!

 

[one9]

Thread from the dead.

I would like travel Beijing - Shanghai on the HSR in 2 weeks time.

From all those knowledgeable should I look at pre booking (how?) or arrive and buy a ticket on the day (or a couple of days before).... If it helps i don't speak any of the local language at all

Thanks in advance!

Buying a train ticket in China at the proper ticket office is a hard thing to do if you speak no Chinese. You are better to use a provider to buy the tickets for you. Depending on who you use, you may only pay a dollar or two more. It is likely your hotel concierge can help you.

Normally would be fine buying a ticket a couple of days before or the day before, but sometimes it will be very hard to buy tickets (eg. Chinese public holidays).

 

[psi999]

Thanks for that - hope the hotel (Swissotel) can sort me out.

 

[moa999]

Whilst staying in Guangzhou just ask the staff at the Hilton to do it for me.
Gave them the train number I wanted and the cash, as well as my passport.

Just had to be taxi fee for one of the porters to/from the train station (am sure he caught the subway and pocketed the cash) but cheap for my time.
At GZ the Chinese have to scan ticket and ID card, there is a manual checking process for passport and ticket for others.

 

[jetlagger]

Whilst staying in Guangzhou just ask the staff at the Hilton to do it for me.
Gave them the train number I wanted and the cash, as well as my passport.

Just had to be taxi fee for one of the porters to/from the train station (am sure he caught the subway and pocketed the cash) but cheap for my time.
At GZ the Chinese have to scan ticket and ID card, there is a manual checking process for passport and ticket for others.

Mmmm. Interesting..

I travel through GZ quite often, last week I bought a ticket on day prior to travel GZ dong > Kowloon. I didn't have to show my passport or any ID this time, but always have it on hand, as they randomly request it.
Unlike buying a ticket, for example from GZ > SZ cannot be bought from machine, have to join the long or short Q & I usually just show my Australian Drivers Licence, which they note the number on the ticket.
There seems to be no form of uniformity &/or consistency in buying tickets travelling on CRH around China.
At times I get my staff to buy tickets for me, as they can use their China ID, but apparently must travel together to purchase two tickets from machine using this method.