Tibet, with an average altitude of 4,000 meters, is nicknamed “the roof of the world”. Some people say it is the closest place to heaven, because of its high altitude and uncontaminated natural scenery.
Although there is an international airport in Lhasa (Tibet’s capital), travelers often prefer to take a train, to enjoy the scenery along the way and adjust gradually to the plateau climate.
Amazing scenery along Tibet train route
Buying train tickets to Lhasa, however, unlike to other cities in China, is very difficult, even for most Chinese travelers. Here are the two main reasons:
- Short supply and great demand
- Complicated procedures for foreigners
* There are only a few cities operating trains to Lhasa and generally, all the tickets are sold out as soon as they are issued.
In this article, we provide all the essential things you need to know before buying train tickets to Tibet, including what to prepare, how and where to buy tickets, and which cities have trains to Tibet.
1. The Best Seasons to Make a Train Journey to Tibet
YarluZangbu River in Tibet
Spring, summer, and autumn are the best seasons to visit Tibet. April to October are good months to enter, but the best months are June to August.
From April to October, all the local attractions are available for tourists to visit. Well-oxygenated from spring to autumn, the plants are green and the scenery is amazing.
2. Entering Tibet: Tibet Travel Permits and Tour Guides
Foreigners and Taiwanese (excluding Hong Kong and Macao tourists), are not permitted to travel on their own in Tibet. They must travel in the company of tour guides from Tibetan or mainland travel agencies.
Tibet Travel Permit
Tibet Travel Permits are essential for entering Tibet. But don’t worry: your travel agency will deal with all the formalities for you. You just need to provide your basic information (name, nationality, age, gender, occupation, and passport number).
3. Documents Needed to Buy a Train Ticket to Tibet
As with other train tickets in China, all you need is your original passport for a ticket to Tibet.
For online booking, you need to input the correct passport name and number.
For station buying, you need to present your original passport to the clerk.
Learn the specific steps for buying train tickets in China by reading How to Buy a China Train Ticket.
4. When (How Long in Advance) to Book Train Tickets to Tibet
Train tickets are issued 30 days before departure date. But if you decide to book via an agency or service platform, we recommend you book 2–6 months ahead of time, to provide some time for clerks to prepare.
It is not exaggerating to say that tickets to Tibet are very hard to get. Some routes are sold out less than a second after they are released. So even if you are not sure about your travel dates, please at least book your train tickets 30 days before departure.
If you book your train less than 30 days before the departure date, you will hardly be able to get a sleeper berth on the train.
5. Cities with Trains to Tibet
There are only eight cities with trains connecting mainland China with Tibet’s capital, Lhasa. The relevant departure/arrival cities are: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xining, Xi’an, Chengdu, Lanzhou, and Chongqing.
To look up the train schedules to Lhasa, ticket fares, and the Lhasa Station layout, please see Lhasa Railway Station. Or, you can simply download the China Train Booking app (IOS, GooglePlay, Android APK) to check schedules and book trains.
6. Class Types on Trains to Tibet
There are three class types on trains to Tibet: hard seat, hard sleeper, and soft sleeper.
- Soft sleeper class: Has four berths (each berth is 75 cm wide and 190 cm long) in each cabin. The doors of the cabins can be closed, and cabins are quiet and comfortable.
- Hard sleeper class: Has six berths (each berth is 60 cm wide and 180 cm long) in each cabin.
- Hard seat class: We don’t recommend you buy a hard seat, because the journey to Tibet is too long and the oxygen content on hard seat cars is less than that in sleeper cars.
The soft sleeper berth on a Tibet train
The doors of the cabins can’t be closed, and the beds are less comfortable and soft than those in soft sleepers.
Learn more detailed information about seat classes by reading Seat Classes of Normal-Speed Trains in China.
7. Facilities on Trains to Lhasa
- The signs on trains are written in three languages: Chinese, English, and Tibetan
- Oxygen supply:
- Diffuse oxygen: Oxygen is supplied through the air conditioning on trains to Tibet.
- Oxygen pipeline: There are oxygen outlets beside seats and sleepers and the oxygen concentration is usually 40–50%.
- Dining car: Each dish costs between 20 and 50 yuan. All food is Chinese style. You can also buy beverages and snacks from the car.
- Free boiled water: This is available between carriages.
- Food trolleys: These sell snacks, drinks, and instant noodles.
- Wash basins: Provided between carriages and in each toilet.
- Toilets: Both Chinese-style and Western-style toilets are provided.
- Sockets: There are no sockets in hard seat cars. Sockets are provided beside the wash basins.
These two holes are called oxygen outlet
Learn more by reading Food and Beverage on China’s Trains.
In hard sleeper cars, there are a few sockets on the walls in the aisle.
In soft sleeper cars, there is a socket under the table in each of the compartments.
8. How to Buy Train Tickets to Tibet
Actually, the most difficult part about entering Tibet is not obtaining a Travel Permit, but obtaining a train ticket. There are two ways to get tickets to Tibet: from your travel agency or by booking independently from other platforms.
From Your Travel Agency
Generally, if you wish to enter Tibet by train, you can book tickets from your travel agency.
Most agencies, however, won’t book tickets themselves, but will find other train service agencies to buy tickets for them. Then the ticket fare becomes very expensive because it includes charges from both agencies. (Sometimes service fees are as high as 400-800 yuan per ticket.)
What’s more, since tickets to Tibet are in great demand, the agencies often cannot guarantee they will get the tickets for you.
Thus, the most economical way of traveling to Tibet is not using an agency, but booking your tickets from other platforms.
From a Ticket Service Platform
The most economical way to book your train tickets to Tibet is to book via 12306.cn. This is the official website of China Rail and charges no service fee. Find out how to book tickets from 12306 by reading How to Buy a China Train Ticket.
Or, to reduce complications, you can book your Lhasa train tickets via English service platforms. If you Google, you will find many such platforms offering ticket booking for Tibet.
Ask questions on our FAQ page
Most of the service platforms, however, don’t offer a “ticket monitoring service”, which means they don’t guarantee you get your tickets and they don’t monitor ticket availability once the first series of tickets is sold out.
Our China Train Booking app has served many foreign tourists and Tibetan agencies with tickets to Tibet. You can make the bookings anytime, and anywhere, even if the tickets are sold out at the time.
Just download our app to make bookings, or to contact our experienced one-to-one train adviser team, to obtain your tickets to Tibet without any sweat!
