Chapter XVII Carriage Contracts

Section I Common Provisions

Article 288 A "carriage contract" is a contract whereby the carrier transports the passenger or goods to the contracted destination from the place of dispatch, and the passenger, or the consignor or consignee pays the fare or the freight.

Article 289 The carrier engaging in public transport may not reject normal and reasonable transport requests of passengers and consignors.

Article 290 The carrier shall safely transport passengers and goods to the contracted destination within the contracted time limit or within a reasonable period of time.

Article 291 The carrier shall transport passengers and goods to the contracted destination via the contracted or the usual transport route.

Article 292 The passenger, consignor or consignee shall pay the fare or the freight. If the carrier does not transport via the contracted route or the usual route and thus increases the fare or the freight, the passenger, consignor or consignee may refuse to pay the extra part of the fare or the freight.

Section II Passenger Transport Contracts

Article 293 A passenger transport contract is executed at the time when the carrier delivers the ticket to the passenger, unless the parties agree otherwise or follow other trade practices.

Article 294 The passenger shall hold a valid ticket while getting on board for travel. Any passenger who travels on board without a ticket, beyond the paid distance, in a higher class or with an invalid ticket shall make up for the difference in the ticket price, and the carrier may charge an extra fare according to the provisions. Where the passenger refuses to pay the fare accordingly, the carrier may refuse the carriage.

Article 295 A passenger who is unable to get on board at the time indicated by the ticket due to his own fault shall, within the prescribed period of time, undergo the procedures for returning the ticket and getting the refund or making a change of the ticket. If the passenger fails to undergo the refund or change procedures within the prescribed period of time, the carrier may refuse to refund the ticket, and has no more need to undertake the transport obligation.

Article 296 The passenger shall carry baggage within the prescribed quantity limit in transport. A passenger who carries baggage in excess of the gravity limit shall have the baggage checked.

Article 297 The passenger may not carry with him or secretly carry in his baggage any inflammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive and radioactive articles, nor any other dangerous articles that might endanger the safety of persons and property aboard the means of transport, nor other contraband articles.

If a passenger violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the carrier may unload the contraband articles or destroy them or submit them to the related departments. If the passenger insists on carrying with him the contraband articles or carrying them in his baggage, the carrier shall refuse the carriage.

Article 298 The carrier shall notify passengers about important matters rendering the transport out of a normal state and matters of attention for a safe transport.

Article 299 The carrier shall transport passengers at the time and in the number of runs or flights indicated by the ticket. The carrier delaying the transport shall, at passengers' requests, arrange another number of runs or flights to transport the passengers or refund their tickets.

Article 300 Where the carrier unilaterally changes the means of transport, thus downgrading the service standards, the carrier shall, at passengers' requests, refund their tickets or reduce the ticket price; where the service standards are upgraded by the change, the fare charged shall not be raised.

Article 301 The carrier shall, in the course of transportation, spare no efforts to rescue and help passengers who suffer acute diseases, commence childbirth or are in danger.

Article 302 The carrier shall hold the liability for the damages arising from the injury or death of a passenger occurring in the course of transportation, unless the injury or death is a result of the passenger's own health condition, or the carrier can prove that the injury or death is caused by the passenger's deliberate intention and gross fault.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply also to any passenger exempted from ticket according to provisions, holding a complimentary ticket or permitted by the carrier to travel without tickets.

Article 303 Where passengers' carry-on articles are damaged or lost in the course of transportation and the carrier is at fault, the carrier shall hold the liability for damages.

In case of damage or loss of passengers' checked luggage, the relevant provisions on the freight transport shall apply.

Section III Freight Transport Contracts

Article 304 The consignor, when consigning goods for transport, shall clearly declare to the carrier all the information necessary for freight transport such as the designation or name of the consignee or the consignee by order, as well as the name, nature, weight and quantity of the goods and place of delivery.

If a loss is caused to the carrier due to the consignor's untrue declaration or omission of substantial information, the consignor shall hold the liability therefor.

Article 305 Where the freight transport is subject to examination, approval or inspection formalities, the consignor shall submit to the carrier the documents showing the completion of the relevant formalities.

Article 306 The consignor shall package the goods in the contracted manner. If the packaging manner is not stipulated or not clearly stipulated, the provisions of Article 156 of this Law shall apply.

Where the consignor violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the carrier may refuse the transport.

Article 307 While consigning for transport such dangerous goods as inflammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive or radioactive articles, the consignor shall, in accordance with the regulations of the State on the transport of dangerous goods, properly package the dangerous goods, affix thereto warning signs and labels, and submit to the carrier written documents concerning the name, nature and precautional measures relevant to the dangerous goods.

Where the consignor violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the carrier may refuse the transport, or may also take appropriate measures to prevent losses, and expenses thus incurred shall be borne by the consignor.

Article 308 Before the carrier delivers the goods to the consignee, the consignor may ask the carrier to stop the transportation, return the goods, change the place of destination, or deliver the goods to another consignee. However, the consignor shall compensate for the losses thus caused to the carrier.

Article 309 When the goods are transported to the place of destination and the carrier knows the consignee, the carrier shall promptly notify the consignee, and the consignee shall promptly take delivery of the goods. If the consignee delays in taking delivery of the goods, the consignee shall pay storage and other fees to the carrier.

Article 310 When taking delivery of the goods, the consignee shall inspect the goods within the contracted time limit. If the time limit for inspection of the goods is not stipulated or is not clearly stipulated, nor can it be determined pursuant to the provisions of Article 61 of this Law, the consignee shall inspect the goods within a reasonable period of time. If the consignee does not voice any complaint about the quantity, damage or loss of the goods within the stipulated time limit or within a reasonable period of time, the silence shall be deemed as a preliminary evidence that the carrier has delivered the goods in accordance with the transport documents.

Article 311 The carrier shall hold the liability for any damage or loss of goods occurring in the course of transport. However, if the carrier proves that the damage or the loss of the goods is caused by force majeure, the natural property of the goods or reasonable wear and tear, or is caused by the negligence of the consignor or the consignee, the carrier shall not hold the liability for damages.

Article 312 If the parties have agreed on the amount of compensation for damage or loss of the goods, their agreement shall apply; if the amount of compensation is not stipulated or not clearly stipulated by the parties, nor can it be determined pursuant to the provisions of Article 61 of this Law, the amount shall be calculated at the market price of the place of delivery when the goods are delivered or ought to be delivered. If laws and administrative regulations stipulate otherwise concerning the calculation method of the compensation amount and the limit of the compensation amount, such stipulations shall govern.

Article 313 If two or more carriers engage in a connected transport of the same mode, the carrier which concludes the contract with the consignor shall be responsible for the entire process of transport. If a loss occurs at one transportation section, the carrier which concludes the contract with the consignor and the carrier in the said section shall bear joint and several liabilities.

Article 314 In the event that goods are lost in the course of transport due to force majeure, if the freight has not yet been collected, the carrier may not demand the payment of the freight; if the freight has already been collected, the consignor may ask for a refund.

Article 315 If the consignor or consignee does not pay freight, storage fees and other fees of transportation, the carrier has the right of lien on the goods transported, unless the parties stipulate otherwise.

Article 316 If the consignee is unknown or the consignee refuses to take delivery of the goods without justifiable reasons, the carrier may have the goods deposited in accordance with the provisions of Article 101 of this Law.

Section IV Multi-modal Transport Contracts

Article 317 The operator of multi-modal transport is responsible for fulfilling or organizing the fulfillment of a multi-modal transport contract, enjoy the rights of a carrier and assume its obligations throughout the entire transport process.

Article 318 The operator of multi-modal transport may stipulate with the carriers of the different sections of the multi-modal transport on their respective responsibility for transport in each section under the multi-modal transport contract. However, such stipulations shall not affect the obligations of the operator for the entire transport process.

Article 319 The operator of multi-modal transport shall, when receiving the goods consigned for transport by the consignor, issue multi-modal transport documents. At the request of the consignor, the multi-modal transport documents may be transferable or non-transferable.

Article 320 If losses are caused to the operator of multi-modal transport due to the fault of the consignor at the time of consigning the goods for transport, even if the consignor has transferred its multi-modal transport documents, the consignor shall still hold the liability for losses.

Article 321 If damage or loss of goods occurs in one section of the multi-modal transport, the provisions of related laws regulating the transport modes of the section shall apply to the liability for damages and its limits to be held by the operator of multi-modal transport. If it is impossible to determine in which section of transport such damage or loss has occurred, the liability for damages shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter.