China Railway Customer Service Center, also known as China Railway 12306 website, is a train ticket purchasing platform and the only officially designated ticket purchasing system of China Railway. I believe most people also have this question: why is it called 12306? After searching the internet several times, I finally found a perfect interpretation.
The meaning of 12306 is firstly that it is the customer service telephone number of China Railway, and also the abbreviation of China Railway Customer Service Center. This name is concise, easy to remember, and convenient for travelers to consult and purchase tickets anytime and anywhere.
“1” represents “one-stop service”. On this platform, passengers can enjoy a series of convenient services such as ticket booking, online payment, rescheduling, ticket refund, and order inquiry.
“2” represents “two points and one line”. If a city is compared to a point, then the straight line connecting the two cities is a railway line.
“3” represents “trains used by the three armies”. When referring to the “three armies”, modern concepts refer to the army, navy, and air force. In Chinese culture, the term “three armies” originated from the three branches of the army, namely the front, middle, and rear, which fought on horseback during the Spring and Autumn Period. This is completely different from the substantive meaning of the modern army, navy, and air force. The three armies referred to in ancient times were the front, middle, and rear armies that fought on horseback. The vanguard battalion is usually responsible for opening roads (building bridges, repairing roads), reconnaissance, and dealing with small-scale battles, as well as carrying some military supplies. The central army refers to the large army in which the commander operates, consisting of most of the combat units (cavalry and infantry) at that time. The rear army mainly consists of the main military supplies, craftsmen, and a large number of migrant workers of the entire army. Therefore, the three armies are collectively referred to as the military. If there is a war in a country, railways play an irreplaceable role in the transportation of strategic materials, so railways are an important means of transportation for the country.
“'06” represents “2006”, which is the time when the 12306 website was launched. We Chinese like abbreviations, such as 1984 as 84 and 2006 as 06.
中国铁路客户服务中心，又称中国铁路12306网站,是一个火车票购票平台，也是中国铁路官方唯一指定的车票购票系统。想必大多数人也有这样的疑惑：为何称之为12306呢？在我几度查询了网络之后，最终找到了一个算是完美的解读。
12306的含义，首先它是中国铁路客服电话号码，同时也是中国铁路客户服务中心的简称。这个名字简洁明了，易于记忆，方便广大旅客随时随地进行咨询和购票。
“1”代表“一站式服务”，在这个平台上，旅客们可以享受到车票预订、在线支付、改签、退票、订单查询等一系列便捷服务。
“2”代表“两点一线”，如果把城市比作点，那么连接两座城市的直线就是铁路线。
“3”代表“三军用火车”， 提起“三军”，现代的概念是指陆、海、空三军。而在中华文化中“三军”的说法起源于春秋时期骑马打仗的前、中、后三个兵种，这与现代陆、海、空三军的实质意义完全不同。古代所说的三军是指骑马打仗的前、中、后三军。前军一般是先锋营负责开路（架桥、修路）、侦察、应付小规模的战斗，带部分军需物资。中军就是统帅所处的大军有当时作战的大部分作战兵种（骑兵 步兵）。后军主要就是全军的主要军用物资、工匠、以及大量的民工等。故此，三军用来统称军队。一国如有战事发生，在战略物资运输方面，铁路有着不可替代的作用，所以说铁路是国家重要的交通工具。
“06”代表着“2006年”，这是12306网站上线的时间。我们喜欢简称，如把1984年简称为84年，把2006年简称为06年。
