Chinese ID Number vs Passport: What Foreigners Enter in 2026

The mini-program wants two things: 姓名 and 身份证号码. You have a passport. The number box wants 18 digits. Yours has letters. The name box looks like it wants Chinese characters.

I get why people Google a “real Chinese ID and name” at that point. I have a 身份证 — I grew up with one. You do not get one as a tourist, and you should not go looking for somebody else’s. What you enter is your passport.

If the fields are already right and a SIM shop or hotel computer still rejects you, that is the other half of this: why foreign passports get blocked.

Quick Answer: What to Enter Instead of a Chinese ID Number

1. Find 证件类型 and choose 护照 / passport, not 身份证.
2. Copy 姓名 from the passport photo page — middle names included, same spelling.
3. Put your passport number in the ID field only if that field is for a passport. Do not add zeros until it looks 18 digits long.
4. If there is no passport option, stop. That screen is for Chinese IDs. Use the hotel desk, Trip.com tickets, or Alipay’s foreigner setup.

Do not type a friend’s number, or anything you found in a search result. Those checks hit a government database. Fake numbers bounce. Someone else’s number can get the account frozen — and you cannot prove the booking is yours at the gate.

Chinese ID Number vs Passport

身份证 is the card in every Chinese wallet. The number on it is lifelong. Banks, trains, SIMs, Alipay — they were all built to look that number up.

It is not a visa. It is not a tourist extra you buy at the police station. Your passport number is a different kind of ID. Padding it with zeros does not turn it into a 身份证.

Some apps never added a 护照 option. That is not you being bad at forms. It is the app still assuming everyone is local. The messy version of that — format, databases, the shop that has never registered a foreigner — is in the real-name guide.

What to Type: 姓名 + 证件号码

The form wants a pair, not “any ID.”

That screenshot is a teaching mockup (JANE Q SAMPLE, P00000000). Your app will look slightly different. The move is the same: change 证件类型 before you type a number. Drop a passport number into an 身份证 box and it fails on format — the name never even gets read.

姓名 is where I see people mess up:

• Copy the photo page, not the boarding pass, not the short name on your bank card, not your WeChat nickname.
• If the passport has a middle name, keep it.
• Do not flip the order to “look Chinese.”
• Once Alipay has a name on file, use that same string for hotels and trains. Mixed spellings are a common reason verification fails.

If There Is No Passport Option

You did not miss a menu. A lot of kiosks, old hotel Wi‑Fi portals, and cheap ticket sellers never built a foreigner path.

Dropdown has 护照 — pick it, copy the photo page, done.

Only 身份证 — do not invent a number. Ask staff to switch the type on their computer, or go somewhere that already has your passport: Alipay, Trip.com, the hotel you already booked.

You already saved the wrong type — stop hitting submit. On 12306 or Trip.com, delete that passenger and add a passport one. In Alipay, leave 实名认证 and start again as Foreigner. Hammering the same 18-digit box can lock the payment side too.

If a “deal” only takes 身份证, skip it. It was not priced for you.

If Alipay Asks for a Chinese ID Number

You walked into the local entrance. Foreigners are supposed to go Foreigner → Passport → photo page + a short selfie, not fill 身份证号码.

1. See 居民身份证 or an 18-digit box? Type nothing. Tap back.
2. Look for 外国 / Foreigner / Passport / 护照. On the tourist flow this usually shows up right after signup — it is not the same screen as citizen 实名认证.
3. Choose Passport. Photograph the photo page in daylight, whole page, MRZ readable. Then the blink / turn-your-head clip.
4. Linking a Visa or Mastercard comes after identity. That is a card check, not an ID check.
5. Still “verification failed” after a real passport scan? Stop and use the verification failed guide. Do not invent an ID to get through.

The full setup — download, card, what usually breaks — is in Alipay for foreigners. WeChat Pay is the same idea, just clumsier: WeChat Pay for foreigners.

Hotels, Trains, and Tickets: Which Field to Use

Hotels. Front desk takes the physical passport. Online, use the same spelling and number as that page. Not every property will check you in — hotels that accept foreigners.

Trains. 12306 and Trip.com both have a passport passenger type. Do not build yourself a Chinese-ID passenger. How to book high-speed rail.

Tickets. Official mini-programs often default to 身份证. Hunt for 护照, or buy in English. Attraction tickets for foreigners. Timed entry is a separate headache: why sights require reservations.

SIMs. The carrier system wants 身份证. You register in person with a passport at a real store, not a mall kiosk. If someone offers to put the number under their ID, say no — it is their account, and they can kill it. SIM guide.

Meituan / delivery. That fight is usually the phone number, not an ID. Ordering food without a Chinese number.

Stuck tonight — no passport field, still need a bed or a ticket — use an English checkout that already stores a passport, then the rest of day-one setup is in the Survival Kit.

Can You Use Someone Else’s Chinese ID?

No.

Those “name + number” lists are leaked data or made-up checksums. Paste one into Alipay or 12306 and you either fail the check, freeze the account, or get stopped at the gate when the name is not yours. It is also illegal.

Use your passport. Same spelling, every booking.

FAQ

Do foreigners need a Chinese ID number to travel in China in 2026? No. You need a passport, and you need the screens that accept it.

I searched for a real Chinese ID and name. What should I type? Your passport. Switch 证件类型 to 护照. If that option is missing, change the app or the vendor. Do not paste a number from the internet.

Can I convert my passport number into Chinese ID format? No. Extra zeros do not create a citizen number.

My name has no Chinese characters. Will 姓名 fail? On a citizen-only form, yes. On a foreigner form, Latin letters from the passport are what they want. Do not invent a Chinese name for a tourist booking.

Is the Foreign Permanent Resident ID the same thing? No. That card is for people who already have Chinese permanent residency. It does not come with a tourist stay or visa-free entry. Use the passport you showed at the border.

A SIM kiosk wanted to register the number under their ID. Refuse. Do it with your passport at an official store.

I already entered the wrong document type. Stop submitting. Delete the bad passenger or profile if you can, add a passport one. If payments are already looping, go to the verification failed guide.

Related Guides

• China Real-Name System for Foreigners — the chain after the fields
• Alipay for Foreigners
• Alipay or WeChat Pay Verification Failed?
• Hotels in China for Foreigners
• Travel China Essentials

Last updated: August 2026. Screens change. Use your own passport. Mockup images use specimen data, not real ID numbers.