Taking a train and witnessing the Qinghai Tibet Plateau on the train is memorable. But get fully prepared before is very necessary. Following are some essential guide information to help you plan the ideal train travel. Any question from you is welcomed, just contact us.
So far, travel can take a train to Lhasa from gateway cities which are also the starting stations with maximum chances to get a train ticket, including Chengdu, Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xining and Lanzhou, etc.
Most Recommended - Beijing, Chengdu, Xining: Beijing has a daily train to Lhasa usually departing in the evening and takes about 41 hours. It is easier to buy a ticket from Chengdu to Lhasa(about 42hrs' trip), but the train only departs every other day. Xining has more train schedules, and is the starting place of stunning Qinghai Tibet Railway. One can get to Lhasa from Xining by train within 22 hours.
Other Popular Gateways - Chongqing, Shanghai, Xian: Chongqing is connected to Yangtze River Cruise, Shanghai is popular arrival city in China, but the time spent on the train is a bit long(approx 47hrs). Xian is the perfect place as the connection of Beijing and Lhasa. learn more >>
Generally, there are soft sleepers, hard sleepers and hard seats. A cabin has four soft sleepers(top and low) with a door which are relatively quiet and less crowd copared to hard sleeper cabins. Hard sleeper canbin has 6 sleeper(top, middle, low) but without a door. Hard seat is not recommended. learn more >>
You can go to the dinning car where you have flexible options of Chinese cuisine for lunch and dinner, but the price is a bit expensive. You can also buy the budget boxed lunch from the staff when the push the mealcart to your seat. We advise you pack some snacks with you. learn more >>
There are four ways to book a train ticket:
Mainland Chinese with a citizen ID card can register in the official website of the Ministry of Railways (www.12306.cn) to buy a ticket online. So if you have a Chinese friend from mainland China, you can ask your friend to book it for you.
Foreigners can purchase train tickets on Ticket-booking websites such as Ctrip, Fliggy and Qunar. The tickets can be hard to get during the peak season for travel to Tibet, so you are suggested to book ahead of time.
Foreigners can also buy a ticket directly from the train station with a valid passport. But since the train ticket is available 30 days or less ahead, it can be hard for you to get one during the peak season.
Foreigners can also book the train ticket through a travel agency. Our agency provides train ticket booking service. Please contact us if you need help.
Normally you cannot choose a compartment when booking a train ticket, especially in the peak season. When we book the tickets for you, we will try our best to meet your preferences, but please be aware it is not guaranteed.
At present, there is only one shift of the train from Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou to Lhasa. There are more shifts from Lanzhou, Xi'an, Xi’ning to Lhasa, in which you can pick a preferred one. Please check with the agency in advance if you have a special requirement for the train shift. We will try our best to meet your preferences, but please be aware it is not guaranteed.
The agency normally books the train ticket for you through the website of the Ministry of Railways, which does not enable designation of the berth. You can only designate the type of the sleepers (a hard sleeper or a soft one).
According to the current policy, the train ticket can be booked 30 days in advance. In case the tickets are sold out, you are recommended to book it 30 days in advance whether you purchase it yourself or through our agency.
All our customers who book their train tickets through our agency, their tickets are guaranteed.
Children who are below 1.2 meters can take the train for free with adults. Children whose height is between 1.2 meters to 1.5 meters need to buy train tickets at a half of the price of the adults’ ones for the hard seats. Children with a child ticket will be charged the full price of the soft sleeper when using the sleeper alone.
If you purchase the tickets on the website of 12306 or other ticket-booking websites, you can pick up their tickets by the order number and valid passport from the train station.
If you book your tickets through our agency, our staff will deliver the ticket to the city where you are going to take the train.
There are 2 upper berths and 2 lower berths in a soft sleeper compartment for 4 passengers. A hard sleeper compartment is of 2 upper berths, 2 middle berths and 2 lower berths for 6 passengers. The soft sleeper compartment is of more space than the hard sleeper apartment.
The soft sleeper compartment has a door that can be closed, while there is no door in the hard sleeper.
The bed in the soft sleeper is more comfortable and wider than the bed of the hard sleeper compartment.
The soft sleeper compartment is equipped with better lights, slippers, hangers, etc., which are nor provided in the hard sleeper compartment
The Qinghai-Tibet train will provide oxygen supplement from Golmud to Lhasa. The train is completely enclosed and smoking is not allowed.
Trains running along the Qinghai-Tibet line are equipped with independent oxygen generators that produce oxygen-enriched air to supply oxygen to passengers in two ways: one is to supply oxygen to the interior compartment through air conditioning to meet the needs of passengers to provide oxygen supplement on the plateau; the other way is to through the oxygen supply pipelines which are evenly distributed around the seats in case the emergency happens when some passenger feels uncomfortable while riding on the train. The oxygen concentration from the pipelines is generally of 40-50%, which can immediately relief an acute altitude-sickness.
Generally speaking, since there are fewer passengers in the sleeper compartments, the oxygen concentration is higher than the hard-seat compartments which are shared by more passengers. It is recommended to choose the sleeper if it is your first time to go to Tibet.
In addition to the oxygen supply equipment, there are also doctors and nurses. If you feel unwell, the conductor will call a doctor to come.
The altitude sickness is caused by the pressure difference between the exterior and the interior body, which causes the unease of the head, stomach, and intestines of a person. Therefore, if the train only supplement oxygen without increasing the air pressure when it is at an altitude of 5,000 meters from Golmud, most tourists will have headaches and upset stomachs. Especially when the train crosses over the Tanggula Mountain, there will be obvious symptoms. In addition, the train ride is long and the conditions on the train are limited, so it is easy for people to feel tired during the ride. So please stay alert to the altitude sickness while you are on the train.
The Qinghai-Tibet train passes by Qinghai Lake and Hoh Xil. But you can only see them when it is during the day.
There are packed meal boxes selling on the train when it is time for meals. The conductor will push the trolley to sell them at a price of 15-30 yuan. Normally there are 2 dishes with a serving of rice;
You can bring a pack of instant noodles or buy instant noodles on the train. The boiled water on the train is available 24 hours.
You can also bring your own food and snacks, or you can buy bread, biscuits, drinks, etc. on the train. There is a dinning compartment on the train, so you can also order food in the dining compartment.
The things sold on the train are more expensive. For example, a bottled water normally sells for 2 yuan will be about 5 yuan a bottle. Passengers are advised to bring some bottled water and snacks to the train.
There is generally no limit to the baggage on the train, except for the prohibited items (such as the flammable and the explosive, guns, etc.). There are no clear restrictions on the weight nor the size of the luggage on the train either.
There is no place for you to take a shower on the train. Only the sink and the toilet are available on the train.
WIFI is not available on the train, but you can use your own data of your mobile phone.
Most of the time the signal of mobile phones is good on the train. When crossing over a mountain or through a tunnel, the signal will be intermittent.
There are sockets on the train for passengers to charge phones in the aisle. You can find them under the small table, on both sides of the washstand. In case some sockets may not work, you are suggested to bring your power bank as well.
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