Chengdu to Lhasa Train

The Chengdu to Lhasa train Z322 departs Chengdu West Railway Station at 21:11 every other day and arrives at Lhasa Railway Station at 07:41 on the 3rd day. This train runs alternately with the Chongqing to Lhasa train Z322 every other day. The Chengdu to Lhasa train crosses 5 provinces and takes around 34 hours and 30 minutes. Although the linear distance is around 1,250km, the rail travel covers 3,360km, which is a big detour. In addition, there are 8 stations total, and the stay time per station is 6-25 minutes. You will start from Chengdu, pass through Guangyuan, Lanzhou, Xining, Golmud, and other cities, and finally arrive in Lhasa. On the way back, the Lhasa to Chengdu train Z324 leaves at 19:00 and arrives at Chengduxi Railway Station at 07:03 am on the third day. The Z324 train and the Lhasa to Chongqing Z224 train also run alternately every other day.

Chengdu, known as the 'Land of Abundance', the capital of Sichuan province in southwest China, is famous for its relaxing lifestyle. In addition, Chengdu is also one of the gateway cities for taking trains to Tibet. The Chengdu to Lhasa train was launched in July 2006. The other two lines moved from Beijing to Lhasa and Xining to Lhasa. This railway line is one of the most popular travel routes along the famous Qinghai-Tibet Railway, connecting Lhasa and the hometown of giant pandas. In addition, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway (a bit more than 1,800 km) is under construction and predicted to operate in 2026, reducing traveling time between Chengdu and Lhasa to nearly 13 hours.

Chengdu to Lhasa Train Schedules and Tickets（2024）

The Chengdu to Lhasa train Z322 train departs every other day. There are three ticket prices: hard seat ¥302.5, hard sleeper ¥627.5, and soft sleeper ¥997.5. In addition, the return train is Z324 train and also departs every other day. Since the Z324 train stops at Nagchu Station, the total journey time will be about an hour and a half longer.

*Note:The actual arrival and departure time of train, please refer to the information on your ticket, or consult your travel consultant.

Chengdu to Lhasa Train Z322 Schedule（2024）

Lhasa to Chengdu Train Z324 Schedule（2024）

How to Book and Get Tibet Train Tickets?

International travelers can’t enter in Tibet as backpackers and need the help of travel agency to apply for Tibet Travel Permit in advance. You do not need the permit to book the tickets but you do need it to collect the ticket and board the train.

1. How to Book Tibet Train Ticket?

Book train ticket with us (highly recommended)

To individual tourists, the best solution is to contact a reliable travel agency and book the Chengdu to Lhasa train ticket at least one month in advance. Traveltiberchina.com can provide such timely tickets booking service, and also offer “Train Ticket + Tibet Tour” packages. Send a detailed booking inquiry to us.

Book at 12306.cn or buy ticket at train station

Neither method is convenient for international travelers. The 12306.cn has no English version and the online payment is limited to a bank account in mainland China. The staff at the train station can’t speak English. For popular routes such as Chengdu to Lhasa train, it is difficult for foreign tourists to book train tickets because they get sold out very quickly.

2. How to Get the Tibet Train Ticket?

In China, you need the paper train tickets to get into your train. If you book train tickets with us, you have two ways to get your paper tickets:
1. We deliver the paper tickets to your hotel or address in China (Recommended)
2. Collect them at the railway station

If you choose the delivery service, it is advisable to inform us 4 business days before departure. If you choose to collect them at the railway station, make sure to bring the confirmation number of train tickets, your Tibet Travel Permit as well as your valid and original passport. The confirmation number will be sent to you along with related train information once the tickets are confirmed, present it and the mentioned documents to the staff behind ticket windows to get paper tickets for free.

Chengdu Railway Station operates 24/7, but usually there are only a few ticket windows available after 11 p.m. Considering the long queues in front of the ticket window and the language barrier, it is advisable to arrive at the train station at least 2 hours before departure if you collect tickets on the same day.

Notice: Tibet Travel Permit is needed for collecting the Tibet train ticket.

About ticket price:

The ticket prices above are the net price. In reality, as traveling in Tibet is so popular that the actual ticket demand far exceeds the supply, in-bound and out-bound tourists have to pay more than the net price to buy tickets. The actual price is subject to the market fluctuation. In some cases, the actual price could be double than the net price. Despite the uncertainty and difficulty in purchasing train tickets, Travel Tibet China would manage to book tickets at a reasonable price ( usually 20 percent lower than the market price) and promise to offer free service for it. If tourists only want to buy train tickets via Travel Tibet China without intending to travel to Tibet, Travel Tibet China will have to charge a small amount of service fee.

Which Seat Class to should I take, Soft Sleeper, Hard Sleeper or Hard Seat?

As a matter of experience, we strongly recommend travelers choose the Soft Sleeper instead of the Hard Sleeper or Hard Seat to have a safer and more comfortable journey. After all, it’s a journey over 30 hours and you need to stay two nights on the train.

Comparison between Soft Sleeper and Hard Sleeper

Notice: Since there are usually about 64 Soft Sleepers on each train to Tibet, so you’d better confirm your trip and book the train tickets as early as possible. Currently, passengers can book the train ticket 30 days in advance.

Why Chengdu Lhasa Train is recommended?

1. With a developed transportation network, Chengdu is well-linked with many international cities and all main cities in China. You can travel to Chengdu conveniently.

2. Honored as the Hometown of Giant Panda and Land of Abundance, Chengdu has attracted lots of tourists. Before traveling to Tibet, you can take a short stop to visit the adorable pandas as well as experience the slow-paced life in Chengdu.

3. Chengdu is the departure station of Z322, and it’s much easier to book a train ticket and get the berth or seat you want.

Facilities on Chengdu Lhasa Train – Life on the Train

Altitude Change of Chengdu to Lhasa Train

Chengdu to Lhasa Railway, measuring 3,070 km, starts from Chengdu(480m) via Xining (2,275m) to Lhasa (3,650m). This railway with the highest altitude around the world reaches its highest point at Tanggula Pass (5,072m) and the entire railway line is built over 4500m. It is known that high altitude may trigger physical discomforts such as headache, dizziness and other altitude sickness symptoms. Yet, this specially-built train is equipped with oxygen supply system that will automatically release oxygen into the carriage to minimize altitude sickness when reaches Golmud (2,829m).

Oxygen Supply and Altitude Sickness on the Chengdu to Lhasa train

Sometimes called “mountain sickness”, altitude sickness is a group of symptoms that can strike if you walk or climb to a higher altitude too quickly. Characterized by symptoms such as headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, altitude sickness is the biggest concern for traveling to Tibet.

Air-conditioning alone is not sufficient to make a cozy environment on the train to Tibet. The oxygen supply is the key element to ensure passengers' comfort and safety. There are two oxygen-supply systems on each train. One is used for increasing the oxygen level in the train, by temperature and air pressure controlling systems, when the train enters into the plateau zone. The other is directly used by passengers through an independent port. There are oxygen supply tubes and masks in each cabin for emergencies. Private oxygen masks are provided to every passenger, whatever ticket they have. In sleeping berth cars, you can find outlets on the wall beside the windows, while in seat cars, you can find outlets under your seat.

What You Can See along the Chengdu to Lhasa Train

Chengdu to Lhasa

As the train departs from Chengdu Railway Station, you can see the natural view of Sichuan, from plain Chengdu to the mountainous Guangyuan. When you get close to Xining in the afternoon of the second day, the most beautiful scenery of high plateau begins to come into your eyes. At first, you can see a large area of crops. Then the vegetation and household become less and less while the altitude becomes higher and higher. You will pass through the famous Golden Silver Beach and enjoy a part of the amazing landscape of Qinghai Lake. If you travel in July and August, you won’t miss a large field of rape flowers. Leaving Qinghaihu pasture, you will see the gobi view, but cropland appears soon before you get to Delingha. Then there come many salty lakes, like Keke Salt Lake, Gahai Lake and so on. Traveling from Delingha, you will witness one of the most magical sight - Thousands of Zhang Salt Bridge with Dabsun Lake and Hobson Lake on its two sides. When you wake up on the third day, you won’t be far from Lhasa.

Lanzhou

Lanzhou is the first major city along the Yellow River, which has been a key garrison town since ancient times. All trains between Chengdu and Lhasa will take a stop about 17 minutes at Lanzhou Railway Station in the daytime. Lanzhou Hand-pulled Noodles is famous among China, and you can have a try if time permits.

Xining

Xining is also an ancient military garrison and trading center in ancient times. Now it attracts many tourists with the beautiful Qinghai Lake – Flowers’ Ocean, Birds’ Paradise, and Cyclists’ Heaven. On your trip, you will see part of Qinghai Lake. There is a stop at Xining Railway Station for about 20 minutes, which is enough for you to walk around.

Golmud

As you get close to Golmud, you begin to feast on snow-capped mountains, bright glaciers, and spectacular lakes. When you get to Golmud from Chengdu at 19:24, you are supposed to see the Tibetan antelopes. The trains between Chengdu and Lhasa will make a stop at Golmud for 25 minutes.

About Chengdu to Lhasa Train FAQs:

Q1. How to Get Help on the Train?

Some of the staff on the train speak English and they are easy-approaching and hospitable to foreign tourists. If one runs into any trouble, you may ask the head of conductor for help. Most of the passengers may have symptoms of altitude sickness (such as headache, fatigue, difficult sleeping, lack of appetite, etc.) as the train reaches Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Now, you may switch on the oxygen outlet to inhale oxygen to ease the discomfort. If the symptom gets worse, you may find the conductor for help and the doctor on the train will come and give you timely treatment.

Q2. How can we minimize the effect of altitude sickness?

The effect of altitude sickness on passengers varies. Yet, to minimize or ease the impact of altitude sickness, one may prepare some altitude sickness tablets before boarding the train and take some when the train climbs to plateau. There is no need to worry too much the altitude sickness, the train is built with oxygen supply system which is easy to use.

Q3. Is smoking allowed in the cabin?

Smoking is strictly forbidden in the train as the train is tightly sealed and pressurized and oxygen is pumped into the carriage when the train ascends to extreme altitude.It would be devastating if the train caught fire.