There is only one daily flight between Shanghai and Lhasa with a stopover in Chengdu. Every morning, the flight leaves Shanghai at 7:50 and arrives in Lhasa about 6 hours later. The return flight always departs Lhasa in the afternoon and arrives in Shanghai that evening.
Currently Shanghai usually operates about 5 flights to Lhasa every day. But due to the long flying distance (3107km), it costs longer time and more money to fly to Lhasa from Shanghai, compared with Beijing, Chengdu, Xian, etc. Only 2 flights are direct flights (usually stop over at Xian or Chengdu). Others are connecting flights which need to transfer at Chongqing, Xian, Dazhou, etc.
Every day, the Tibet Airlines and China Eastern Airlines run two direct flights to Lhasa - one departing from Pudong Airport in the early morning around 6:45am, and another from Hongqiao Airport around 2:45pm usually. You are suggested to book flight ticket in the morning so that you can have enough time to acclimatize yourself to the high altitude in Lhasa. Check out following latest updated Shanghai to Lhasa flights schedules:
Shanghai is one of three earliest cities which operate daily train connecting the holy city Lhasa. It launched its first train to Tibet on October 1, 2006, the year that the “sky train” Qinghai Tibet Railway was put into use. Currently there are two daily trains running between Shanghai and Lhasa, Z164 for Shanghai to Lhasa Route and Z166 for Lhasa to Shanghai Route. As for travelers, the train ride between Shanghai and Lhasa is an extraordinary journey, as an absolutely great way to see the vastness and beauty of China.
1. All necessary Tibet Permits: No matter what kind of visa you have, you are assured that we can help you get your Tibet travel permit.
2. Tibet local guide & transfer: To ensure your freedom and flexibility to stop off en route.
3. Purchase train/air tickets to Lhasa from the main cities of China, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, at the best-price.
As a common practice, we will deliver your Tibet travel permit to your hotel in Shanghai by express, 1-7 days prior to your departure for Lhasa. It is common to get the permit even the night or a couple of hours before your departure to Tibet. In some extreme cases, our staff in Shanghai will deliver it to your hand before departure at airport or railway station. As a Tibet travel agency, we have never failed to get and deliver the Tibet travel permit to our clients. Please feel rest-assured.
If you take a flight to Lhasa from Shanghai, the original copy is required, while if getting to Lhasa from Shanghai by train, a printed copy is enough. Your travel consultant will handle with it perfectly according to the situation.
The Tourism Bureau only accepts the permit application that is used to arrive in Tibet within 20 days. Generally, it takes 6-12 working days to issue the permit after we get the photo copy of your passport and Chinese visa. The application time depends on where you travel in Tibet, about 8-12 days to get the permit if heading to Mt.Everest and Mount Kailash, and just 6-8 days if you only travel in Lhasa City.
After we get the permit in Lhasa, we will deliever the permit to you immediately by express, and it takes at least 3 days to arrive in Shanghai. Therefore, you will only be able to get the permit within 1 to 7 days before your departure for Lhasa.
However, your personal consultant usually ask you to confirm the tour much earlier, because the earlier you provide all the required documents, the earlier we can submit to Tibet Tourism Bureau and wait for your turn.