The reputation is of a difficult country for a family. The reality is a place where a toddler causes a small commotion of approval on a train, where every restaurant has something plain and warm, and where the intercity transport is faster and more comfortable than anything most families are used to at home.
What genuinely catches people out is administrative, and it changed recently.
The rail fare rule that changed in 2023#
Almost every English-language guide still says a child under 1.2 m travels free on Chinese trains and one between 1.2 m and 1.5 m pays a half fare. That has not been the rule since 1 January 2023.
China Railway moved child fares from height to age, in step with real-name ticketing:
| Age on the day of travel | Fare |
|---|---|
| Under 6, not occupying a seat | Free — one such child per fare-paying adult |
| Under 6, occupying a seat | Discounted child ticket |
| 6 to under 14 | Discounted child ticket |
| 14 and over | Full adult fare |
Age is calculated on the travel date, not the booking date — a birthday between the two moves the child into the next band.
Second children matter here. The free allowance is one under-six per paying adult; a second under-six needs a discounted ticket even without a seat. Two adults travelling with two small children are fine; one adult with two is not.
The metro did not change#
City metros still work on height, which is the opposite of the railway and a genuine trap if you assume one rule covers both.
1.30 metres and under travels free on the Beijing and Shanghai networks — but the allowance per adult differs by city, which is not something a visitor would ever guess:
- Beijing — one free child per paying adult
- Shanghai — two free children per paying adult
Beijing's own guidance also tells you how to work the gate: send the child through first and follow behind them on one tap. With more than one child, find a staff member rather than improvising at the barrier.
Height-based pricing has an obvious edge case. A tall seven-year-old pays on the metro and a small nine-year-old may not — the measuring marks on the barrier are the arbiter, and nobody argues with them.
Food is the easy part#
This is where families are most often relieved. Chinese restaurant food is built around shared dishes at a table, which means a child can be fed from what everyone else is having, and the plain end of almost every menu is genuinely plain.
Reliable anywhere in the country, at any hour:
- Congee (粥, zhōu) — rice porridge, warm, bland, served at breakfast everywhere
- Plain noodles in broth — ask for it without chilli and it arrives without chilli
- Steamed buns and dumplings — pork-and-cabbage is the default and is not spicy
- Egg fried rice (蛋炒饭, dàn chǎo fàn) — the universal fallback
- Steamed egg custard (蒸蛋, zhēng dàn) — soft, savoury, good for very small children
The one phrase worth having is 不要辣 (bù yào là) — no chilli. In Sichuan and Hunan expect it to mean "less", not "none"; the two kinds of heat are different things and a kitchen that has removed the chilli may still be using the numbing peppercorn.
Restaurants will produce a high chair, hot water for a bottle, and usually a bowl and a short spoon without being asked. Boiling water is free and available in every station, train carriage and hotel corridor — the single most useful piece of infrastructure a family travelling with formula could ask for.
What to bring and what to buy there#
Nappies, wipes, formula and baby food are sold in supermarkets and pharmacy chains in every city, and cost less than at home. Bring enough for the first two days and buy the rest on arrival.
The genuine exceptions are the same as for adults: specific medication in its original packaging with a copy of the prescription, and anything your child will refuse a substitute for. The packing list covers the eight things that are hard to replace locally.
Car seats are the real gap. Taxis and ride-hailing cars do not carry them and are not required to, so a family that will not travel without one has to bring it. That is a decision worth making before you build an itinerary around road transfers rather than rail.
The part that is actually hard#
Not the children. The stairs.
Chinese cities are built at a scale that assumes walking and escalators, and a pushchair meets a lot of steps: pedestrian overpasses, station entrances without lifts, temple thresholds designed in the fifteenth century. Newer metro lines and stations are well provided with lifts; older ones are not, and the lift is often at one end of a long platform.
Families who have done it tend to say the same thing: a carrier beats a pushchair for anything except long flat distances, and the flat distances are exactly where you would have taken the metro anyway.
Two more practical points in the same category:
- Public toilets frequently have no paper, and many are squat toilets. Carry tissues, always — where paper is and is not provided sets out the pattern.
- Attraction tickets are often priced by height too, with the free line commonly at 1.2 m and a child rate above it. The rule is posted at the gate and varies by site, so budget for it rather than assuming.
Where China is better than you expect#
Children are treated as everybody's business in a way that can take a Western parent by surprise — strangers will talk to your child, photograph them, and offer them food. It is warmth rather than intrusion, though a firm, smiling refusal is understood if you would rather they did not.
High-speed rail is the single biggest advantage. Four hours from Beijing to Shanghai in a seat with legroom, a table, a toilet you can reach and a trolley coming past beats any equivalent journey by air with children, and the stations have feeding rooms.
And the country is very safe. Petty crime against visitors is rare, streets are busy late, and the things that genuinely warrant caution are traffic and food hygiene rather than anything that threatens a family directly.
Frequently asked questions#
Do children need their own passport for Chinese trains?#
Yes. Since real-name ticketing was extended to children in January 2023, a discounted child ticket is issued against the child's own identity document, which for a foreign family means each child's passport. Register every family member in the booking app before you try to buy tickets.
Is train travel free for children in China?#
For one child per fare-paying adult who is under 6 on the travel date and does not occupy a seat. A second under-six needs a discounted ticket even without a seat, and from 6 to under 14 a discounted child ticket is required regardless of height.
What height do children travel free on the Chinese metro?#
1.30 metres and under, on both the Beijing and Shanghai networks. Beijing allows one such child free per paying adult and Shanghai allows two. Note that the metro is still height-based while the railway moved to age in 2023.
Is Chinese food too spicy for children?#
Most of it is not spicy at all. Sichuan and Hunan cooking is the exception, and even there the plain dishes exist. Congee, steamed dumplings, plain noodle soup, egg fried rice and steamed egg custard are available almost everywhere and are reliably mild.
Can you buy nappies and formula in China?#
Yes, in supermarkets and pharmacy chains in any city, usually more cheaply than at home. Bring two days' worth and buy the rest after you land.