Hi, is it the Jining city in Shandong province? I checked that only one train 2073/2072 is operating from Jining to Beijing with departure time at 12:16 in the noon, not the midnight departure you mentioned. So, you’d better make sure the exact departure time first.

Sorry, I should have made it clearer. It should be Jining in Inner Mongolia. I had a hard time locating it on the map! From the information I had read from various sources, the train (#24, I think) will depart from UB* around 2000 and arrive into Jining (Inner Mongolia) around 1900 the next day. I want to catch the next available train (the one around midnight according to the train schedule) to Beijing. At the time of the night, I presume the ticket counter will likely be closed. Can I just hop onto the train and pay onboard since I will not be starting from the station of origin?

*I tried to search the train schedule but I am not able to locate this particular service. I know it is not a daily train and need to know which days it is running UB-Beijing. Is it still Mondays and Fridays?

Any inputs would be greatly appreciated.

I find on the page https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/international-schedule.htm#ulan that the train K24 departing from Ulan Bator on Thursday weekly arrives at Jining S. at 05:47 on the Friday morning. And you are suggested to book the tickets through some local booking agencies in advance. Good Luck!