Backup plan for TianjinCityStn->BeijingSouthStn: taxi (up to rmb 600 according a taxi driver)

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/high-speed/ has recent Q&A

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/for-beginners.htm

https://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/how-to-buy-train-ticket.htm

Tianjin火车站 022-26193702
TSN airport 86 22 96678
TSN custom 22 12367

TSN to Tianjin火车站: subway … 25-30min trip.

3H rule “Keep at least 3H between expected landing and train departure.” https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/how-to-take.htm has details. I feel 2.5H is possible.

— 检票口 closes 5 min before departure. Better reach the station building 15 min before train time. You need to pull luggage and queue up at a few junctures.

— 12306.cn notes

• To log in, I needed last passport 4 char + smsOTP .. 159-1025 5241 is registered
• email address (not activated… I give up) was able serve as login name, and receive confirmation
• no login name registered.
• refund is 100% if well in advance, but 50% or 0% refund is fine .. typical ticket is Rmb 24
• No verification of passport photo when buying tickets. If your passport num is mistyped then you will have problem boarding.
• payment by wcpay/alipay … easy except office firewall

==== foreigner-friendly booking agency. Agencies have helped many foreigners. Not a “road less travelled” 🙂 A good agency offers hotline/wechat. Using an agency costs extra (USD 6), but saves you lots of risks, research/xx. Low-cost insurance premium, for the first trip.

If using agency, then advisable to book ASAP. Once e-ticket is issued, I will get an email showing seat and gate etc. At check-in time, only need to show passport, and let system retrieve booking details. No paper ticket.

— https://www.chinahighlights.com/contactus/ shows wechat, email, hotline(tested).

• 🙂 USD 6 flat fee for non-trivial hotline assistance.
• Instead of ticket amendment, better (easier/safer) to book two train tickets. This is the Base plan. (Bonus: to cancel one ticket using passport, go to any Tianjin火车站 counter.)

— https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/ticket-service.htm