Can I bring big suitcases on a high-speed train in China?
Free carry-on on a bullet train: 20 kg per adult, each piece up to 130 cm (L+W+H) and 20 kg. Bigger bags go by courier.
What it depends on
- IfEach case is under 130 cm (L+W+H) and 20 kg, and each traveller's total is under 20 kg→ thenCarry it on free; you look after it yourself on board.
- IfOne piece is over 130 cm or over 20 kg→ thenSplit the load, or send it ahead: consign it at a station that handles luggage (arrives in days) or use the station courier counter.
- IfYou need the bag the day you arrive→ thenDo not consign it: delivery is counted in days. Keep the essentials in a bag within the carry-on limits.
- IfTravelling with a baby or a wheelchair user→ thenA folding stroller or folding wheelchair rides free on top of the 20 kg.
- IfYou are taking the cross-border train to or from Hong Kong West Kowloon→ thenSame 20 kg adult allowance and 130 cm per piece, but these trains take no consigned luggage, so ship anything bigger separately.
The railway's passenger rules set the free carry-on allowance per person: 20 kg for an adult, 10 kg for a child, 35 kg for a diplomat. On EMU trains (the G, D and C bullet trains), each piece may measure at most 130 cm when you add length, width and height, and weigh at most 20 kg. Conventional trains allow 160 cm per piece, and 200 cm for a rod-shaped item. Measure your case at home: a suitcase whose three sides add up to more than 130 cm is over the bullet-train limit even if it is light.
The allowance is per passenger, so a family cannot pool it onto one oversized case. Four people with four 20 kg cases is within the rule; one 35 kg case is not, because no single piece may exceed 20 kg.
If you break the rule, the same article says you can be refused entry at the departure station. If it is found on board or at your destination, you pay luggage freight from your boarding station to your destination for the excess weight; for a piece that cannot be split, you pay on its whole weight.
A folding wheelchair for a passenger who needs it, and a folding stroller for a travelling infant, are carried free and do not count toward the 20 kg.
On board, the rules say you look after your own bags and must not block shared space. The railway's onboard safety notice says bags on the overhead rack must sit firmly and not stick out past it, and that on bullet trains large luggage goes in the large-luggage area or wherever the crew directs. Railway 12306's layout drawings for the CR400 Fuxing trains mark that cabinet (大件行李柜). Your ticket gives you a car and a seat, not a luggage space.
Too big or too heavy? The railway offers three routes, each with its own catch. Consigned luggage (托运): each piece 60 to 200 cm in total dimensions and at most 50 kg; each ticket covers 50 kg at the standard rate, and weight above that is charged at double. Only stations that handle luggage take it, not every high-speed station, so ask 12306 before you go. Delivery is counted in days (3 days for up to 600 km, plus a day for each further 600 km), so your bag can arrive after you. The station courier counter (便民托运), inside the station after security at 69 high-speed stations, ships station-to-door, next day by 18:00 at the fastest; the listed reference price is ¥23 for the first kilo plus ¥10 per extra kilo. China Railway Express's porter service (轻装行, 212 stations from July 2026) works within 35 km of the station in both directions: it collects from your door and takes the bag to the station (book 48 to 4 hours before departure), or picks it up from the platform or the station's service locker on arrival and delivers it within 5 hours (book 24 to 1 hour before arrival). Prices go by distance: ¥48, ¥58 or ¥68 a piece with a station-locker handover, ¥78, ¥88 or ¥98 a piece with a platform handover. It only takes bags that already meet the carry-on size and weight limits, and it is booked in Chinese inside the 12306 app or a WeChat mini program.
Useful apps
Sources
- China Railway 12306 — Railway Passenger Transport RulesOfficial
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06, re-read 2026-10-07. Rules in force from 2026-06-01 (Art. 115). Art. 57 carry-on 20/10/35 kg, 160 cm, rod 200 cm, EMU 130 cm, 20 kg per piece, folding wheelchair / infant stroller free; Art. 59 refusal and excess freight; Art. 67 consigned luggage 50 kg and 60-200 cm per piece; Art. 68 '每张车票允许托运行李的重量为50千克……超出部分按2倍的行李运费计费', only between '行李办理站'; Art. 76 delivery days; definitions: '席位：车票载明的车厢，以及座位或铺位位置' (no luggage space in a ticket).
Open source ↗ - China Railway 12306 — Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong cross-border rules, Art. 21Official
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-07 (same page, second rule set, in force from 2026-04-01): '每位旅客免费携带品重量和规格: 成年人20千克；儿童（含免费乘车儿童）10千克；外交人员35千克。每件物品外部尺寸长、宽、高之和不超过130厘米。不办理行李托运。'
Open source ↗ - China Railway 12306 — English FAQOfficial
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06: 'The maximum dimension of each item is 160 cm in total (rod-shaped items 200 cm) for traditional trains, and 130 cm for EMU trains; the maximum weight for each item is 20kg.'
Open source ↗ - China Railway 12306 — consigned luggage FAQOfficial
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06: 50 kg / 200 cm / 60 cm per piece; 600 km within 3 days, +1 day per 600 km; 3 days free storage after notice.
Open source ↗ - China Railway 12306 — high-speed station courier serviceOfficial
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06: '已在69个高铁车站开通便民托运服务'; standard next day by 18:00 at the fastest; '首重23元+续重10元/公斤' reference, varies by city.
Open source ↗ - China Railway 12306 — onboard safety noticeOfficial
Text read from the page's JS bundle 2026-10-06 (the second checker could not reach the page; the same wording appears in press reprints of the notice, e.g. Quanzhou Evening News 2026-07-02): '安放随身行李时，应摆放牢固，不超出行李架，乘坐动车组列车时，大件行李须放置在大件行李存放处或按乘务人员引导放置。'
Open source ↗ - China Railway 12306 — EMU train layoutsOfficial
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06: CR400 layout legend lists '大件行李柜' and '端部走廊'. Position per car not read (drawings are images).
Open source ↗ - China News Service — 'Light Travel' expands to 212 stations, new pricesPress
Fetched 2026-10-07; citing the China Railway WeChat account: '办理车站总数达到212座'; door-to-station '开车前48小时至4小时预约'; station-to-door '到站前24小时至1小时进行预约……取件后5小时内送达'; '0-10公里……20-35公里……48元/件、58元/件、68元/件' (to/from station), '78元/件、88元/件、98元/件' (to/from platform).
Open source ↗ - CCTV — How the railway's 'Light Travel' luggage service worksPress
Fetched 2026-10-06: 111 stations from 2026-01-15 (superseded by the July 2026 expansion above); within 35 km; bags must meet the 20 kg / 130 cm carry-on limits; booked in the 12306 app, 12306 or China Railway Express WeChat mini program.
Open source ↗