China-Tibet Train the Lhasa Express Sky Train

Fares & Schedules:                      

The "Sky Train", "Lhasa Express", "Rocket to the rooftop of the world", " The World's highest railway"; regardless of what its called, This China -Tibet train is truly an engineering wonder.

The train is equipped with 2 Oxygen sources, 1) released throughout the cabins when reaching Golmund and heading into Tibet and 2) Personal Oxygen Canisters in case you feel light headed and only available from Tibet to Golmund or from Golmund to Tibet

Between Xining and Golmud the tracks pass by Qinghai Lake - China's largest. But it is the Golmud-to-Lhasa sector which offers the most breathtaking scenery. That segment also offers the record-breakers: the world's highest passenger railroad (at Tanggula Pass - elevation: 5072m / 16,640 ft) and the world's highest railroad tunnel (Fenghuoshan - elevation: 4905m / 16,093 ft). Over 80% of the journey is at altitudes above 3962m / 13,000 ft; at least half the track on this section was laid atop permafrost.

Much of the travel involves crossing a massive plateau nicknamed "The Rooftop of the World”. Special diesel engines capable of operating efficiently at 3-mile-high altitudes were designed; an internal garbage disposal system was employed to reduce pollution along the route.

Major attractions along the Tibet by Train route include:

Xinging, a city of just over one million inhabitants, is situated in a remote valley on the eastern edge of Qinghai Province - occupying China's rugged, cold-weather northern "frontier." The city is best known for the Kumbum Monastery (Ta'er Temple), one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist sites in China. The Gelugpa sect was founded here by Tsongkhapa, and the hillside monastery was erected in 1560 in his honor. Up to 2,000 monks can gather to chant sutras in the Great Hall of Meditation, whose roof is supported by carpet-wrapped pillars. The Hall of Butter Sculpture includes colorfully-painted yak butter sculptures depicting important events in Buddhist history. Once home to over 3,000 monks, Kumbum Monastery now houses 600.

Qinghai Lake is about the size of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, though Qinghai Lake is not nearly as salty. Its waters support a variety of fish which, in turn, support a variety of birds - many of which call on Qinghai Lake during their bi-annual migrations. Cormorants, gesse, cranes and swans are plentiful here. The summer months bring herds of yak. Over twenty rivers and streams flow into the lake but there's no outflow; evaporation maintains its level.

Golmud the city's economic mainstays are its burgeoning mineral, oil and chemical industries. But to the visitor Golmud's main function is that of "transportation hub." Through here funnels traffic from China's eastern and northern cities to the lone highway (and now, the lone railroad) leading southwest to Lhasa. To many visitors passing through, Golmud's surrounding landscape presents an almost lunar look; at an almost 3048m /10,000ft elevation, the region is virtually treeless

Service valid from 1 July 2006 until further notice and subject to alteration wherever possible check times locally before traveling. All trains are air conditioned and pressurized and include Oxygen.

Fares:

**Fares above do not inlcude the Tibet Travel Permit (TTB)

**Unreserved seats are available. This means you are not guaranteed a seat, but if one does become available, you may take it, otherwise you will have to stand in the aisles. Prices are usually lower than the hard seat price.

***Beijing-Lhasa is 4064 km, of which 1110 km is over the newly-built Qinghai-Tibet railway.

Schedules

Departure Time and Length of trip:

**** Fares and Schedules May 2009

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