This is the highest mountain railway in the world. "Road to the roof of the world" - Train to the roof of the world. Connects the administrative center of Tibet - the city of Lhasa through Golmud and Xining with the rest of the country's railway network. Railway map of the People's Republic of China.
The railway to Tibet was planned for a long time. Back in 1958, Mao Tse Tung instructed to consider the possibility of building a railway to the Tibet Autonomous Region, despite the fact that no one had experience in building railways in such, without exaggeration, extreme conditions.
Work on the first stage of construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway began in 1960. By 1962, the documentation was fully developed and approved. The construction was carried out by the prisoners - thus the task was carried out to minimize costs. In 1979, a railway track came to Golmud. The construction of the road further into the mountains, although it was approved, but the health complications of construction prisoners associated with oxygen starvation, as well as the fact that a significant part of the road would be laid in permafrost conditions, forced the construction to be stopped.
In the early years, the Xining - Golmud section was used exclusively by the military, and only in 1984, it opened to passenger traffic. At this, the construction of the railway to the capital of Tibet stopped for more than 10 years ...
In the second half of the 1990s, the country's government instructed to correct the route of the projected line, as well as to conduct new studies in terms of the economic feasibility of its construction. The result of this was the fact that in February 2001, the Chinese state construction approved the continuation of the construction of the highway, announcing its completion as one of the state priorities.
On July 29, 2001, from two ends, from Lhasa and from Golmud, detachments of builders moved towards each other. At the same time, the section of the first stage, Xining - Golmud, underwent a major modernization: a major overhaul of some engineering structures was carried out, the signaling was updated, which made it possible to significantly increase the throughput of the section.
On October 15, 2005, the construction of the railway was completed. Despite the fact that this event was very widely covered in the press, including in the world, for Tibet this did not mean that there was a direct connection along the rails with the rest of the world: the builders requested a few more months to run in and debug the line. This went on for another 15 months.
And finally, on July 1, 2006, regular passenger traffic was opened on the entire Qinghai-Tibet highway. The whole journey from Beijing to Lhasa takes 48 hours.
From a technical point of view, the construction of the second stage of the road was extremely difficult. 80% of the road passes at an altitude of more than 4000 meters above sea level, of which 160 kilometers at altitudes of 4000 - 4500 meters, 780 kilometers at altitudes of 4500 - 5000 meters and 20 kilometers of the line passes at an altitude of more than 5000 meters.
The highest railway station is Tangula Pass. It is located at an altitude of 5068 meters above sea level. This is the highest railroad station in the world. Trains pass close to it. highest point route - 5072 meters.
There is no town or village near the station. Trains stop here infrequently, while passenger cars always remain closed - passengers are prohibited from entering the platform: after all, at such an altitude, the percentage of oxygen in the air is from 60% to 40% compared to sea level. When the grand opening ceremony of the highway was held, many journalists needed health care. Medical workers accompany passenger trains today.
Other serious problem, with whom the builders encountered, was permafrost. In such conditions, 640 kilometers of the line are located. At the same time, it is worth noting that the permafrost in Tibet is special, high-altitude. It has some differences from the permafrost so familiar to us in the northern latitudes. Nevertheless, Russian engineers were invited to solve the problems that arose during construction, because our country has a lot of experience in building railways in similar geological conditions, primarily during the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. The experience of our engineers during the laying of tunnels also came in handy. The Qinghai-Tibet Highway has the highest mountain tunnel in the world, at an altitude of 4905 meters, and the longest tunnel is more than 3300 meters at an altitude of 4264 meters, 80 kilometers from the final destination - Lhasa.
Often in these places there are storms. In some cases, wind speeds can reach 150 kilometers per hour. Half of the highway is located in a seismically dangerous zone: earthquakes are observed here, with a force of 8 or more points.
Technical characteristics of the line: length 1142 kilometers, 965 kilometers at an altitude of more than 4000 meters, maximum slopes of 20 thousandths, minimum radii of curves 600 meters, vertical - 800 meters. The estimated speed is 100 kilometers per hour. 7 tunnels and 675 bridges, with a total length of almost 160 kilometers. The line is single-track with sidings, not electrified. But at the same time, groundwork has been made for the possible electrification of the line in the future, as well as for an increase in speeds.
Ecology was a separate line of the project implementation. A significant part of the bridges located on the line is made for the unimpeded passage of animals under them. Noise reduction technologies are also used.
Passenger cars were specially designed by Bombardier for the Chinese Railways. The cars are fully hermetic, designed for speeds up to 120 km/h. There are three classes in the carriages: seated, reserved seat and deluxe. The inscriptions are duplicated everywhere in Tibetan, Chinese and English. Under each passenger seat there is a connector for connecting an oxygen tube and an oxygen control panel. In the event of a sudden depressurization, individual oxygen masks are automatically folded back. Diesel locomotives for the line were produced in Pennsylvania at the plants of the General Electric concern.
Restaurant car.
Shared wagon.
Xining station train station.
Train station of Golmud station.
The end point of the highway is Lhasa Station.
The platform of the Lhasa station station.
The platform of the Lhasa station station.
Railways were built and are being built everywhere, regardless of the terrain. We know about the highest and most dangerous highway, about the longest and shortest road.
The most dangerous railway
Many railway lines can be called dangerous, but the road located in Argentina is recognized as the most dangerous. Its name is Tren a las Nubes, which translates as "Train to the clouds." During the journey, the road passes through tunnels, bridges, zigzags, descents and ascents. Tourists on the 15-hour route experience fear as the carriages literally make their way through the clouds. The train often slows down and slips, which is an additional reason for passengers to worry.Moving along the banks of the canyons, the train crosses them on steel, seemingly weightless bridges. He ends his journey at an altitude of four thousand meters. The most famous place of the route is the old viaduct, built in 1930. During the trip, the train passes two zigzag rises, overcomes twenty-nine bridges, twenty-one tunnels and twelve viaducts, several times it makes a three hundred and sixty-degree turn.
On the verge of hysteria are the train passengers during a trip over one of the deepest canyons in Argentina, the depth of which is seventy meters. The train moves over the rickety bridge for five minutes without end.
The shortest railway
This year, the Pope allowed everyone to use their own railway. We are talking about the road connecting the station in Rome with the station in the Vatican. This railway was built back in 1934 in order to deliver the pontiff from the Vatican to Rome. All these years it has been available for use only to the current pope. Now everyone can use it for forty euros. 
The length of the railway track between the stations is only one kilometer two hundred and seventy meters. It originates behind St. Peter's Basilica and passes several sights of the city-state - this is the Second Vatican Cathedral, and the Vatican Gardens, and the Sextine Chapel, and multiple museums.
The highest mountain railway
Railroad tracks do not always pass through the plains. Often their construction is carried out in mountainous areas, over canyons or over the expanses of water of the seas. The highest mountain railway is considered to be the one that runs from the Chinese province of Qinghai to the autonomous region of Tibet. Its length is almost two kilometers. 
The highest point of this road is at an altitude of five thousand seventy-two meters. Because at this height Atmosphere pressure is up to forty percent of the usual, trains on this route are equipped with oxygen masks.
Construction was carried out for several decades due to many obstacles - high mountain ranges, rarefied air, permafrost. Thanks to the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet road, the outlying provinces received a powerful impetus for economic development.
The longest railway in the world
The title of the longest railway in the world was awarded to the Trans-Siberian railway or Transsib. For many years, this road has remained in first place in terms of length. Its length is nine thousand two hundred and eighty eight kilometers. 
The giant highway, passing through the territory of Russia, connects the European part of the continent with Far East, Ural, Siberia, connects ports in the south and west. The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was due to the need for a uniform socio-economic development of a huge country.
Construction began in 1891, when the first stone was laid. The end of construction can be considered the year 1904, when the railway connection between Vladivostok and St. Petersburg appeared. Despite the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway, construction work continued for many more years, until 1938, when a second track was laid. Not only railways are amazing, but also the trains that run on them. There is a site on the site that mentions underwater, the oldest, longest and other interesting trains.
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Getting to Tibet is not as easy as it might seem. First you need to get permission. It is given exactly at the time for which you book the tour. You can't just come to Tibet. Tour prices bite. We paid $1800 for 3 people for 3 days. This is for an individual guide, entry permit, train tickets and temple tickets. All. Good hotel - at least another $ 150 per night per room. In fact, you pay for an entry permit and a guide.
How do the Chinese authorities explain why foreigners need to get permission to travel to Tibet? Very simply: "Tibet is a specific region of China."
Therefore, the Chinese State Council (government) decided that
Based on folk traditions and cultural heritage;
. according to security requirements environment;
. based on the characteristics of traffic and the reception capabilities of the tourist infrastructure
non-Chinese citizens must obtain permission to enter Tibet.
Like this! That is, the point is not at all that you can unfurl the banner "Free Tibet!" and shouting "Dalai Lama - for president!". Rather, the thing is that foreigners are used to shitting everywhere. They have polluted all the rivers and air of China, all the entrances have already been pissed on! Therefore, to Tibet - only with permission! This is the last clean piece of land.
By the way, foreign diplomats and journalists are not allowed to travel to Tibet as tourists. They need special permission. It is also impossible to go to Tibet without a guide. You can only get to the region as part of a tourist group (even if you are traveling alone).
You have to either fly to Lhasa by plane or by train. Well, you can still go by car, but it's generally tough. By the way, if you are a foreigner, then formally you cannot get to Tibet driving a car, only as a passenger (and, again, a member of a tourist group). Although there were precedents.
The main problem here is height. Lhasa is located at an altitude of 3490 meters. The train crosses the Tang La pass at an altitude of 5072 meters (the highest point of this railway), and many die from altitude sickness on it. There is another problem: to make passengers comfortable, oxygen is supplied to the train. They say that because of this, the body then does not acclimatize well, since it takes oxygen for a day on the train. In general, all the room experts on the Internet strongly advise against traveling by train.
But this is the highest mountain railway in the world! How can you miss such a miracle? And we went by train. Here it is necessary to note one more point. At the height of the tourist season, it is almost impossible to buy train tickets. They need to be brought! You must have a special person who will get you a ticket at the last moment. In the process of obtaining a ticket, the price may double - of course, all this is unofficial.
Tickets were delivered to us the day before the train departure. So let's go!
01. Xining Main Station, from here it takes 21 hours by train to Lhasa! The station is about the size of Vnukovo Airport. 
02. Tickets cannot be bought online. More precisely, you can buy, but then with the reservation number and documents, you must definitely go to the cashier and pick them up. To get tickets, you need to show permission to enter Tibet. In general, the process is approximately the same as when buying train tickets from Moscow to Kaliningrad (although, in our country, permission to travel is given not by the Russian authorities, but by the Lithuanian ones). 
03. We received tickets in advance. The livery of ordinary wagons is the same as we had under the Union. The wagons themselves are, of course, new. 
04. The waiting room at the station. How are you? To enter the station, you need to show tickets, passport and permission. All this will be scanned, then you will be searched and only then will they let you into the building. No mourners and greeters have the right to enter the station. 
05. Since Xining is the gateway to Tibet, and Tibet is China, at the station, all the screens show how Comrade Xi Jinping circles the troops. The videos are on all screens without stopping, and there is a reason - 90 years of the Chinese army. 
06. It's time for the train! They are allowed onto the platform immediately before its departure. 
07. The train to Lhasa is additionally decorated. See what a beauty! 
08. The train to Lhasa takes 21 hours. There are three classes of cars: seated, soft sleeping and hard sleeping. With a seated one, everything is clear, the layout of the seats is 3 + 2. 
09. Soft sleeper is an analogue of our coupe. 4 shelves, bed. Due to the fact that there are no upper shelves for luggage, there is more space between the shelves. And the coupe seems more spacious than ours. Each compartment has an outlet. 
10. If you decide to repeat my feat with a trip by rail, then I strongly recommend that you take tickets for the evening train. At the beginning, the road is not very beautiful: steppe and steppe all around. But in the morning, at 9 o'clock, the Tang-La pass begins with a height of more than 5000 meters. This is already beautiful. Passengers of the morning trains do not see all this beauty, as they overcome the pass at night. 
11. Snow! 
12. There is an oxygen supply valve near each shelf. 
13. Landscapes 
14. Restaurant car, on the left, fresh salad grows in boxes. 
15. An automobile road runs along the railway, loaded trucks slowly drag along it. According to my feelings, 80% of all transport is trucks. Speaking of which, someone might want to go to Tibet by car. 
16. High mountain architecture settlements primitive and dull. 
17. Basically, these are some trailers and tents standing in the mud. 
18. Let's get back to our train. Amenities include a toilet. According to my feelings, it is not washed during the movement, so the further, the sharper the aromas. It is difficult to sleep near the toilet because of the strong smell. 
19. Every third car has a toilet for the disabled! It is spacious and cleaner, as few people go into it. 
20. Along the road, almost every kilometer there are booths with the inscription "People's Guard of the Road." A soldier sits in each booth and salutes passing trains. There are really a lot of these booths, it is not very clear why they are. Maybe they are afraid of sabotage? 
21. Although, perhaps, these are railway workers, not soldiers. 
22. In some places there are no booths, so a dude in uniform comes to the tracks by car and, instead of saluting, speaks on the phone. 
23. Beautiful 
24. As I said, the train has a dining car. But that's not all! Have you ever seen a karaoke car on a train? Here! And he is here! A whole carriage of unrestrained fun. Here you can buy booze and sing any songs. 
25. Despite the fact that it is strongly not recommended to drink alcohol at a height, the local people eat themselves in the trash. 
26. How much beer does it take to get drunk? Here we must take into account that the strength of Chinese beer is usually 3-4 degrees, so you need to try very hard. 
27. The train, by the way, is well decorated. 
28.
29. And sheep are grazing outside the window. 
30. And yaks! The yak is the main animal here, there are some innumerable herds of them. I have never seen so many yaks. By the way, they say that in Tibet half of the dishes are prepared on the basis of yak meat (how to say in Russian, "yachina"?). 
31. In the sitting class, the people also turn sour. 
32.
33.
34. The train is gradually descending, and the snow disappears, green meadows begin. 
35. There are no sockets in the sit-down cars, so people charge their gadgets near the washbasins through numerous extension cords and power banks. 
36. A new highway is being built outside the window! Construction has just begun, but somewhere they have already begun to make flyovers and tunnels. 
37. As I understand it, this is protection so that the path does not cover up in winter? And what about the grid of stones in the foreground? Why is she? 
38. There are few stops, and they are mostly used by locals. A tourist will not be able to get off at a half-station, because the Chinese have thought of everything! As soon as you board the train, your ticket is confiscated, and instead they give you a plastic card with your seat number. To get off at any train station, you need to show a ticket! And there is no ticket - there is no exit in the wrong place! The ticket will be returned to you just before you arrive at your stop. Like this! In general, everything is strict.
39. The local people carry some giant bales with them. In general, it is not clear how they move with them at such a height. It is difficult for an unprepared person to breathe. Labor migration is very common in China. People constantly travel to work in more developed regions, that is, from the west to the east of the country. They are forced to carry a huge amount of belongings with them, with the help of which they settle in a new place. For example, they can carry a mattress with them, on which they sleep at a construction site where they were hired to work. 
40. Interior of a seated car 
41.
42. Incredible beauty outside the window! 
43. It's worth going just for the sake of the scenery. You sit and constantly shoot out the window. 
44. Isn't it a miracle? And yaks are grazing around! 
45.
46. On every camera pole! And how did you want? Difficult area. 
47.
48.
49. A minute of advertising my good friend! Remember Moishe from New York? He worked as a paparazzi and I did his hard work. By the way, if you haven't read it, be sure to read it, it's cool. So, Moishe got tired of running around New York for the stars, and he decided to sell tea! Tea is very good, delivered all over the world. If one of my readers is in the subject, then remember the site. Especially if you live in the USA. Enjoying black tea on a train is not so easy: at altitude, the water does not heat up to 100 degrees, and black tea is difficult to brew. 
50.
51. In the morning local drunks started playing cards. The Chinese are very big fans of card and gambling games, this is a very common pastime. At the same time, gambling for money in China, of course, is prohibited, but still everyone plays, no one cares for a long time. 
52. Clouds gathered over our train. 
53. How many yaks are there! 
54. What about nutrition? Well, firstly, there is a restaurant car - you already understood that. And secondly, conductors with carts constantly walk around the cars. 
55. They sell all sorts of inedible junk like chocolates and chips, as well as soda. I highly recommend taking food with you. 
56. In the morning, a cart with milk rides. 
57. This is all the construction of the road is planned. Soon a highway will be built in Tibet! 
58.
59.
60. Unlike Russian trains, the washbasin in China is not in the toilet, but separately, right next to the vestibule instead of one of the compartments. Very convenient: when everyone goes to brush their teeth in the morning, there is no need to queue for the toilet. 
61. Each car has free boiling water. 
62.
63. We are approaching Lhasa. 
64. Active construction of historical and cultural heritage is underway. 
65. Trains are very clean, carpets everywhere! And the doors between the cars are always open, and you can safely walk. By the way, the couplings are sealed, nothing makes noise. You can stand in the vestibule and talk in a whisper. 
66.
67. Another station. 
68. Sign on the road: "Let's build in an exemplary way to save the last clean piece of land in the world!" 
69. At each station there are people in uniform and keep order 
70. Passengers line up in neat queues. 
71.
72. And here it is, Lhasa Station! Huge! 
73. Foreigners need to register with the police. Once again, the permission is checked and the passports are scanned. 
74. Tomorrow I will start telling you about Tibet! Interestingly? 
This is the highest mountain railway in the world. "The road to the roof of the world" - Train to the roof of the world. Connects the administrative center of Tibet - the city of Lhasa through Golmud and Xining with the rest of the country's railway network.
The railway to Tibet was planned for a long time. Back in 1958, Mao Tse Tung instructed to consider the possibility of building a railway to the Tibet Autonomous Region, despite the fact that the experience of building railways in such, without exaggeration, extreme conditions no one had then.
Work on the first stage of construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway began in 1960. By 1962, the documentation was fully developed and approved. The construction was carried out by the prisoners - thus the task was carried out to minimize costs. In 1979, a railway track came to Golmud. The construction of the road further into the mountains, although it was approved, but the health complications of construction prisoners associated with oxygen starvation, as well as the fact that a significant part of the road would be laid in permafrost, forced the construction to be stopped.
In the early years, the Xining-Golmud section was used exclusively by the military, and it wasn't until 1984 that it opened to passenger traffic. At this, the construction of the railway to the capital of Tibet stopped for more than 10 years ...
In the second half of the 1990s, the country's government instructed to correct the route of the projected line, as well as to conduct new studies in terms of the economic feasibility of its construction. The result of this was the fact that in February 2001, the Chinese government construction approved the continuation of the construction of the highway, declaring its completion one of the state priorities.
On July 29, 2001, detachments of builders advanced towards each other from two ends, from Lhasa and from Golmud. At the same time, the section of the first stage, Xining-Golmud, underwent a major modernization: a major overhaul of some engineering structures was carried out, the signaling was updated, which made it possible to significantly increase the throughput of the section.
On October 15, 2005, the construction of the railway was completed. Despite the fact that this event was very widely covered in the press, including in the world, for Tibet this did not mean that there was a direct connection along the rails with the rest of the world: the builders requested a few more months to run in and debug the line. This went on for another 15 months.
And finally, on July 1, 2006, regular passenger traffic was opened on the entire Qinghai-Tibet highway. The whole journey from Beijing to Lhasa takes 48 hours.
From a technical point of view, the construction of the second stage of the road was extremely difficult. 80% of the road passes at an altitude of more than 4000 meters above sea level, of which 160 kilometers at altitudes of 4000-4500 meters, 780 kilometers at altitudes of 4500-5000 meters and 20 kilometers of the line passes at an altitude of more than 5000 meters.
The highest railway station is Tangula Pass. It is located at an altitude of 5068 meters above sea level. This is the highest railway station in the world. Not far from it, trains pass the highest point of the route - 5072 meters.
The highest railway station - Tangula Pass
There is no town or village near the station. Trains stop here infrequently, while passenger cars always remain closed - passengers are prohibited from entering the platform: after all, at such an altitude, the percentage of oxygen in the air is from 60% to 40% compared to sea level. And a person without special acclimatization and preparation can feel bad at such a height. When the solemn opening ceremony of the highway took place, many journalists needed medical assistance. Medical workers accompany passenger trains today.
Another major problem the builders faced was permafrost. In such conditions, 640 kilometers of the line are located. At the same time, it is worth noting that the permafrost in Tibet is special, high-altitude. It has some differences from the permafrost so familiar to us in the northern latitudes. Nevertheless, Russian engineers were invited to solve the problems that arose during construction, because our country has a lot of experience in building railways in similar geological conditions, primarily during the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. The experience of our engineers during the laying of tunnels also came in handy. The Qinghai-Tibet Highway has the highest mountain tunnel in the world, at an altitude of 4905 meters, and the longest tunnel is more than 3300 meters at an altitude of 4264 meters, 80 kilometers from the final destination - Lhasa.
Often in these places there are storms. In some cases, wind speeds can reach 150 kilometers per hour. Half of the highway is located in a seismically dangerous zone: earthquakes are observed here, with a force of 8 or more points.
Line specifications: the length is 1142 kilometers, 965 kilometers at an altitude of more than 4000 meters, the maximum slopes are 20 thousandths, the minimum curve radii are 600 meters, and the vertical ones are 800 meters. The estimated speed is 100 kilometers per hour. 7 tunnels and 675 bridges, with a total length of almost 160 kilometers. The line is single-track with sidings, not electrified. But at the same time, groundwork has been made for the possible electrification of the line in the future, as well as for an increase in speeds.
Ecology was a separate line of the project implementation. A significant part of the bridges located on the line is made for the unimpeded passage of animals under them. Noise reduction technologies are also used.
Passenger cars were specially designed by Bombardier for the Chinese Railways. The cars are fully sealed, designed for speeds up to 120 km/h. There are three classes in the carriages: seated, reserved seat and deluxe. The inscriptions are duplicated everywhere in Tibetan, Chinese and English. Under each passenger seat there is a connector for connecting an oxygen tube and an oxygen control panel. In the event of a sudden depressurization, individual oxygen masks are automatically folded back. Diesel locomotives for the line were produced in Pennsylvania at the plants of the General Electric concern.
Article source: http://chek-pipinda.livejournal.com/15065.html?thread=24281
In every journey, the most important thing is to properly build crossings. First, because it is the lion's share of the cost of the entire tour. Secondly, the success of the trip and the overall impression often depend on where and on what you go to Tibet.
I am engaged in the reception of Russian-speaking tourists in Tibet. Due to the peculiarities of my work, I travel a lot, I can tell you all the pros and cons of different ways to get to the Roof of the World, both on my own experience and on the experience of hundreds of tourists who come to Tibet every month.
In this short essay, I will share my experience of arriving in Tibet by train through Xining (Qinghai Province, China).
I will say right away, if it weren’t for work, I myself would never have gone like that. But every year there are travelers (it’s hard to say on what basis) who seriously believe that this is a great way to visit Tibet, they say, “gradual acclimatization” and so on. By the way, those who come to Tibet from Nepal by car think the same way, then they suffer from mountain sickness the whole trip.
Objectively, there are two pluses of arrival in Tibet on the route Beijing-Xining air, Xining-Lhasa railway:
1. small savings compared to Beijing-Lhasa air,
2. risk reduction with the purchase of railway tickets compared to the Beijing-Lhasa railway.
What is the difficulty of arriving in Tibet by train?
Railway tickets for trains entering Tibet are always in short supply. Why? There is only one railway line connecting Tibet with the outside world. This is the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. All passing trains (Beijing-Lhasa, Shanghai-Lhasa, Guangzhou-Lhasa, Chengdu-Lhasa) gather in Xining. These are trains that run once a day or once every two days. During the tourist season, they are always filled with passengers already at the point of departure. Even at the point of departure, getting tickets for these trains becomes a problem if the travel time falls between the end of April and the end of October, as well as on Chinese public holidays. At this time, there are simply no compartment tickets and reserved seats at the box office, even more so on the Internet. All of them are first withdrawn from sale by the state, because this is an important strategic line. Further, through relations with the heads of the stations, the tickets partially fall into the hands of professional resellers. And from them, through connections again (since such activities are illegal and punishable), tickets sometimes get to simpler speculators, and then to travel agencies and customers. That is why in China, in addition to the cost of the ticket itself, which is indicated on it, there is also the cost of services for buying a ticket. At the height of the tourist season (July, August, September and holidays), the cost of services may equal, and sometimes even exceed the cost of the ticket itself. Therefore, in summer, groups traveling to Tibet from China are advised to fly by plane: fewer problems, faster, easier acclimatization and not much more expensive than a train who need two days to get there.
The second difficulty of arriving in Tibet by train is acclimatization. This applies to all trains to Tibet, since they all pass through Xining and on the same Qinghai-Tibet railway call in Lhasa in Tibet. Why is acclimatization worse on the train? Because the body begins to feel the height and adapt to it, overcoming 3000 meters above sea level, and everything up to 3000 is felt like sea level, there is no difference. Arriving by plane in Lhasa, you get to a height of 3650 meters, and calmly acclimatize for one night. By following the basic safety rules on the first evening (move a little, do not drink alcohol, smoke less and do not take a shower), you will easily acclimatize and in the morning you will already feel like at sea level. On the train, it's different. Firstly, the train on the second night, when you are already pretty tired from the road, overcomes an altitude of 5200 meters above sea level, passing the Tangula Pass. This is a serious test for any organism, even for people who have lived in the mountains for many years or have experience traveling to the highlands. Secondly, oxygen is supplied to the train, which prevents the body from adjusting to the altitude naturally. If you immediately “sit down” on oxygen, then upon arrival in Lhasa it will also be required, and without it your head will hurt and all the symptoms of altitude sickness will be yours. Thirdly, the train has only a few stops, there is no way to get out, get some fresh air. Fourthly, in trains that go for two days there is still a nurse who has nothing good in the first-aid kit except green stuff. And there are no doctors on overnight trains. Often there are health problems and the conductors run around the cars in search of any doctors among the passengers.
I had a funny case, in my permit to enter Tibet it was written that I am a doctor, but this is not so, I do not have medical knowledge to provide assistance. So, at night on the Xining-Lhasa train, the conductor wakes me up: “Girl, girl, are you a doctor?” I remember through a dream that it is written in the permit, I quickly react that since it is written, I must say “yes”, suddenly she checks me (which also happens). "Doctor," I say. - "Urgently, there in another car the child was burned with boiling water, help!" - .... child, boiling water .... no, I can’t help in such cases, I decide, and answer: “Sorry, I can’t treat such problems,” and I sleep on. After about 20 minutes, eight people come to me in a compartment, with a crying child in their arms, the poor child's skin is all opened, he yells, well, how can I help, there is no doctor on the train !!! A frightened Uyghur mother begs me to help them... Called himself a load - climb into the back. I had to say that I am a psychologist, and I don’t understand such matters ... Neighbors in the carriage began to give people’s advice: apply a cucumber and the like, but in fact the situation with the burn was already at a stage when specialist help was required, therefore my conscience is clear because I did not give popular advice, the only thing to do in such cases is to survive the night, wait for the next day, get off the train and run to the hospital in Lhasa.
So, about the trip from Xining to Tibet
There are only 6 flights a day from Beijing to Xining. The planes are small Boeing 737s. The most suitable flight is, of course, the earliest, so as not to spend the night in Xining. Arriving on the earliest flight from the airport, you can immediately go to the railway station and in the afternoon take the Xining-Lhasa train. Xining Airport, despite the fact that it is a large transport hub, is very small. If you fly to Xining, you will be met at the airport with a sign. Greeters stand immediately after the baggage claim area. There are no Russian-speaking guides in Xining, so an English-speaking person will meet you here. per level in English there is no hope here. Still, Xining is far behind, for example, Beijing or Lhasa in terms of the development of tourist services.
If you are planning excursions in Qinghai (Taer Monastery (Kumbum) or Qinghai Lake), then you can fly on any Beijing-Lhasa flight, check into a hotel in Xining and travel around Xining.
If you want to go to Tibet right away, then after arriving Beijing-Xining on the earliest flight from the airport, you must immediately go to the railway station. Train Xining (Lanzhou) - Lhasa number 917 leaves at 15-04. If other trains. Tickets stop being issued 3 hours before the train departure. Therefore, for example, if you are traveling on your own and decide to resolve the issue of your train tickets yourself, say, you have tickets issued via the Internet, then they must be received at the box office before 12 noon. And for this you always have to defend a giant queue, present a permit to Tibet and original passports. If you use the services of a travel agency, we will do everything for you without your original passport. In Xining, we have direct connections with professional railway ticket dealers. Often they work wonders. But they, too, are powerless when political restrictions come into play.
It happens that tickets are ordered and paid for, but they never went on sale, and the trains will go empty (!), but the tickets will not be on sale! You may never understand the real reasons for this situation. Why? For example, one of these days, in some village, a provocative action will take place, in which the national minorities of the PRC (Tibetans, Uighurs, etc.) will take part. In such cases, the government often restricts entry into problem areas. Tibet suffers constantly from this! For example, when I was traveling on the Xining-Lhasa train in April 2012, according to rumors (and usually they are rumors, they will never say this in the news), in the village of Yushu "something like this happened." So for 5 days after our arrival, Xining-Lhasa tickets were not on sale, and the trains were half empty.
Here I would like to explain to travelers why train tickets in China, especially for trains to Tibet, are always problematic, and until the last moment tickets are not issued to tourists. In China, this is exactly the situation with train tickets. Therefore, do not torture yourself with the questions “why?”, “But it’s not like that with us ...”. This is a feature of China, if you choose to travel by train, there is always a risk of problems with check-in. If you do not want these problems, it is better to fly by plane, there are no such problems with air tickets!
I especially appeal to pilgrims and tourists to Mount Kailash. The journey is not easy, it will require physical and moral strength from you. If the budget does not allow you to fly by plane to Tibet and back, then choose this option: to Tibet by air, from Tibet by train. That way you don't arrive in Tibet tired of the train, don't damage your acclimatization, and train tickets for trains leaving Tibet are always easier to get than for trains entering Tibet.
