China Railway Opens Autumn Holiday Ticket Sales

China’s national railway operator began selling train tickets on Wednesday for the 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday travel period, a 16-day window expected to see a major surge in passenger demand as millions of citizens travel for family reunions and tourism. According to Xinhua, the holiday transport period runs from September 23 to October 8, with October 1 projected as the peak passenger day. Tickets for September 23, the first day of the transport window, went on sale today following the standard 15-day advance purchase rule.

Two Holidays, One Extended Travel Season

This year’s holiday calendar presents a distinctive travel pattern. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 25-27 (Friday through Sunday), while National Day runs from October 1-7, creating two separate but closely spaced holiday periods. As China News Service reported, railway authorities anticipate that short-distance Mid-Autumn travel will overlap with long-distance National Day journeys, keeping overall passenger volumes at elevated levels throughout the period.

The proximity of the two holidays has also fueled a popular “take 3, rest 13” trend, where travelers use three days of annual leave (September 28-30) to combine both holidays into a single 13-day break. Travel industry observers note this is driving particularly strong demand for long-distance and outbound travel routes.

Expanded Capacity and Night Services

To accommodate the expected surge, the national railway will implement a peak operating schedule, planning approximately 13,000 passenger trains per day. The People’s Daily reported that night high-speed trains will operate in the early morning hours on September 25, 28, and 30 through October 2, as well as October 6-8, along the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Guangzhou, and Beijing-Harbin high-speed rail trunk lines.

Additional high-speed sleeper trains will be deployed on major long-distance corridors, including routes connecting Beijing with Shenzhen, Nanning, Kunming, and Hong Kong, as well as Shanghai with Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Foshan. Special tourist trains such as the “Starlight·Yanzhao” and “Panda Special Train” will also operate alongside cultural heritage study trains, while customized “fan trains” for concerts and sporting events aim to support the growing service consumption sector.

New Reservation System in Action

This holiday period marks the first major test of the railway’s new reservation-based ticketing pilot program. Launched on July 20 on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and Beijing-Shanghai conventional line, the system allows passengers to submit reservation requests between 60 and 17 days before departure. As CCTV detailed, orders are fulfilled between the 20th and 16th day before travel based on “long-distance priority, balancing short and medium distance” and “first-come, first-served” principles.

Reservation orders for September 23 travel dates began being fulfilled on September 4, with subsequent dates to follow in sequence. The pilot program, which initially covers more than 200 trains, aims to help railway authorities better match supply with demand and enable “train operation on demand.” An earlier report on the program’s launch noted that railway officials view the system as a way to optimize capacity allocation and improve the passenger experience through more predictable ticket availability.

Fair Ticketing and Passenger Services

Railway authorities have emphasized their commitment to maintaining a fair ticketing environment. Measures include enhanced system monitoring, expanded bandwidth, and technical measures to prevent and curb malicious ticket-snatching by third-party platforms. Officials reiterated that the railway 12306 website and mobile app remain the only official online ticketing channels, with no additional fees for acceleration packages, memberships, or seat selection.

A spokesperson from China Railway’s Passenger Transport Department, quoted via Sina Finance, advised travelers to plan their trips early and use the 12306 platform’s sale time query and reminder features. Passengers who miss out on initial ticket sales are encouraged to use the waitlist function, which allows up to 60 “date + train” combinations, with newly added capacity prioritized for waitlisted passengers.

Services for elderly passengers include a dedicated phone booking line for those aged 60 and above, while manual ticket windows and cash payment options remain available at stations. Student reservation services and online seat selection features continue to operate as well.

What to Watch

With popular routes and peak travel windows expected to sell out quickly, railway authorities urge passengers to consider off-peak departures and alternative routing options such as connecting transfers. The coming weeks will reveal how effectively the new reservation system handles the pressure of one of China’s busiest travel periods of the year—and whether it delivers on its promise of a smoother, more predictable ticketing experience for the millions of passengers who will take to the rails this autumn.