Starting Nov 1, 2024, China State Railway Group will offer e-invoice issuance for passengers traveling in Mainland China. Foreign travelers with trips on or after this date can apply directly for e-invoices via the Railway 12306 APP within 180 days of their journey, for company reimbursement.
Previously, foreign passengers had to show passports to collect paper tickets at high-speed rail station counters to claim reimbursements.
From Oct 1, 2025, e-invoices will be fully rolled out across China’s railway passenger services. Paper tickets (reimbursement vouchers) won’t be issued to passengers traveling on or after this date. However, “trip info slips” – noting train number, seat, etc. – will still be available. If needed, passengers can print them at in-station self-service machines or get them from counters (these slips don’t count for reimbursement).
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The Railway 12306 APP is China’s railways’ only official online ticketing platform, directly run by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. It offers the most accurate ticketing info.
Foreign passengers can use their passport details on the APP to finish the whole process—online ticket booking, seat selection, ticket changes and e-invoice requests—making it convenient and efficient.
Notably, other Chinese third-party ticketing platforms like Ctrip ultimately link to the 12306 system to issue tickets.
Foreigners must first buy tickets on the app using their passport info to get e-invoices.
Detailed steps:
On Railway 12306 APP, tap【订单】>【电子发票】>【开具电子发票】.
The interface shows eligible trips for invoicing. Select your trip and tap【开具】.
On the invoice page, 【抬头类型】 is pre-selected as 【企业】(no changes needed). Enter the correct company name in 【发票抬头】– the system will auto-match related enterprises; select the correct one from the list. Once selected, the【纳税人识别号】 will automatically display the corresponding company’s tax ID.
Tap 【提交】.
Double-check the invoice details and tap【确认】if correct.
※ Please verify the invoice information carefully to ensure accuracy. You may request a re-issued invoice once if there is an error.
【发票开具中】on the interface means the invoice is being processed. Once【发票开具成功】 appears, the process is complete.
Tap【发票预览/下载】 to view the e-invoice.
The company name and taxpayer ID you entered will be displayed at the bottom of the e-invoice.
〇 E-Invoice Retrieval Methods:
The above is how foreigners get e-invoices via Railway 12306. Simply send the e-invoice to your company’s finance for reimbursement.
Previously, foreigners had to show passports to collect paper invoices at high-speed rail station counters for reimbursement. Now, via the Railway 12306 APP, they can finish everything—from online ticket booking to e-invoice retrieval—conveniently.
Foreign employees in China are advised to use the Railway 12306 APP if needed.
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