Can I bring big suitcases on a high-speed train in China?

The railway's passenger rules set the free carry-on allowance per person: 20 kg for an adult, 10 kg for a child, 35 kg for a diplomat. On EMU trains (the G, D and C bullet trains), each piece may measure at most 130 cm when you add length, width and height, and weigh at most 20 kg. Conventional trains allow 160 cm per piece, and 200 cm for a rod-shaped item. Measure your case at home: a suitcase whose three sides add up to more than 130 cm is over the bullet-train limit even if it is light.

The allowance is per passenger, so a family cannot pool it onto one oversized case. Four people with four 20 kg cases is within the rule; one 35 kg case is not, because no single piece may exceed 20 kg.

If you break the rule, the same article says you can be refused entry at the departure station. If it is found on board or at your destination, you pay luggage freight from your boarding station to your destination for the excess weight; for a piece that cannot be split, you pay on its whole weight.

A folding wheelchair for a passenger who needs it, and a folding stroller for a travelling infant, are carried free and do not count toward the 20 kg.

On board, the rules say you look after your own bags and must not block shared space. The railway's onboard safety notice says bags on the overhead rack must sit firmly and not stick out past it, and that on bullet trains large luggage goes in the large-luggage area or wherever the crew directs. Railway 12306's layout drawings for the CR400 Fuxing trains mark that cabinet (大件行李柜). Your ticket gives you a car and a seat, not a luggage space.

Too big or too heavy? The railway offers three routes, each with its own catch. Consigned luggage (托运): each piece 60 to 200 cm in total dimensions and at most 50 kg; each ticket covers 50 kg at the standard rate, and weight above that is charged at double. Only stations that handle luggage take it, not every high-speed station, so ask 12306 before you go. Delivery is counted in days (3 days for up to 600 km, plus a day for each further 600 km), so your bag can arrive after you. The station courier counter (便民托运), inside the station after security at 69 high-speed stations, ships station-to-door, next day by 18:00 at the fastest; the listed reference price is ¥23 for the first kilo plus ¥10 per extra kilo. China Railway Express's porter service (轻装行, 212 stations from July 2026) works within 35 km of the station in both directions: it collects from your door and takes the bag to the station (book 48 to 4 hours before departure), or picks it up from the platform or the station's service locker on arrival and delivers it within 5 hours (book 24 to 1 hour before arrival). Prices go by distance: ¥48, ¥58 or ¥68 a piece with a station-locker handover, ¥78, ¥88 or ¥98 a piece with a platform handover. It only takes bags that already meet the carry-on size and weight limits, and it is booked in Chinese inside the 12306 app or a WeChat mini program.