Good news for train passengers in China! Starting October 12, travelers are allowed to choose their seats while purchasing train tickets on www.12306.com, the country’s official online railway ticket booking website, or via its mobile app. 

Passengers can choose seats online while booking train tickets. [Photo/Eastday.com]

On the morning of October 12, an instruction was published on the website, guiding people how to select and reserve train seats online.

As the instruction says, for the time being, the online seat selection option is available for bullet or high-speed train services starting with the letters C, D and G. Travelers can choose adjacent seats through the system. Otherwise, seats will be automatically assigned by the system.  

Since it is the first time for the website to launch the new service, the feature will be constantly updated and improved in the future based on operation and advice from train passengers, says China Railway Corporation, China’s national railway operator.