How do I book a sleeper train in China, and what should I know about safety?
On 12306, trains marked 铺 let you pick your berth; otherwise it is assigned. Berths are not allocated by sex.
What it depends on
- IfYour train shows a 铺 mark on 12306→ thenPick the berth after adding the passenger. If it is sold out you get a random berth and can cancel.
- IfNo 铺 mark on 12306, or you are booking on another website→ thenExpect an assigned berth. At a station ticket window you can ask for a specific berth; otherwise ask the attendant on board if you want to swap.
- IfYou are uncomfortable with your compartment→ thenAsk the attendant or call 12306; staff will try to arrange a swap. In an emergency, call 110.
- IfYou are 60 or older→ thenThe system gives you a lower berth first when one is available.
The railway's rules list these sleeper classes: hard sleeper (硬卧), soft sleeper (软卧) and deluxe soft sleeper (高级软卧) on conventional trains, and first-class and second-class sleepers (一等卧, 二等卧) on overnight bullet trains, often called 动卧; China Railway also sells bullet-train soft sleepers (动车组软卧). Hard sleeper has upper, middle and lower berths; soft sleeper, bullet-train soft sleeper and first-class sleeper have upper and lower only. Second-class sleeper has three tiers on most trains, but some newer overnight bullet trains use four-berth compartments with upper and lower berths only; the booking page shows what your train has. Trip.com describes hard sleeper as an open six-berth bay and soft sleeper as a four-berth compartment with a door; the railway pages we read do not give layouts in words.
Picking a berth: since June 2023, Railway 12306 (website and app) lets you choose the berth on trains that show a 铺 mark next to the train number. Add the passenger and a berth-selection list appears. If what you asked for has sold out, the system assigns one at random, and you can accept or cancel. On other trains the online system assigns the berth. At a station ticket window or ticket agency you can ask for the berth you want (upper, middle or lower) when you buy. Passengers aged 60 and over are given lower berths first. If you book through another seller, check that its page offers a berth choice before you pay.
Price: a lower berth usually costs more than a middle, and a middle more than an upper; we found no official pricing rule, only fares shown on 12306. In a June 2023 example the gaps on the Z6 Nanning to Beijing hard sleeper were about ¥15 a step (lower ¥487.5, middle ¥472.5, upper ¥455.5); the Z501 Zhengzhou to Haikou hard sleeper showed the same pattern (lower ¥593.5, middle ¥575.5, upper ¥550.5). Read the price for your train in the app; dynamic fares on some trains move these numbers.
With children: one child under 6 can travel free with each paying adult and share the adult's berth. A child travelling free who uses a berth alone needs a child discount ticket, which costs less than an adult berth; check the price on the booking page.
Safety. Under China's Railway Law, order inside stations and on trains is the responsibility of the railway police. In an emergency, tell the train crew; the national police number is 110. The railway's travel notice makes looking after your belongings your own job; Trip.com's guide suggests keeping passport, wallet and phone near your pillow rather than on the rack above.
Travelling alone as a woman: the national ticketing system does not allocate berths by sex. In April 2023, 12306 customer service told Chinese media that sleeper berths are sold at random and that a passenger who is uncomfortable can ask the attendant or call 12306, and staff will try to arrange a swap. We found no current official women-only compartment on national booking channels.
Useful apps
Sources
- China Railway 12306 — Railway Passenger Transport RulesOfficial
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06, re-read 2026-10-07. Art. 15(3) '免费乘车的儿童单独使用席位时应购买儿童优惠票'. '席别：…包括硬座、软座、二等座、一等座、特等座、商务座、硬卧、软卧、高级软卧、二等卧、一等卧等。'
Open source ↗ - China Railway (WeChat official account) — online berth selection, June 2023Official
Fetched 2026-10-07: '旅客在铁路车站售票窗口、代售点等线下渠道购买卧铺车票可选择铺别'; '普速列车硬卧的上、中、下铺和软卧的上、下铺，动车组软卧的上、下铺，一等卧的上、下铺，二等卧的上、中、下铺'; '如剩余铺位无法满足选铺需求，系统将随机分配铺位，旅客可根据自身情况选择接受或者取消。旅客线下购票仍可自主选择铺别。'
Open source ↗ - 四川省人民政府网（转四川日报）— 成都至北京动卧问答 (Sichuan provincial government (via Sichuan Daily): Chengdu–Beijing overnight bullet train Q&A, July 2025)Press
Fetched 2026-10-07 (via Exa): '整列动卧列车的普通卧铺为4人间，采用上下铺'; '余票充足的情况下，可以前往线下窗口指定座位'; child sleeper fare '二等卧席票价按公布票价减去二等座公布票价50%计算'.
Open source ↗ - 界面新闻 — 12306 在线选铺试行与 Z501 票价实例 (Jiemian: 12306 berth selection pilot and Z501 fares, June 2023)Press
Fetched 2026-10-07: '以郑州到海口的Z501为例，该车次硬卧上铺为550.5元，而中铺为575.5元，下铺为593.5元'.
Open source ↗ - China Railway 12306 — passenger travel noticeOfficial
Text read from the page's JS bundle 2026-10-06: '旅行途中应妥善放置和看管好随身携带物品，不得影响公共空间使用和安全。'
Open source ↗ - Railway Law of the PRC, Article 43 (MOFCOM law database)Official
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06: '车站和列车内的治安秩序，由铁路公安机关负责维护'.
Open source ↗ - Beijing municipal government: emergency numbersOfficial
Static HTML fetched 2026-10-06: '110 - Police call.' (nationwide, free)
Open source ↗ - CCTV News — 12306 berth-selection mark explainedPress
CCTV News official account, fetched 2026-10-06: '根据“铺”字标识选择…系统会自动弹出选铺服务列表…如剩余铺位无法满足选铺需求，系统将随机分配铺位'; 60+ '自动优先分配下铺'.
Open source ↗ - 澎湃政务号 — 12306 在线选铺试点（2023-06） (The Paper (government account): 12306 online berth selection pilot, June 2023)Press
Fetched 2026-10-06: start 2023-06-10, 230 trains; Z6 hard sleeper lower 487.5 / middle 472.5 / upper 455.5.
Open source ↗ - 光明网（转南方日报）— 12306 客服回应卧铺男女混住 (Guangming Online (via Nanfang Daily): 12306 on mixed-sex sleeper compartments, April 2023)Press
Fetched 2026-10-06: '普通列车的卧铺车票为随机发售…乘客可以找列车员或者联系12306，工作人员会尽可能地协调'.
Open source ↗ - 新黄河 — 12306：目前没有女性专用包厢 (Xin Huanghe: 12306 says there are no women-only compartments)Press
Fetched 2026-10-06: 12306 '目前列车上没有女性专用包厢'.
Open source ↗ - Trip.com — China sleeper trains guidePress
Fetched 2026-10-06; seller's own description: hard sleeper 6 berths open, soft sleeper 4 berths with a locked door; 'Put your passport, wallet and mobile phone in a small bag under your pillow … Don't put valuable items on the shelves above your head.'
Open source ↗