Last updated: 26 September 2026
Direct answer. China Railway's own regulations define the seat classes and name eleven: hard seat, soft seat, second class, first class, premier class, business class, hard sleeper, soft sleeper, deluxe soft sleeper, second-class sleeper and first-class sleeper. Ordinary or EMU service decides which apply.
China's train seat classes, as China Railway's own regulations define them: the full list, which classes run on which train, and the rules attached to each.
The class list, the ticket-content rule and the child and student provisions on this page are the text of China State Railway Group's Regulations on Railway Passenger Transport, as published on the 12306 official site. The English operational rules are 12306's own English FAQ. Both were retrieved on 26 September 2026 and are listed at the end.
Most booking guides treat seat classes as a comfort ladder, from cheapest to dearest. The official regulations treat them as something narrower and more useful: seat class is a defined term in the regulations, it appears on the ticket as a required item, and several rules in the same regulation attach to it.
The regulation defines two terms that are easy to confuse, and the distinction is worth holding on to before you book:
A ticket carries both. When the rules say a change is allowed for the date, the train number or the seat, the class travels with it: the regulation defines its rebooking procedure as covering a change of travel date, time, train number, seat position, seat class and arrival station. Class is one of the things the railway lets you alter, not a fixed attribute of the booking.
The regulation's definition of seat class lists these classes by name, in this order. The regulation is published in Chinese, and the ticket prints the class in Chinese characters; the reading in the first column below is the standard Mandarin romanisation of that term, given as a matching aid. The English renderings are the conventional ones, not official translations.
| Term (standard reading) | English rendering | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| yingzuo | hard seat | The default class on ordinary loco-hauled trains |
| ruanzuo | soft seat | The higher seated class on ordinary trains |
| erdengzuo | second class | The standard class on EMU services |
| yidengzuo | first class | The higher seated class on EMU services |
| tedengzuo | premier class | A seated EMU class above first class; renderings vary between guides |
| shangwuzuo | business class | The top seated class on the newest EMU sets |
| yingwo | hard sleeper | The standard sleeper on ordinary trains |
| ruanwo | soft sleeper | The higher sleeper on ordinary trains |
| gaoji ruanwo | deluxe soft sleeper | The top sleeper; a small number of berths per train |
| erdengwo | second-class sleeper | An EMU sleeper class |
| yidengwo | first-class sleeper | The higher EMU sleeper class |
Two cautions about this list, both from the source itself.
First, the definition ends with the Chinese word for "and so on". It is an open list, not a closed one, so a ticket carrying a class name you do not recognise is not evidence that the class is unofficial.
Second, the same regulation names further EMU classes elsewhere in its text that this definition does not list: the second-class compartment seat and the multi-function seat. They appear in the student-fare provision quoted below, not in the definition clause. Treat them as classes the regulation recognises, not as part of the eleven-name list.
This is the distinction that answers most "which class should I book" questions, and the regulation draws it explicitly. Its student-fare provision is scoped to ordinary passenger trains on the one hand and EMU trains on the other, and names the classes available on each:
| Train type | Classes the regulation names for it |
|---|---|
| Ordinary passenger train | hard seat, hard sleeper |
| EMU (the high-speed and intercity sets) | second class, second-class compartment seat, multi-function seat, first class, and the EMU sleeper classes |
That mapping is narrower than the full class list, because the provision it comes from is about student fares rather than about fleet composition. What it establishes reliably is the two-family split: ordinary trains carry hard-seat and hard-sleeper style accommodation; EMU services carry second-class, first-class and EMU sleeper accommodation. Which specific classes a particular train offers is a property of that train, and the regulation does not publish a fleet table.
If you are choosing between the seated classes on a high-speed service, the booking mechanics and the practical differences between second and first class are covered in how to book high-speed rail in China.
The regulation specifies the items a railway ticket must carry. The list is short, and seat class is one of the required items:
Two rules in the same section are worth knowing before you plan a change. The fare on the ticket is the fare in force when you bought it, and if the railway later adjusts fares it will neither collect nor refund the difference on tickets already sold. A ticket is valid for that day and that train, and if you board or alight part-way through the journey by your own choice, the fare for the untravelled section is not refunded.
This is where seat class stops being a preference and becomes a rule. The regulation requires that a child's discount ticket match the accompanying adult's ticket on travel date, train number and seat class, with an arrival station no further than the adult's.
The age bands, as the regulation and 12306's English FAQ state them, are:
| Age at travel date | What is required |
|---|---|
| Under 6, no separate seat | One child per adult holding a paid ticket may travel free |
| Under 6, using a separate seat | A child discount ticket is required |
| 6 to under 14 | A child discount ticket |
| 14 and over | A full-price ticket |
The regulation adds that children under 14 travel accompanied by an adult, with two stated exceptions: children who need an ordinary train to commute to school, and children the railway operator agrees to supervise in transit. It also states that only one child may travel free with each adult, and that further children need discount tickets.
Because a free child does not occupy a seat position, and a child who does occupy one needs a ticket in the same class as the adult's, the class you book for yourself can decide whether your child needs a paid ticket. That is the practical reason to settle the class before, not after, you add the child to the order.
The student provision is the most class-specific rule in the regulation. The student fare is limited to particular classes: hard seat and hard sleeper on ordinary passenger trains, and second class, the second-class compartment seat, the multi-function seat, first class and the EMU sleeper classes on EMU trains.
The rest of the provision is about eligibility rather than class, but it sets the boundaries: the fare applies to students and postgraduates enrolled at recognised institutions, where the family home and the school are in different cities; it is issued against a student card carrying a marked discount section and a railway student discount card, stamped by the school; and it is available for four single journeys per academic year, the academic year running from 1 October to 30 September.
12306's English FAQ sets out the change and refund rules, and class sits inside the change rule rather than outside it.
What can be changed: the date of travel, the train number, and the seat or berth — and, in the FAQ's own wording for the English site, the seat class. What cannot: the origin station or the destination station, except between stations in the same city.
A ticket may be changed once, with the fee tied to how far ahead you act and whether the new train departs later than the original date:
| When you change | Fee, as 12306's English FAQ states it |
|---|---|
| More than 48 hours before departure | No fee |
| 24 to 48 hours before departure, switching to a train departing before 24:00 on the departure date | No fee |
| After the train departs, switching to a same-day train | No fee |
| 24 to 48 hours before departure, to a later-dated train | 5% of the lower fare |
| Less than 24 hours before departure, to a later-dated train | 15% of the lower fare |
| After the train departs, to a next-day or later train | 40% of the lower fare |
Changing the arrival station has its own gate: the request must be made at least 48 hours before departure, and once the arrival station has been changed, no further change — including of the date, the train number or the seat class — is allowed.
Refunds run on a separate scale, which the FAQ states as a percentage of the ticket price: 10% where the refund is made less than 48 hours and more than 24 hours before departure, and 20% where it is made less than 24 hours before. Refunds made at least 48 hours ahead are not charged on that scale. If a ticket was endorsed or had its destination changed between 48 hours and 8 days before departure to a train departing at least 8 days later, a 5% refund service fee applies even when the refund itself is made more than 8 days ahead; tickets endorsed or changed into the Spring Festival peak season are charged 20% of the ticket price.
The FAQ is specific about documents, and the answer is narrower than "bring your passport". Real-name ticketing applies. Foreign passengers can buy real-name tickets with valid passports usable under the relevant regulations, and on the 12306 English site only valid foreign passports are accepted as the ID document.
On format: both electronic and paper tickets are on sale, and an electronic ticket is itself the contract voucher. After buying on 12306, an itinerary sheet can be printed or downloaded from the site, or printed at designated station counters or automatic ticketing machines; neither the itinerary sheet nor a reimbursement receipt works for check-in.
On timing: the site provides information queries and refund services around the clock, while ticket sales and endorsement run from 05:00 to 01:00 the next day, and to 23:30 on Tuesdays.
Three things are commonly asserted about Chinese seat classes that this page does not state, because the sources retrieved do not support them.
The regulation's definition clause names eleven: hard seat, soft seat, second class, first class, premier class, business class, hard sleeper, soft sleeper, deluxe soft sleeper, second-class sleeper and first-class sleeper. The clause ends with the Chinese word for "and so on", so the list is open, and the same regulation names further EMU classes elsewhere in its text.
Seat position is the carriage and the seat or berth position shown on the ticket — where you sit. Seat class is the category of that seat. A ticket is required to carry both, and the regulation defines its rebooking procedure as covering a change of date, time, train number, seat position, seat class and arrival station.
The regulation defines the rebooking procedure as covering a change of seat class, and 12306's English FAQ lists the seat class among the things a passenger can change. But a ticket may be changed only once, and once the arrival station has been changed no further change — including the seat class — is allowed.
Yes. The regulation requires a child discount ticket to match the accompanying adult's ticket on travel date, train number and seat class, with an arrival station no further than the adult's. A child who uses a separate seat needs a discount ticket even when under six; a child under six sharing the adult's seat travels free, one per adult.
Hard seat and hard sleeper on ordinary passenger trains, and second class, the second-class compartment seat, the multi-function seat, first class and the EMU sleeper classes on EMU trains — four single journeys per academic year, on a stamped student discount card, where the family home and the school are in different cities.
All sources retrieved 26 September 2026. This page is an independent reading of the sources listed; the official pages themselves are the specification.
| Fact used on this page | Source |
|---|---|
| S1 — The regulation's definitions of seat position (the carriage stated on the ticket, and the seat or berth position in it) and seat class (the category of a passenger-train seat, given as hard seat, soft seat, second class, first class, premier class, business class, hard sleeper, soft sleeper, deluxe soft sleeper, second-class sleeper and first-class sleeper, ending with the word for "and so on"); the definition of the rebooking procedure as covering date, time, train number, seat position, seat class and arrival station; Article 7's required ticket contents (origin and destination, carriage and seat number and class, fare, train number, travel date and time, validity, identity-document information); Article 8 that the fare is the one in force at purchase with no retrospective adjustment; Article 9 that a ticket is valid for that day and train and the untravelled section is not refunded; Article 10's official sales channels; Article 15's child age bands, the one-free-child-per-adult rule, the separate-seat rule and the requirement that the child's ticket match the adult's on date, train number and class; Article 16's student eligibility and the four single journeys per academic year (1 October to 30 September); the student-fare class restriction to hard seat and hard sleeper on ordinary passenger trains and second class, second-class compartment seat, multi-function seat, first class and the EMU sleeper classes on EMU trains | China State Railway Group, Regulations on Railway Passenger Transport, published on the 12306 official site (published in Chinese), retrieved 26 September 2026 https://kyfw.12306.cn/otn/gonggao/saleTicketMeans.html |
| S2 — That only the date of travel, train number or seat (berth) can be changed and the origin and destination stations cannot, except between stations in the same city; that a ticket can be changed once and the seat class is among the changeable items; the change-fee tiers (no fee over 48 hours; no fee at 24–48 hours when switching to a train departing before 24:00 on the departure date; no fee for a same-day train after departure; 5% of the lower fare at 24–48 hours to a later-dated train; 15% below 24 hours; 40% after departure to a next-day or later train); the 48-hour gate and one-only rule for changing the arrival station; the refund percentages (10% between 48 and 24 hours, 20% below 24 hours, 5% for an endorsed or destination-changed ticket moving to a train 8 or more days later, 20% into the Spring Festival peak season); child discount tickets for over 6 and under 14, full price at 14 and over, one free child under 6 per adult with no reserved seat; that foreign passengers can buy real-name tickets with valid passports, and that only valid foreign passports are accepted on the English site; that electronic and paper tickets are both on sale and the itinerary sheet is not a check-in document; the service hours (queries and refunds around the clock, sales and endorsement 05:00–01:00, to 23:30 on Tuesdays) | 12306 official English FAQ, retrieved 26 September 2026 https://www.12306.cn/en/faq.html |
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