Plans change. The 12306 official railway platform handles all cancellations and changes instantly through the app. Your Beijing to Shanghai ticket is for Thursday. Your meeting moved to Friday. You need to cancel or change. The good news: the 12306 app handles this in under 2 minutes. The relevant news: the fee depends entirely on when you act. More than 8 days before departure and the fee is negligible. The day before and you lose 20%.
This guide tells you the process and the exact fee schedule. For buying tickets: How to Buy on 12306.
Key Takeaways
- Cancel 8+ days ahead: administrative fee only. Essentially a full refund.
- Cancel 2 to 8 days ahead: 10% fee.
- Cancel within 24 hours: 20% fee. Within 1 hour of departure: 30% fee.
- No-show: non-refundable.
- Date changes: allowed via 12306 or Trip.com. Pay or receive the fare difference.
- Railway cancellation: full refund, no fee.
Cancellation Fee Schedule
| When You Cancel | Fee | You Get Back |
| More than 15 days before departure | ¥5 administrative fee | Essentially full refund |
| 8 to 15 days before departure | Small administrative fee | ~99% refund |
| 2 to 8 days before departure | 10% of ticket price | 90% refund |
| 24 hours to 2 days before departure | 20% of ticket price | 80% refund |
| 1 hour to 24 hours before departure | 30% of ticket price | 70% refund |
| Within 1 hour of scheduled departure | 50% of ticket price | 50% refund |
| After scheduled departure / no-show | 100% forfeited | 0% refund |
How to Cancel on 12306
- Open the 12306 app.
- Tap ‘Orders’ at the bottom of the screen.
- Find your booking and tap to open it.
- Tap ‘Refund Ticket’ (退票).
- Review the refund amount shown.
- Confirm the cancellation.
- Refund goes to your original payment method in 7 to 30 days.
How to Cancel on Trip.com
- Open the Trip.com app or website.
- Go to ‘My Trips’ or ‘Orders.’
- Find your train booking.
- Tap ‘Cancel’ or ‘Request Refund.’
- Follow the prompts. Trip.com processes the refund through 12306.
- Allow up to 30 days for the refund to appear.
Important: if you booked via Trip.com, cancel through Trip.com. Do not try to cancel the same booking on 12306 separately.
How to Change the Date or Time
- Open 12306. Go to Orders.
- Select your booking.
- Tap ‘Change Ticket’ (改签).
- Search for the new train you want. Must be within the 15-day booking window.
- Select the new departure. Review the fare difference.
- Confirm the change. Pay the difference if upgrading time or class.
- Your old ticket is cancelled. New ticket is confirmed.
Date changes are only possible before the original scheduled departure time. You cannot change a ticket after the train has left. If you miss the train, the ticket is non-refundable. For cancellation at the station window: bring your passport and booking reference. The station ticket staff process manual changes. Allow time to queue. For navigating train station services: Chinese Train Station guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
For buying tickets: How to Buy on 12306. For the full rail guide: China High-Speed Rail Guide.