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The train to Lhasa can be taken from a number of cities in China. We took it from Xining in Qinghai province but it can be taken from Lanzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing and Guangzhou as well. Arguably the most prestigious train in China Railways fleet and passing through some of China’s grandest scenery this rail journey has become the preferred way to go to or from Lhasa. This makes competition for tickets intense and that combined with the need for a Tibet Travel Permit means booking well in advance is necessary.

Much of the route is over 4,000 meters in altitude but the train is comfortable with oxygen pumped into cabins meaning that the real effects of the altitude (and the train reaches over 5,000 meters at some points) are not felt unless you get out at the short and infrequent stops. We had a soft sleeper berth which was better than the usual soft sleeper cabin on Chinese trains in that the berths were slightly bigger than normal. The dining car food was above average for Chinese trains and the staff kept things clean and made an effort to communicate in English which we appreciated.

The scenery is, needless to say, spectacular – especially a few hours before Lhasa. We passed lakes including Qinghai Lake, as well as 7,000 meter glacier adorned peaks. On board information keeps you updated on altitude, speed and, at this time of year, the sub zero outside temperature. Inside the train it was warm, perhaps too warm sometimes, and that combined with the oxygen supply made looking out onto the high Tibetan plateau in early winter a slightly weird experience.

A fascinating set of photos taken from 1966 to 1970 courtesy of the China Daily.

I’m always interested in photography from the Mao era. These photos are particularly interesting as some of them show the Chinese building the TAZARA railway that goes from Tanzania to Zambia. I took that back in 1993 and perhaps it can be considered my first Chinese journey.

A headline from the China Daily, China’s English language newspaper, – “China to complete 8-hour railway network around Beijing” claims that passengers would be able to travel between Beijing and most capital cities in China in eight hours by 2012.

They add that “By the end of this year, China would have a total of 86,000 km rail lines, second only to the United States” (and an awful lot more used!)

Below is a photo of the double decker Urumqi to Kashgar train running along this relatively new line which is both a stunning ride scenically and an amazing engineering achievement passing through the Tian Shan mountains and across the desert.