Sure, you can write in yourself, but I always try my best to make sure those guys have no conceivable reason to think/question at all (KISS doctrine). By way of example, in the TWOV thread, several posters recently asked for opinions about providing multiple hotels on the arrival form. This is something that you simply shouldn't do because it violates KISS. That immigration person isn't interested in your hotel hopping hobby (at all); his job is simply to make sure you filled in all required fields on the entry form.

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Yes, this is correct. If you still need a printed ticket receipt this can collected from a machine or a ticket counter. It was the case though (at least when the new system started) that for the first trip using a given passport number it was necessary to go to a ticket counter to get the number activated/validated in their system. After that just showing scanning a passport at the gates should work.

I don't know if buying through Ctrip gets around this, but better to leave some extra time just in case if you go down this route. If you buy the train ticket through an agent with a "12306" terminal (the central trainticket booking system) this also takes care of the validation.

The whole verify-your-passport thing is confusing, and I'm still not sure exactly when it's required. But be aware that with everybody buying online or via machines, open ticket counters are few and waits can be long.

Also confusing are those gate scanners. Sometimes they work with a passport. Sometimes you're just hustled to the manual gate. Remember there's also a gate when you exit at the end of your trip.

(And etickets aren't limited to D and G trains. Most trains now use them.)

The only limitation of an unverified account is that you can't buy train tickets for Chinese ID holders. You can however buy tickets for up to five passport holder (including Chinese nationals).
So verification is only necessary if you need to buy tickets for lots of people, and in particular, Chinese nationals without passports.

No, verification beforehand is necessary if you plan to buy more than three tickets for yourself. You'll find the app won't let you reserve a fourth ticket until after you've gone to the ticket office and your status changes to verified.

Well I've never run into this limit myself and I just checked my account status and it definitely says unverified (待核验).

I'm unclear. Is this unverified issue at trip.com or ctrip.com? Or both?

I was in China last week and purchased exactly three train tickets via trip.com, not knowing there was any sort of limit so I guess I got lucky.

I am talking about purchasing for myself using my own account on 12306.

There may have been some grandfathering of old 12306 accounts on the verification requirement, but I had to re-set my account recently because of a new passport number. And last month 12306 certainly blocked me from buying a fourth ticket until my passport was first verified.

My passport is due to expire next year so I'll get to find out what happens then. I'm hoping to be able to keep my current account, surely there is a way to update the ID number without abandoning the account (though it may involve a visit to a train station somewhere).

I just logged onto 12306 and it appears that you can change your ID number at any time (perhaps because it is unverified).

The limit applies regardless of whether you're purchasing direct from 12306 or through ctrip (they're simply acting as an agent between you and 12306).

It’s easy to just delete your entire account and reregister. Should fix any and all problems.

Do you happen to know if eChannel is back yet? If so, did you need to register again or is your 2019 account still valid?

Yeah, I registered a week ago at PVG and have used it both for entry and exit.

-did you register upon exit or entry>
-PVG or SHA?
-do you think our friends on F, M,, Q visas can get onboard?

You can only register upon entry. I did it at PVG terminal 2 where you register before getting your passport stamped. At T1 I believe the registration is after the stamping. Just ask the guards they’ll tell you where to go.

I think it’s only foreigners on Residence Permits with over 6 months until expiry and foreigners with Permanent Residency who are allowed to register, but not 100% sure.

Pre Covid I also registered for this at the Futian crossing which didn’t require me to be leaving or entering China like the airport registrations do so it was a nice choice if you’re in Shenzhen for a few days and want to get it done.

I don't want to do that because all my family members' information are in my account. If I delete it and reregister I would have to re-enter everything.

That plus the fact that my mobile number is currently verified in the account and I recall going through an ordeal to get it into that state many years ago.

Thanks for that...I now remember when I last registered at PEK...believe it was after passport control on arrival.
Will definitely try next week....if Beijing is accepting this already also...

I knew it was too smooth a process. Now Karma has caught up with me. After exiting and entering PVG with no problems using echannel last week, I put my passport on the scanner at Hongqiao today only to have the screen show there is no registration record for me. The guards there didn’t know what the issue was but advised me to register again once I enter Hongqiao next time.

I’m gonna re-enter in a few days at Kowloon West so will test it and see if it’s working there. If not, I’ll try and register again, this time in Shenzhen, hopefully Futian has their registration center open.

Are there new updates on the entry rules to China?

Echannel is well worth the effort because it saves you a boatload of time on each entry and exit.

You can only apply for it upon entry. Bring all documents you might need with you. I believe normal visas are now okay, but they must be valid for at least six months.

For your first post-Covid entry, plan on 90 minutes. The fingerprinting drill is a serious time suck. But, the staff is quite friendly, and they will let you into the country.
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Yes, it's pretty much open now, with tourist visas being issued also.
If you had a 10-year visa that is still within the date of original expiration, you could use that too now.

Dang! That reminds me of what used to happen to me pre-Covid: on exit it used to fail more often than not.

I've never experienced any problems after registration, but having to reapply every time I got a new visa or passport was annoying. It is still well worth the hassle, though.

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As an update it worked for me to enter China at West Kowloon. Now I’ll wait and see if it works next time I leave in a few weeks.

Any testing required?

Do you mean e-channel in the Mainland? What is the requirement? I don't have a residency permit. I would be interested in an expedited entry process.

You need at least six months left on your visa in order to register. Some visa types seem okay, while others do not. A few posts up, someone reported that Q1 would have satisfied the PVG people.

I do. Just show my passport at immigration and they'll do it for me?

Not at the regular immigration counters (at least insofar as PVG is concerned). Look for the echannel application desks.

Let me see if I understand the current entry requirements:
1) Fill out health form on Wechat, save QR code.
2) RAT test within 48hr of boarding

Question - is that 48hr before the China-bound segment, OR the start of the "trip"? Like most other humans nowadays, I'm on separate tickets to China.

Anything else? (besides the obvious like visa).

Technically you fill out the WeChat Mini Program AFTER you take the RAT, as one of the questions relates to its result.
The QR code is a one-time-use thing, and is valid for only 24 hours (take a screen shot of it!).
The QR code needs to be valid as you land in China.

From what I can ascertain, attesting to the fact that you have tested negative on the entry form/app/miniprogram is all they really care about. That having been said, if you want to line up "proof" of this, just do a self-RAT before you leave, take a picture of it with your phone, and keep the test kit itself (you could even write your name and sampling date on it with a sharpie, if you want).

You mean the QR code will only appear in Wechat for 24hr, but screenshot will do after that; OR even screenshot will expire after 24hr?

The focus is on the flight that actually brings you into China (e.g. you even need to provide your actual seat number). WeChat is just a distributor channel for the system. The data resides on China government servers.

ETA Completing the form over a stable internet connection and grabbing a screenshot of the qr code is definitely a good idea, but you might be asked to update it upon arrival.
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Screenshots
 

I used screenshots for my flights into and out of China last month. There's just a scanner at which you scan your own code (at least that was the case in Beijing PKX and Shanghai PVG).

I wouldn't fill out the thing so soon, since it does expire 24 hours later.

I forgot about that 24 expiration rule, but now that you mention it, I've had a few codes expire on me. When I went back to the site, most of my previously entered info was still there. I just needed to make a few updates in order to generate a new code.

Under the QR code there is a time &date when it expires, which is 24 hours after filling out the form and getting the QR code.
Doesn't matter if screenshot or WeChat: it expires 24 hours after being issued.

Correct. And, if you try to scan an expired QR code upon arrival, you will be instructed to generate a new one. When it comes down to that, the kiosks are probably faster than fiddling with the WeChat MP or the native app because when you present your expired QR code to them, they pull up your profile so you can update it. After you confirm, they print out a small piece of paper with your new QR code.

Aye.
I suggest one doesn't let that happen: the app is good and remembers your previous inputs, but it is a little finnicky with logging in.
Better to generate the QR code before departure.