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Tibet train or the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has gathered immense popularity among adventurers owing to the beautiful experiences that it provides. Being the highest railway track, traveling in this magnificent Tibet train provides you some of the best scenic beauties of the remarkable Tibet and its surrounding provinces. The railway track also has come to great use as it connects the various provinces like Xining, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guangzhou and lot of other cities of China with Tibet.
Therefore traveling to Tibet has no longer remained a difficult and costly task. You can board a Tibet train from any of the provinces that it connects and visit Tibet at a low price and with a lot of charming memories of the enchanting scenic beauties on the way. Needless to say, the facilities that the train provides like charging system, inbuilt medication to combat altitude sickness, pressure and oxygen regulation and the variety of foods in the beautiful dining cart, are going to make your journey all the more memorable.
Xining to Lhasa Train
The station of Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, is considered to be the most important of all the stations of the Qinghai-Tibet railway. It is a principle station that has several branching routes to visit Tibet. The train from Xining leaves at 2 p.m. and arrives at Lhasa at 11.10 a.m., the next day. Thus the total journey constitutes of 22 hours at the most. The train is available in every alternate day.
The cost of the soft sleeper berths are fixed at 781 CNY whereas that of the hard sleeper berths is fixed at 495 CNY. The only difference between the soft sleepers and the hard sleepers is that the difference in the width of the berths and the lack of some facilities. Otherwise the essence of the journey remains the same. The essence of the journey from Xining lies in the beautiful scenic beauty of the snow-capped mountains and the mesmerizing lakes that can be seen on the way.
The journey being at an altitude of 4,000 and 5,000 meters, it is also known as the ‘route of the sky’. On the way, you will come across numerous wild animals or more particularly the wildlife of Tibet and the vast meadows and the fields.
When the train will run west out of Xining, you will behold the famous Jinyintan Prairie. At this point, the altitude of the track will rise and simultaneously you will witness the thinning of the vegetation. With the sight of the Jinyintan Prairie, you will see a vast area, covering almost 425 square miles, of lush green grasses with small flowers blooming and a part of the natural life of the area.
Gradually you will also come across the famous Qinghai Lake, on the western side of Jinyintan Prairie. The lake is surrounded by a large number of snow-capped mountains. If you are travelling in July or August, you will get to behold an even more attractive site of the Cole blossoms in full bloom, surrounding the lake. Containing a vast area of dull blue water, the lake is extremely attractive and mesmerizing. Also you will get to see another lake known as the Qarhan Salt lake, with an over bridge, made naturally by the salts on the water.
Besides these various lakes and the prairies, the journey will contain many mountain ranges like the beautiful Kunlun ranges and the incredible Tanggula Mountain ranges. You might not get a clear glimpse of the Tanggula mountain range owing to the snow and the cloud and also the fog that makes it indistinct in such a great height. Most of the mountains that fall on the way remain snow-covered, thereby exhibiting a beautiful silvery visage for the tourists observing them.
Beijing to Lhasa Train
From Beijing, the capital city of China, the Tibet train has done many benefits to a wide number of tourists in the world. The railway line from Beijing stretches as far as 3,757km. The train from Beijing station leaves at 8 p.m. in the evening and reaches Lhasa at 12.10 p.m. in the next to next day. Therefore it takes about forty hours to visit Lhasa from Beijing, which is indeed a very long journey.
However the experiences and the views that are gathered in the journey, will make the forty hours journey seem even shorter. The cost of the soft sleeper berths is about 1,144 CNY whereas that of the hard sleeper berths is about 720 CNY. The trains are available daily which indeed shows a good frequency.
If you want to reduce the time of your journey, you can also take alternative routes from Beijing as from Beijing many different routes are accessible. There is one way of flying from Beijing to Xining, which will take about two hours and forty five minutes. Then from Xining, you can board the Tibet train, thereby reducing your journey by 18 hours almost. Also even if you travel from Beijing to Lhasa directly, the time will fly by with the beautiful scenic beauties that will fall on the way.
You have to be ready with your camera to enjoy the scenic beauties that will fall in succession on the way. There are beautiful subways that will let you enjoy the scenic beauties of the journey, but the real scenic beauty begins from the time, the train enters the Golmud station. You will get to see the famous Qarhan salt lake, Tuotuo He River, Tanggula pass, Qiantiang prairie, Yuzhu peak and even Kekexili Nature Reserve. You will also get to view a stunning glimpse of the famous Gobi Desert that will fall on the way from Golmud.
Xi’an to Lhasa Train
Xi’an is a very important Chinese city known for its preservation of the authenticity of ancient China. It is also the most significant ancient capital city of China. For an individual who wants to bask in the ambiance of Ancient China and then gradually wants to get morphed into the solemnity of Tibetan Buddhism, taking the Tibet train from Xi’an is a perfect idea. There are two trains available from Xi’an to Lhasa.
One of them departs at 9.45 from the Xi’an station and the other at 11.24 in the morning. It takes about 32 hours to reach Lhasa from Xi’an and is considered to be one of the shortest routes to Lhasa. The trains are available daily. The cost of the soft sleeper berths is about 969.5 CNY and that of the hard sleeper berths is 611.5 CNY. The costs are also moderate as can be observed.
The city of Xi’an had always had a close tie with Tibet owing to the connections paved by the Tang Dynasty and the princess Wencheng. While you have time before boarding your train from Xi’an, try to witness the Silk Road and the terracotta masterpieces that are still preserved in the city. There are many historic sites also in Xi’an. If you have time, you can visit the places but they require a few days to travel.
The best time to make the train journey from Xi’an is in the summer time. During this time, the scenes outside the window panes provide an immense mesmeric charm. You can see the rape seeds in full bloom, decorating the various fields with their bright golden colours. You can see the famous Qinghai lake with its dull blue water and the snow-covered Yuzhu peaks. You will also come across the Tanggula Pass and its misty surroundings. Till now there are no direct trains from Xi’an to Lhasa. However there are two trains that run from Guangzhou and Shanghai that luckily have stops in Xi’an in the midway. Therefore like this you can board the train from Xi’an to Lhasa.
Guangzhou-Lhasa Train
The Tibet train that travels from Guangzhou to Lhasa, thereafter travels the longest distance across the China. There is one train available everyday from Guangzhou to Lhasa and it takes about 53 hours to reach Lhasa from Guangzhou.
The train departs from Guangzhou station at 11.45 a.m.. The soft sleeper coach costs about 1468 CNY and the hard sleeper coach costs around 865 CNY. From the station of Guangzhou, the train halts at many stations of which Xi’an is one and then continues towards Lhasa. The city of Guangzhou is located near Macao and Hong Kong.
There are many important tourist attractions in Guangzhou like the Pearl River, the night cruises, the Nanling National Park. There are two high peaks present in the park like the Shikeng Kong Mountain peak and the Shifei Mountain peak. Except for these, you also can witness many extinct species of plants and flowers preserved in the park. The city of Guangzhou is also very famous for its Operan Society.
Strolling the city of Guangzhou also will give you a beautiful memory to cling to for the rest of your life. Therefore if you have some time before you board your Tibet train from Guangzhou, try to witness at least some of these attractions. Also the train journey will provide you one of the most memorable experiences of your life.
Being the longest, it will take you through many cities like Wuchang, Lanzhou, Chenzhou, and Xi’an. On the way, you will pass through many meadows, snow-capped mountains, and beautiful lakes. Enjoy the longest journey, with the constant availability of a variety of food and drinks. You will observe that after the train passes Golmud, the staves will announce the points of interests in the upcoming journey. While the journey in the soft sleeper berths is excellent, in the hard sleeper couches except for the certain nuances, the journey is going to be memorable.