Carry the original valid passport connected to a real-name booking when taking an intercity train or domestic flight. Hotels and some attractions, administrative services, or security checks may also require the original. A photo or paper copy helps with recovery and communication, but it is not a universal substitute.
Before leaving the passport elsewhere, ask whether the day’s transport, accommodation, ticket, bank, hospital, or official process will require it.
Trains
China Railway’s official English FAQ says foreign passengers can buy real-name tickets with valid passports and should present the valid identity document used for purchase when checking in, boarding, and exiting.
Therefore:
- book with the passport you will carry
- enter the name and number exactly as required
- bring the original on travel day
- do not expect an itinerary sheet or screenshot to function as the ticket or identity document
If the passport was replaced after booking, contact official 12306 support or the station before the journey.
Domestic Flights
Use the document and passenger details in the airline booking. Keep the original passport ready for check-in, bag drop, security, boarding, and disruption handling. Online check-in or a mobile boarding pass may not remove the document check.
If the passport name cannot be entered correctly, contact the airline or seller before paying. Do not book under a shortened or invented identity merely to fit a form.
Hotels
Hotels register foreign guests through the applicable accommodation process. Present the original passport and entry document requested at check-in. Each foreign guest should be included correctly, including children.
If a hotel asks to hold the passport longer than needed for check-in, ask why, who controls it, and when it will be returned. Do not leave for a train or flight without retrieving it.
Attractions and Local Transport
Some ticketed attractions use real-name reservations or identity checks. Read the official booking terms and bring the document specified. Ordinary metro or bus rides may not require a passport, but a station service, pass purchase, or other process can have its own requirement.
Carry only what is needed for the day while keeping the original secure and under control. The answer can differ by activity.
Visa or Stay-Permit Applications
An exit-entry administration may retain a passport during an accepted application and issue a receipt. Ask the office exactly what the receipt proves and which transport or accommodation transactions it can support.
The State Council’s 2025 visitor guide lists a receipt of acceptance of a visa application among identity documents usable in some railway processes. That does not guarantee acceptance by every airline, hotel, bank, or attraction. Plan travel around the document-handling period and confirm with each operator.
Copies and Secure Backups
Keep:
- a secure digital copy of the information page
- a copy of the current visa, permit, or entry record where relevant
- passport number and issue/expiry details
- recent passport photos if useful for the nationality’s replacement process
- embassy or consulate contact
- police and insurer contact
Do not expose passport copies in a public photo album or send them to an unverified account. Redact unnecessary data when a service does not need the complete document.
Carrying the Passport Safely
Use a closed internal pocket or travel pouch and return it to the same location after every checkpoint. Do not place it loose in a seat pocket, tray, or phone case. In a family or group, assign document responsibility explicitly rather than assuming another person has it.
Before leaving a hotel, taxi, station, or aircraft, do a document check. Keep the backup card and phone separately so one lost bag does not remove identity, money, and communication together.
If the Passport Is Lost
Stop and identify the last confirmed location. Contact the hotel, taxi company or platform, station, airline, and lost-property service as appropriate. Report suspected theft or loss to local police and obtain the documentation required by your embassy or consulate and Chinese exit-entry authorities.
Contact the embassy or consulate for an emergency travel document and the local exit-entry administration for the visa, stay, or departure process. A replacement travel document may not by itself recreate the Chinese entry permission.
Cancel or rebook transport only after checking what documents and timelines will be available. Keep police, consular, and exit-entry records together.
Passport Checklist
- Bookings use the exact passport I will carry.
- The original is ready for trains, flights, and hotel check-in.
- Any attraction-specific identity rule was checked.
- Secure copies and consular contacts exist separately.
- The passport has one consistent protected storage location.
- Application receipts and travel plans were confirmed with operators.
- I know the police, consular, and exit-entry sequence after loss.