Xi'an to Lhasa Train Book

Can I get off the train at Xian station with my ticket from Beijing to Lhasa and then get back with the same ticket after few days’ sightseeing in Xian?

When enjoying a China Tibet tour, many tourists usually choose to first tour Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou, where they can get easier access to this country, and then continue to travel to Xi’an and further to Tibet, to complete a fantastic journey encompassing the best highlights. However, for tourists taking a Beijing to Lhasa train, you cannot get off the train at Xian station for sightseeing, since the train will not stop there.

Besides, even if you take the train to Lhasa from Shanghai or Guangzhou, which will stop at Xi’an en route, you can only have several minutes to get out to stretch your legs during the stopover, and then you need to get back onboard before the train restarts to run again.

If you want to tour Xi’an city for a couple of days during your Beijing Lhasa train journey, you need to buy train tickets separately for each section. That is to say, you can first take a train or flight from Beijing to Xi’an, and then take the train from Xi’an to Lhasa, after few days’ sightseeing there.

How about the altitude change along Xian Lhasa Railway? And how to prevent high altitude sickness while taking the train to Lhasa from Xi’an?

Check the altitude change of Xian-Lhasa train from the graph above.

The rail route from Xi’an to Lhasa starts at an altitude of about 400 meters, and then traverses the lowland area for the first one third of the whole line, before reaching Xining (2200 m). After Xining, the railway begins to climb up to the high plateau, and reaches Glomud at 2780 meters.

Leaving Golmud, the altitude increases sharply, ascending to more than 4500 meters when crossing Kunlun Mountains, and then rises to the railway’s highest point at Tanggula Pass (5072 m). After that, the altitude gradually drops as you move on to Nagqu and Lhasa, at an elevation of 3650 meters.

With such a high altitude to experience by taking the Tibet train, however, travelers don’t have to worry too much about the altitude sickness. As there are specially equipped oxygen supply systems provided on each Tibet train, including the one from Xi’an to Lhasa, you can make good use of them to reduce the effect of high altitude.

Are there more ways to travel to Tibet from Xi’an by train?

There is just one direct train from Xi'an to Lhasa. There are times when it is possible to get tickets from Xi’an, but it is more likely that tickets will be unavailable. In those cases, you can either take a connecting train to Xining or fly to Xining, where you will have a much better chance of getting tickets for your required dates of travel.

Trains from Xian to Xining and Xining to Lhasa Train

Getting to Xining from Xian by train is very convenient. There are 20 bullet trains running from Xian to Xining every day, departing from early morning to late afternoon. It takes only 4.5 hours to reach Xining Railway Station. From there, tourists can directly board the train from Xining to Lhasa, without any transfer in the city.

By this way, tourists will have more flexible choices on travel schedule, owing to the adequate supply of trains. Besides, the train tickets from Xian to Xining are also relatively cheaper, so you can cut down your travel cost to some degree compared to taking other connecting route.

Flights from Xian to Xining and Xining to Lhasa Train

There are 4-7 direct flights from Xi’an to Xining daily, from major airlines such as China Eastern, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, and many others. The flight to Xining takes around one and a half hours.

The main advantage of traveling via airplane to Xining and then taking the train from there is that you can save time on the trip, and as Xining is at an elevation of 2,275 meters, you can always spend a day there to help with acclimatizing to the higher altitudes. This can help to reduce the risk of altitude sickness.

Moreover, as most of the spectacular scenery is on the train from Golmud (where the train starts its ascent to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau) you would not be missing any of the best parts of the train journey.