Use your Home Return Permit in Zhangjiajie

Use the permit category printed on your card when booking Zhangjiajie attractions. On 12306, ordinary permit holders enter their Chinese name in Simplified Chinese. Complete the booking steps below, then take the original booked card to the station, attraction or hotel.

Choose the right permit category

When buying train tickets or reserving mountain entry, select 港澳居民来往内地通行证 (Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents). This is the standard document type for Chinese citizens holding a Home Return Permit.

If you hold the card for non-Chinese permanent residents, select 港澳居民来往内地通行证（非中国籍）. This card number begins with HA or MA followed by seven digits. On 12306 rail registration with this non-Chinese card, enter the Chinese or English name printed on the permit.

Enter your name and permit number accurately

On the official 12306 railway app or website, fill in an ordinary Home Return Permit as follows:

The two digits that record the card's replacement count are separate from the railway document number. Enter the main nine-character permit number in the railway field. The Hong Kong or Macao identity-card number is a separate field. For attraction bookings, follow the selected permit field and its specified format.

Set up 12306 and book high-speed trains

Use the official 12306 railway platform to buy train tickets. Registration accepts Hong Kong or Macao phone numbers as well as email addresses.

1. In the 12306 app, tap 我的 → 未登录 → 注册 (My Account → Not logged in → Register).
2. Select your permit category and enter your details. The document scanning option can read the card or upload its photo where offered.
3. Complete phone or email activation, then the identity check. Status updates appear on your account page.
4. Open 乘车人 (Passengers) and add each traveler with their individual document details.
5. Choose your travel date, train, and destination station. For a high-speed arrival in Zhangjiajie, select 张家界西 (Zhangjiajie West). Select the passenger, pay and save the order.

Each passenger record uses the document of the person taking the train.

If your passenger status displays 待核验 (pending verification) or 未通过 (not passed), take the original permit to a station ticket window for verification. When verifying another passenger, bring that passenger's original document and the original document used to register the account.

For a Hong Kong departure, you can search Hong Kong to Zhangjiajie trains on Trip.com. Enter the traveler's exact permit category, name and document number in the passenger form.

Book Zhangjiajie attraction tickets

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Book via the official WeChat mini-program, 张家界旅游小助手. Select the forest park, first visit date, entrance gate, time slot and ticket type. Add each visitor's actual document category, name and number. Pay and keep the order. Before booking, choose the entrance that fits your base and route.

The South Gate is 森林公园门票站, and the East Gate in Wulingyuan town is 吴家峪门票站.

Take the original permit and order to your reserved gate at the booked time. Complete any required document verification at the ticket office, then the park's identity and facial checks.

Reserve return entries through your existing order: 门票改签、预约 → 再次入园预约 (change/reserve ticket → reserve another entry). Choose your next gate and time slot. Gate ticket offices also sell tickets and make reservations. The forest park ticket guide explains ticket options and multi-day validity.

Tianmen Mountain

Use the scenic operator's WeChat account (天门山 / 张家界天门山景区), a staffed counter, or a travel platform offering your permit category. Choose your date, available route and time slot. Enter each visitor's document category, name and number. Choose the Tianmen Mountain route running on your visit date before booking.

Take your order confirmation and physical Home Return Permit to the staffed ticket or collection window for verification, then go to the boarding point stated on your order.

Grand Canyon and Glass Bridge

Select your visit date, time slot and ticket type with each visitor's permit details. Grand Canyon entrance turnstiles support scanning the original booked Home Return Permit. For orders requiring ticket collection, show the original booked card and the scenic-area order number at the consultation counter. Keep both the platform and scenic-area order numbers. Compare Grand Canyon Glass Bridge ticket options to match your itinerary.

Station boarding and hotel check-in

Boarding trains

The original permit used to buy the ticket is your boarding credential. Use it for station identity checks, boarding checks and exit. Readable permit cards can use self-service gates. If a gate cannot read your card, show the original booked permit and train order at the staffed passage for a manual check. Show the same original if staff check tickets on the train.

Checking into hotels

Book under the staying guest's name with the correct dates and guest count. At check-in, each guest presents their own valid original document. Permit holders use their Home Return Permit. The front desk records the stay and registers it with the local police system. Decide whether to stay close to the national park gates or near the city center by reading our guide on where to stay in Zhangjiajie.

Practical tips

If a scenic booking page has no Home Return Permit option, take the original permit to that attraction's ticket window. Ask staff to book with 港澳居民来往内地通行证, using the date and time slots available there.

• Children: Use each child's own document details for train bookings, park reservations and hotel check-in. Hotels also record a minor's guardian contact details.
• Staff communication: If you need verification at a ticket counter, show your booking screen and this phrase:

  我用港澳居民来往内地通行证订的票，请帮我核验。(I booked tickets with a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents. Please help verify them.)