This chapter concerns ordinary mainland China Railway travel, with separate rules for West Kowloon cross-boundary tickets and city metros. A birthday between outward and return journeys requires checking both dates.
What to have ready
Start with age and the child's document
The current 12306 child FAQ calculates age on the travel date: an accompanied child who has turned six but is under fourteen needs a child discount ticket, while someone fourteen or older needs a full-price ticket. Under-fourteens normally travel with an adult, with specified exceptions such as school commuting or railway-approved supervision. Do not reuse an old height-based tutorial for ordinary national railway tickets or import a Hong Kong concession category. Book using the child's own valid document. Where that is a Mainland Travel Permit, enter its actual category and recorded name and resolve verification through the identity chapter instead of substituting a parent's document. Check outward and return birthdays together with document validity before booking either leg.
Declare free children and decide on seats
Each ticketed adult may carry one child under six free without a separate seat; additional children beyond that allowance need child discount tickets. A free-age child who will use their own seat or berth also needs the applicable child ticket. Free travel still requires an advance declaration, and the child's own document used for that declaration serves as their travel credential. Follow the current free-child declaration entry and inspect the completed adult ticket and associated child information before considering the party ready. Decide whether sharing a seat works for the duration, naps, stroller handling and supervision workload before selecting that option. Do not assume an apparently empty seat after boarding will remain unused throughout the journey.
Match the adult and check the actual fare
For the EMU rows below, apply the published-fare floor after the base percentage: if the executed adult fare is at least 40% of the published fare, the child fare cannot fall below 40% of the published fare. If the executed adult fare is below that level, the child pays that executed fare. The confirmation screen remains decisive. The child's discount ticket must match the accompanying adult's date, train and class, and cannot go beyond the adult's destination. Buying the child a different departure and hoping to negotiate on the platform is not a workable plan. Discounts differ among ordinary seats, premium classes and sleeper products; the current FAQ also describes floors tied to the published and executed fares. Consequently, do not assume every child ticket equals half the displayed adult price. Use the actual child fare at confirmation for the budget, with renminbi for ordinary domestic tickets and separate rules for a cross-boundary segment. Recheck age for each dated leg when a birthday, connection or waitlist changes the itinerary. Resolve uncertain ticket categories or document mismatches with official support before departure.
| Product or class | Base calculation |
|---|---|
| EMU second, first and multifunction seats | 50% of the executed adult fare, subject to the published-fare floor below |
| EMU special, premium first and business seats | 80% of the executed adult fare, subject to the published-fare floor below |
| EMU sleepers | 70% of the executed adult fare, subject to the published-fare floor below |
| Conventional-train seat and supplementary components; separate berth charges | 50% of the relevant published fare; a separate berth adds the full berth charge and half the air-conditioning charge where applicable |
Worked example: the sixth birthday falls before the return
A family travels from Shenzhen North to Guangzhou South before a child's sixth birthday and returns after it. The parent calculates age on both travel dates. If the outward journey meets the one-free-child-per-ticketed-adult condition without a separate seat, the parent declares the child. On the return, the child is already six and receives their own discount ticket matching the parent's train and class. A separate outward seat would also require a child ticket rather than only a declaration. The parent checks the child's travel permit against both records and budgets from each confirmed fare, rather than copying the outward treatment into the return. Station validation follows the actual document and available equipment.
Use age on each travel date, the child's own document and a ticket category that matches the seat need.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.