Part 2 - Xi'an to Lhasa

Part 2 - Xi'an to Lhasa 

                                                                                                                                                                                      

Xi’an - Xining (Qinghai), train Z265, Sun 11.09. 09:45-19:30
This train is officially named 'Z264 Tibet train Chengdu-Lhasa' although it ends in Xining, where it is replaced by train Z265, which carries especially equipped coaches with oxygen supply, as the tracks lead over two passes above 5,000m. This first stretch is rather similar to the Shanghai-Xiàn stretch, leading through densely populated areas. 

Xining train station, changing trains

Fellow passengers cleaning the windows for unobstructed photo shootings.

Xining (Qinghai) – Lhasa (Tibet), train  Z265, Sun 11.09. 20:00 - Mon 12.09. 17:30

Unfortunately the first 11hours of the train ride are during night time, so the steep ascent from 1500m up to the Golmud plateau (above 3000m) and further up to the Tuotuehe pass (5100m) cannot be experienced by daylight.  Ascending the first time up to  above 5000m can only be experienced electronically.

But soon after Tuotuehe pass the sun rises ...

After the second pass, the Tanggula Pass (5100m), the colours become unreal

But what disturbs the idyll? Several kilometre-long army transports into Tibet. We had not heard of any current conflicts between China and India – so why? The answer we found two weeks later …

Arrival at Lhasa Train Station (30 minutes early, after a trip of 34hs, quite impressive)

All photos by the author, apart from those marked with 'www', which were taken from various internet sources.