Qinghai-Tibet Railway Facts, Scenery and Trains

Qinghai-Tibet Railway Facts:

The Length of Qinghai-Tibet Railway and Train Journey Time

Extending from Xining to Lhasa, the whole length of Qinghai-Tibet Railway is 1956km. It takes only about 21 hours for Tibet trains running on it.  Among them, there are 960km of the railway located at more than 4000m.

The Scenery along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Reputed at “the Sky Road”, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway itself is a great wonder without doubt. In Addition, the breathtaking scenery is also worth your attraction along the railway. Traversing plains, mountain ranges, rivers and lakes, grasslands, densely populated cities and the desolate Gobi, the scenery of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is majestic and of various types, especially the section from Golmud to Nagqu.

The famous sites along the railway include vast and clear Qinghai Lake, marvelous Kunlun Mountains and Tanggula Mountain ranges, uninhabited Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve, the origin of Yangtze River,  and Qingtang National Nature Reserve etc. Together with the rare wild animals like Tibetan antelopes and yaks, Tibetan folk houses, prayer flags and Mani stones, they will reward tourists with a lifetime unforgettable memories.

Do not miss any moment of extraordinary nature which you will sea through the Qinghai-Tibet train windows. Passing through the Fenghuoshan Tunnel of Tanggula Mountain, you really get a sense of the altitude at which you're moving. At a soaring 5068m above sea level, Tanggula Station is the world highest railway station. As the Tibet train climbs up a mountain pass trudging toward Lhasa, the lofty snow-capped Kunlun Mountains are veiled in a wispy mist.

Through the train window, the great expanses of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau roll into view: the grasslands dotted with black yaks and prayer flags fluttering from gold-topped temples. This is definitely the "Roof of the World."

Qinghai-Tibet Railway

The Trains Running on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

The highest Qinghai-Tibet Railway in the world connects Lhasa not only to Xining but also to the whole Chinese railway network. Since its opening in 2006, Tibet train has become a good choice for international and domestic tourists to Tibet. Nowadays, passengers can take a direct train from these cities to Lhasa, such as Xining, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The trains from these cities to Lhasa:

Of course, you can also board the train at stopover stations to Lhasa, such as Shijiazhuang North, Taiyuan, Zhongwei, Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing, Bengbu, Xuzhou, Zhengzhou, Xian, Nanchong North, Guangyuan, Chenzhou, Changsha, Wuchang, Delingha, Golmu, Nagqu, etc.