Traveling by train in China is one of the cheapest ways to travel some of the long distances in China and is increasingly popular among foreign travelers. It is important to have a basic idea of what trains in China are like if you decide to travel by train in China. English is generally not spoken by any of the staff on the trains or in the railway stations.
Riding aTibet trainto Lhasa has become a rather good choice of travelling to Tibet with the completion of the world's highest railway, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway which is also the only railway to Lhasaat present. Taking a train to Tibet is even the top choice for many foreign tourists to Tibet for a Tibet train tour is really so impressive both because of the breathtaking scenery along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the railway itself, the blue sky and white clouds, the grasslands with flocks and herds, snow-covered mountains, source of Yangtze River, Hohxil Natural Reserve, etc. Of course, enjoying the high-quality services on the best train in China is also a wonderful experience of travelling to Tibet by train . The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, as the only railway that linksLhasa railwaystation to the existing rail network of mainland China, is always busy throughout the year. On one hand, the scenery along the railway deserves our time. On the other hand, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway itself is a man-made world wonder. The Tibet Railway creates many world’s firsts: the world’s highest railway, the world’s highest railway station, the world’s longest track on frozen earth, etc. Besides, it is also relatively cheap and convenient to take a train to Lhasa from other inland cities of China. At present, there are direct trains to Tibet from Xining, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Lanzhou. Many trains to Tibet beginning from other cities will pass by Xining, Xian, Lanzhou or Golmud. Therefore, not surprisingly, Qinghai-Tibet Railway is so attractive for both domestic and foreign tourists to Tibet. The popularity ofTibet train tourresults in a huge demand for Tibet train tickets among tourists. It is very hard for individual travelers to obtain a train ticket to Tibet in the peak season of Tibet tourism. TIBETTRAVEL.COM has a big annual book from the train ticket office and can help travelers book Tibet train ticketseasier. Still, it is quite difficult to guarantee the first-class soft sleeper berth ticket from Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. As Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu are usually the first stop of many foreigners to China and also popular gateway city to Tibet, it might be difficult to get a Tibet train ticket at these cities. Tourists to Tibet can fly to Xining to take a train to Lhasa.
| Dep.~ Arr. | Train No. | Duration | Frequency | Ticket Price |
| Beijing-Lhasa | Z21(20:00-12:40) | 40h 40m | Every day | Soft-Berth:RMB1144 |
| Guangzhou-Lhasa | Z264(11:40-16:45) | 53h 5m | Every day | Soft-Berth:RMB1468 |
| Shanghai-Lhasa | Z164(20:08-19:35) | 47h 27m | Every day | Soft-Berth:RMB1262.5 |
| Chengdu-Lhasa | Z322(21:37-09:55) | 36h 18m | Alternate day | Soft-Berth:RMB997.5 |
| Chongqing-Lhasa | Z223(22:25-09:55) | 35h 30m | Alternate day | Soft-Berth:RMB997.5 |
| Lanzhou-Lhasa | Z265(17:00-16:45) | 23h 45m | Alternate day | Soft-Berth:RMB823 |
| Xining-Lhasa | Z6801(13:50-11:23) | 21h 33m | Alternate day | Soft-Berth:RMB781 |
| Dep.~ Arr. | Train No. | Duration | Frequency |
| Lhasa - Beijing | Z22(15:50-08:28) | 40h 38m | Every day |
| Lhasa - Shanghai | Z166(11:30-11:51) | 48h 21m | Every day |
| Lhasa - Guangzhou | Z266(12:55-20:17) | 55h 22m | Every day |
| Lhasa - Chengdu | Z324(18:40-06:26) | 35h 46m | Alternate day |
| Lhasa - Chongqing | Z224(18:40-06:42) | 36h 02m | Alternate day |
| Lhasa - Lanzhou | Z266(12:55-13:10) | 24h 15m | Alternate day |
| Lhasa - Xining | Z6802（09:00-06:33） | 21h 33m | Alternate day |
There are 3 types of tickets you can choose:soft-berth, hard-berth and hard-seat, the train is equipped with oxygen supply, charging device, 24 hours of hot water, dining car, luggage placement area, etc. Before planning a train journey, it is better to get a deep understanding of the travel notes on Qinghai-Tibet Railway, including the required documents for train travel, Tibet train tickets booking, how to avoid high altitude sickness…
Currently, you can take the train to Lhasa from the major city of mainland China like: Beijing, Xining, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc.
Learn more about the important tips you should know before taking the train to Tibet.
The Qinghai-Tibet Train is equipped with oxygen supply, charging device, 24 hours of hot water, dining car, luggage placement area, etc.
As the Chinese state owned train station does not sell its tickets online, you will need to book the tickets through local travel agencies in advance. However, it is impossible to purchase train tickets at the local train ticket office during the peak travel season for such an in-demand train route as almost all of the train tickets are reserved by travel agencies in advance. Therefore it is wise to book your train tickets through the travel agency that is handling your tour in Tibet. Please be aware that the travel agency that helps you book your train tickets must be a reliable one as not all travel agencies who advertise that they can book Qinghai - Tibet Railway tickets are able to guarantee you the tickets simply because of high demand and limited tickets, particularly for soft-sleeper berths.TIBETTRAVEL.COM is a qualified agent to help you book your train tickets to Lhasa as we have developed a stable relationship with the train stations that sell the tickets and we annually reserve a reasonable number of tickets to assist our customers.
When you submit the reservation, please kindly read the NOTICE below.
train Your submitted reservation is not an order, but just an inquiry. The reservation need to be confirmed by TIBETTRAVEL.COM.
train As the limited supply of tickets of Tibet train, especially in the peak travel season, TIBETTRAVEL.COM need pay some fees for handling reservation, the ticket issurance and tickets delivery, so we need to charge customer an addtional service fee, the amount of which is affected by Supply and Demand. Before you decide to book the tickets, please contact our tripadvisor to confirm the amount of the service fee .
train Due to limited supply of tickets, generally speaking, TIBETTRAVEL.COM just offers the tickets to the cunstomers who book tour and tickets together, and does not offer tickets reservation service only. If you have already had a travel plan, please feel free to get a price quotation from TIBETTRAVEL.COM. We are sure to offer you the competitive price.
train It is better to reserve train tickets 3-6 months in advance, as the railway station tickets office normally give preferential treatment to earlier order.
train No matter how early you make the reservation, in China, the railway station tickets office will issue tickets 5-10 days in advance, and the tickets must to be issued at the departure city. Thus, we do not have enough time to deliver the train tickets to places out of China, but we can deliver the tickets to your local hotel or you can go to our local office to fetch them.
There is a center kitchen on each train, located next to the soft sleeping berth cars to supply 3 meals a day for hundreds of passenger on the entire train. Attached to this kitchen, there is a restaurant with seating for 40-50 passengers with wide windows as a favorite place for travelers to enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner while enjoying the beautiful scenery along the Qinghai – Tibet Railway. Compared with the narrow sleeping berth compartment, the restaurant car is a comfortable place to relax and watch the incredible landscape pass by outside. Outside of having a meal there, you will be required to at least buy a beer or a cup of tea to sit there, otherwise you will be required to move back to your compartment.
In addition to the dining car, boxed lunches will be brought to each car by a small food cart. These are only Chinese-style fast food such as rice, fried vegetables and fried pork, and they normally cost around 20 Chinese Yuan (CNY) each. Food on the train is twice as expensive as you will normally find in the cities and the quality is not nearly as good.
For breakfast, passengers will be served with pickles, eggs, bread and milk, costing just 10 CNY per serving and these meals contain balanced nutrients. People who prefer noodles can choose from snow vegetable noodles, beef noodles, steak noodles, etc.
Tibetan style dishes are the most popular with passengers. Among all 45 dishes, there are 5 cold dishes, 8 Tibetan dishes, 32 ordinary dishes and 8 soup dishes. Examples include stewed yak with crassulaceae for 25 CNY, turnip, carrots and yak for 28 CNY and a ginseng salad for 18 CNY.
When you submit the reservation, please kindly read the NOTICE below.
train Your submitted reservation is not an order, but just an inquiry. The reservation need to be confirmed by TIBETTRAVEL.COM.
train As the limited supply of tickets of Tibet train, especially in the peak travel season, TIBETTRAVEL.COM need pay some fees for handling reservation, the ticket issurance and tickets delivery, so we need to charge customer an addtional service fee, the amount of which is affected by Supply and Demand. Before you decide to book the tickets, please contact our tripadvisor to confirm the amount of the service fee .
train Due to limited supply of tickets, generally speaking, TIBETTRAVEL.COM just offers the tickets to the cunstomers who book tour and tickets together, and does not offer tickets reservation service only. If you have already had a travel plan, please feel free to get a price quotation from TIBETTRAVEL.COM. We are sure to offer you the competitive price.
train It is better to reserve train tickets 3-6 months in advance, as the railway station tickets office normally give preferential treatment to earlier order.
train No matter how early you make the reservation, in China, the railway station tickets office will issue tickets 5-10 days in advance, and the tickets must to be issued at the departure city. Thus, we do not have enough time to deliver the train tickets to places out of China, but we can deliver the tickets to your local hotel or you can go to our local office to fetch them.
