The reporter has learned from the China Railway Qinghai-Tibet Group Co., Ltd. that the 2025 Spring Festival travel season (Chunyun) will begin on January 14 and end on February 22, lasting a total of 40 days. Starting today (December 31, 2024), train tickets for the first day of the 2025 Spring Festival travel season are now on sale.

During the Chunyun period, the railway authorities will coordinate transportation resources, strengthen passenger flow management, and continuously improve the quality of transportation services. According to the current railway ticket presale rules (tickets can be purchased 15 days in advance, including the day of purchase), the 2025 Spring Festival holiday will last from January 28 (New Year’s Eve) to February 4 (the seventh day of the Lunar New Year), totaling eight days. Based on these presale rules, tickets for January 27 (the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month) will be available on January 13, and tickets for January 28 (New Year’s Eve) will be available on January 14. For return journeys during the holiday, tickets for February 4 (the seventh day of the Lunar New Year) will go on sale on January 21. Passengers are advised to plan their trips and purchase tickets in advance.

Railway authorities remind passengers purchasing tickets online (via the 12306 website or mobile app) to pay attention to the ticket sales start time. Online ticket sale start times vary by train station, so passengers should check the specific start time for their departure station and prepare accordingly to avoid missing the first opportunity to buy tickets. Additionally, payments for online tickets must be completed within 30 minutes. Unpaid tickets will be automatically canceled after this time.

If passengers are unable to purchase tickets during the initial sales period, they can use the “standby ticket purchase” feature on the 12306 website or mobile app. According to the latest instructions for standby ticket purchases on 12306, each user can submit up to six standby orders, with a maximum of nine passengers per order.

To improve the travel experience, the railway authorities have fully implemented electronic ticketing for onboard and station ticket adjustments. Moreover, the authorities have enhanced the 12306 notification system to provide timely updates on train cancellations and changes to passengers with purchased tickets. Student discount tickets are no longer restricted to purchase during winter and summer breaks; students can now buy up to four discounted tickets at any time during an academic year.