“It is better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times”. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a very famous engineering marvel by the Chinese government and hence, a bucketlist for many. If you are visiting Tibet for the first time, do spare one night in Xining and take the train from there — around 21 hours if you start at 9pm. Take the soft sleeper for more comfort. The person who booked me the ticket said that getting a lower bunk is mostly a lottery, as everybody wants a lower bunk and there is limited supply. I did get a lower bunk and I am sure, looking at the one and only step for accessing the higher bunk, that I would have had a difficult time had I gotten an upper bunk. This is for a soft sleeper. I also accidentally went to a hard sleeper compartment and the beds are much narrower and it looks like you will need some acrobatic skills to climb to the uppermost beds. The views on this train are not that spectacular and fall short of the views advertised on social media. What you will see are mostly flat barren high-altitude landscapes with mountains on the background. The scenery is more or less similar along the way but it is a pleasant few hours of your life looking at those mountains pass by. I love train travel because it forces you to slow down and I love the tempo of it. But you cannot sleep well on this train if you are a light sleeper. The tracks are not that smooth and you can feel the train jerking in the middle of the night. The train also makes several stops but not too many. The soft sleeper beds are quite comfortable, although a bit narrow. A comforter/blanket and a pillow are supplied. Linens are very thin and hopefully are changed before every journey. The train compartment is very cramped and I was lucky I was grouped with three civilized young people from Hong Kong, who were quite considerate and respectful and whispered when talking and closed the door and turned of all lights when sleep time came. Each train compartment came with a set of 3 lavatories and a western style and a squat toilet. The toilets were clean during the whole journey but you must bring your own toilet paper. I only ate one cup noodle on this train to avoid going to the toilet often. There are trolleys that go around selling fruits and drinks and meals but I did not partake of any. I took Acetazolamide starting two days before this trip so I did not encounter any altitude sickness while on this train or at Tibet.

Train ride is very long, not comfortable, stuffy, toilet are dirty as they do not usually flush, smokers camp inside puffing and worst stil it’s keep stopping at every station for locals. It’s not much cheaper compared to flight and the scenery is nice (but won’t wow more than 10min) if you are traveling in Tibet Lhasa otherwise nothing is spectacular as any mountain in lhasa are way better than from the train. If for acclimatize if overated as how can lower altitude acclimatize lhasa in higher altitude. The canteen are hog by their workers and very little seat available and not to mentioned their food is not my taste (this is personal preferrence). All are my personal feelings just took yesterday (24/05/24 - 25/05/24) Lhasa to Xining

Very nice train-car and seating, on this, the world's highest in elevation railway. Most fantastic are the astonishingly spectacular views.

We took a train ride from Xian to Lhasa and took the 4 bedder soft sleeper and changed in Xining. It was a nice experience with lots of beautiful scenery along the 2nd half of the >30 hrs' journey. Choose to take a train rather than fly into Lhasa so as to help to climatise ourselves for the high altitude. Did feel a bit of headache and short of breath sometime along the way but there's oxygen onboard. There's also medical personnel on board as well. Other than the not so clean toilet facilities which are outside the cabin, the overall experience was great.

Train ride is very long, not comfortable even in soft sleeper. It is not much cheaper compared to flight tickets. It doesn't help to acclimatize at all (you only spend about 4-5 hours at an altitude that is lower than Lhasa), so just a waste of time. The view from the train is nice only if you are not traveling in Tibet past Lhasa. I think that you will see much better landscapes in Tibet (for example, when traveling to Everest and especially if you travel to Mount Kailash). Nobody washes windows, so view wont be the best. I took the train once because I expected some good views, but in my opinion, they are not worth the discomfort of the train ride.

We were heading for Lhasa to do an overland drive including an overnight at 5200 meters (near Everest Base Camp/china side). The train was physically comfortable (though somewhat socially challenging). Because we booked late, my son and I ended up in different cabins in separate cars. Folks were friendly enough, but very little English is spoken, so it's a bit isolating. The restaurant car is a nice hangout, though not a culinary gem.

I have joined a tour where they booked us on the softberth cabin for 4. We have thought we will be altogether in a cabin but when the tickets issued, we were in different cabin. Since we are travelled with a group tour, the tour guide swap our tickets among. Something good about travel with agent in a group :) Our train starts from Xining to Lhasa. About 18-22 hrs of train ride. I would highly recommend this type of slowly ascending to somewhere high altitude to avoid high altitude sickness. The train soft berth cabin may not be the most luxury that you have seen but it’s the highest grade among all cabins available in this train ride. The cabin is very small. There is plug for charging your phones. A very small table at the window between the bunk bed. We suppose to keep our luggage underneath the bunk bed but the gap is too narrow. On the web, it stated it’s 30cm gap underneath the bed and the floor. It’s definitely lower than that. Our luggage have to be put near the train door, along the passage between two carriages. Hence, it is advised to bring your own travel chain in case you have to do that. The cabin supply free oxygen at the head of each bunk bed after one of the stop. Feel free to turn it on and off by sticking your finger into the valve. For smokers, on and off, there some cigarettes smell from the toilet area although it’s a non-smoking train. I didn’t break the rule but downloaded the train stops schedule (published on web) to catch a few puff along the journey. The schedule was very accurate. Please do check with the crew which train door will be open during the stopover as some of the stops are as short as 6 minutes. I missed one of my smoking break due to such. For meals, there is a restaurant on train but it does not open 24-7. It’s Chinese food and you have to order the dishes and rice. Average taste with reasonable price. No snacks sold but there bottled waters to purchase. I would suggest you bought your own food if you may not like the dishes. No shower facilities but some washing basin areas for brushing and washing hands. There is a squat and sitting toilet in each carriage. Do remind to bring more tissue during the trip as it’s limited on board. Drinking water, there is a water area near the toilets and washing area for free. Serve only hot water. Bring your own flask / bottles.

I recommend the traveller taking the Xining-to-Lhasa train for several reasons, including getting two different perspectives on Tibet. You can start from other cities in China, but the interesting Tibetan part starts in Xining (easily reached by air). Then 21-22 hours by sleeper train (I took the 2pm from Xining, arriving 11:15am in Lhasa). Other reviews will mention the views, the comforts and minor inconveniences, the oxygen supply, etc. I will mention some other very practical advantages for making a Tibet visit a two-part trip, with as much emphasis on eastern Tibetan regions (Qinghai, parts of Sichuan) as on Lhasa and surrounds; and use the train trip to join the two parts. Though Xining, the main city of Qinghai, does not look very Tibetan, as soon as you go out into the countryside it is 99% Tibetan -- but without the travel restrictions of TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region). The present Dalai Lama was born in a village just 40km south of Xining, Kumbum monastery is even closer. The hills and valleys are full of very active monasteries that you can visit far more unrestrictedly than in central TAR. You can go camping or trekking unhindered, arrange homestays with or without a guide, generally talk freely with people -- and get an unfiltered view of what it is like to be a Tibetan in China. In addition the Xining region (around 2300 to 3000m altitude) allows you to acclimatise before going higher to Lhasa and beyond. The train reaches 5000m and I was starting to feel a bit breathless before the noticeable relief as the general oxygen supply was switched on. One person in my cabin (who hadn’t acclimatised) needed the personal supply also (the cabin attendant provides the thing to plug into the oxygen socket). This is why taking the train from Xining to Lhasa makes more sense than the other way. Of course before you get on the train you have to have your Tibet Travel Permit organised. Arriving in Lhasa you will have your permit checked again, and meet up with your compulsory guide. The sights of Lhasa and around are stunning, but there are more restrictions -- and you have to be careful not to take photos of the wrong things. My favourite evening occupation was watching the pilgrims walking the circuit around the Jokhang temple from the seats they rested on. I had a pocket printer (‘Sprocket’) to print out pictures for people, and I soon learnt they did not want my carefully composed pictures of them. They wanted a selfie taken with me -- I realised that the exotic looking foreigner was me, not them. So I recommend both ends of the Qinghai-Tibet railway to the visitor, for different reasons. The Qinghai end is less well-known to potential visitors, but compulsory if you want a wider Tibetan perspective. For a Xining travel agent who can arrange the train reservation and any other arrangements both ends (including the Tibet Permit) I strongly recommend Tashi who I used. You can find a 2014 recommendation for him in Tripadvisor under heading ‘Qinghai Plateau’, the review that mentions ‘Tibetan connections’ which is the name used for people/culture focussed tours; he also uses the name ‘Travel wild Tibet’ for trekking/adventure tours, but it is the same people. I’ll add a 2019 glowing recommendation -- professional, immensely experienced in local lore, eager to adjust arrangements to fit your interests (and an excellent photographer). So do use the Xining to Lhasa railway, in that direction; and if you hadn’t realised before, the opportunities of the Qinghai end of the railway for an unfiltered perspective on Tibetan life are unforgettable.

Overall the ride is ok. couldn't really get good night's sleep for me tho. train is a bit rocky at times,esp at night. and not completely quiet. scene and views from the train are good. guess it does help to acclimatize too. i felt ok when inrrached lhasa after 25hr journey. I took the soft sleeper from lanzhou 930am train. reached lhasa the next day 930am. Cabin cleanliness 3/5. but i doubt they change the bed and blanket linens. Toilet cleanliness 2/5. they do clean the toilet at certain stops. always had water to flush. it had 2 seated and 1 stoop toilet. Beds are quite hard although it's called soft sleepers.room space is really small.med size luggage can fit under the bed. mine a little bulky was stowed under the table..walkway is small too.widht just enuf for my med sized cabin. but condition is surely better than the hard sleepers shared by 6. i saw the corridor walkway is always full, and mostly local Chinese people. best to get the lower bunk. at least u have a place to sit thru the day. else will have to climb up and down to the upper bunk. there's only 1 step for the feet and handlers to pull urself up. Hot water provided. each cabin has 1 kettle for u to keep hot water . limited plug available outside of cabin.along maybe 6 cabins of soft sleepers, (each cabin 4beds) only 2 plugs. and both plugs not usable. only the one at the washing basin usable. so best to bring powerbank. Food on board for lunch and dinner costs around rmb30.can either dine at the restaurant or from the pushcart delivery and eat at your cabin. dining at the restaurant costs rmb25. rmb20 if u buy from the delivery cart. i recommend u buy from the pushcarts if u just wanna try the food. bec when 3 of us went for the breakfast, the waiter insisted we take 2 sets of the breakfast.which we gently said no bec we didnt want to waste the food. as we know we wont finish is,just for trying. but perhaps they have some hidden mininal spending requirenent if u wanna dine in. we didnt know and they never said.i was firm and ordered only 1. true enuf we didnt even finish half of it. overall the food onboard is more for locals in terms of the taste. there are convenient stores at some stops right outside the train. can always buy instant noodles there. 9/10 travellers eat instant noodle or own food on board. I had to change to train at xining bec the one i took originated from chongqing didnt have oxygen tanks given.the xining one have oxygen thingy required. the first train had disposable slippers. the one from xining to lhasa none.

I traveled with my family and we were six (soft berths) and the agent couldn’t put us all together but if you ask people they are usually willing to change places. The beds were comfortable and clean, there is quite a lot space to put your belongings however you can only fit medium size suitcases under the bed, if they are the biggest size there is no way. There is hot and cold drinkable water, there is NO TOILET PAPER in the bathroom so bring your own, also a small towel can be useful to wipe your hands and face. They sell drinks and food and there is also a cafeteria were you can sit down and have a proper meal. Inside of the room you have individual lights, a little tv (that didn’t work) a kettle, garbage bin and an electric outlet (under the table). Overall the train is clean (except for the toilet) the staff is friendly and the ride was smooth with incredible views.

Travelled mid December 2018 from Shanghai to Xining (Z164) and changed trains for Xining to Lhasa (Z165). Soft sleepers were clean, quite warm and comfortable and the carriage had both squat and western style toilets. Only negative for the trip was the amount of smoke that filtered in to the cabin during the trip from Shanghai to Xining from the never ending chain smokers on the train. After Xining the train was a designated no smoking train and there was no smoke apart from the occasional attendant having a dart at the rear of the carriage! Overall, particularly from Xining to Lhasa, the views of the permafrost, the winter scenery and the surrounding mountains were spectacular. Best to bring your own munchies although food was generally ok. Thoroughly worthwhile and most enjoyable journey.

This is my first trip to Tibet. I got on this train in Xinning back on March this year. Took the sleeper cabin, it's worth because of the long trip, The first half of the trip, natural view along the way totally amazed me. After half of the trip, during the night I experienced high altitude sickness. It was terrible. But that amazing view I saw beaten my sickness.

12th trip to the PRC. Took the train from Xining to Lhasa in order to acclimatize to the altitude. Shared a soft berth with two Europeans who advised that our berths had been used on the Beijing to Xining leg of the trip & that the linen was dirty. Big deal to track down the attendant & get the linen changed - change the top bunk yourself as I the attendant am too short to reach. Dirty & grubby compartment (remember this is the most expensive berth offered) with torn curtains, etc. The only cleaning received before the outbound trip from Lhasa was to empty the garbage can & a 5 second sweep of the carpet. No food service or beverages served in the dining car unless you were staff who were either asleep on the seats or on their I-Phones. Will not even discuss the state of the toilets after a 22 hour trip - no cleaning on route - and they are closed for up to two hours preceding & after a station as they are discharged directly onto the rail line. All in all a necessary but not to be repeated trip as the bucket list is ticked. If your are able engage a porter at the Xining station desk to ease the boarding process particularly as the train appears to run late more often than not.

A group of 14 of us travelled from Lhasa to Xining on Qinhai – Tibet Railway – also called Lhasa Express. Our tour guide arranged the train tickets, which I understand are difficult to get during the high season. As advised, we arrived at the Lhasa train station early around 0815 for the train scheduled to leave at 0900. All luggage go through strict security clearance, perhaps even more stringent than at the airports. No sharp objects, scissors or compressed gases. Tickets were checked against the passport on a number of occasions. We had what they call “soft seats” with 4 of us in each lockable sleeper cabin. Each side had two beds, bunk bed style, one below and one above. The bedding was comfortable, clean and crisp, with duvets provided. The restaurant provided reasonable Tibetan / Chinese style meals which you can have either in the privacy of your cabin or seated at the restaurant carriage. Each carriage had its own toilets (both seat and squat types), hot water dispensers and hand washing facilities. Slippers were available too – free of charge. Only one of the train attendants could speak a smattering of English. Our guide told us that this is the World’s highest train route also called the “sky road”. It had been opened in 2006 connecting Tibet with the rest of China by rail. Out of the total length of 1956 km between Lhasa and Xining, 960 km are above the 4000 metre level. It reaches 5072 metre level at Tanggula pass. Tanggula is the highest Railway station. The highest rail tunnel in the world too is along this route. The oxygen supply system in the train increases automatically with the ascent of the train to protect the passengers from high-altitude sickness. Though each cabin also had private oxygen dispensing outlets none of us needed this facility. The temperature in the train was regulated for comfort, with windows tinted for UV protection. Needless to say the journey along the way was spectacularly beautiful with the train snaking along snow-capped mountains and peaks, dramatically highlighted against the blue and grey sky. The breadth taking scenery along the way included turquois coloured lakes, grazing wild yak and other antelopes, charming villages, farmlands and more. A highway too runs parallel to the train line along some parts of the line. This railway line constructed through a fragile eco system along most of the railway route, coupled with high altitude and difficult geographic conditions made it an engineering marvel of excellence and the first and only one of its kind up to now. The permafrost – the frozen ground – along most of the way made foundation conditions difficult necessitating the line along these sections to run on elevated embankments to prevent collapse due to settlement. Though the climatic conditions are similar to the oil pipeline running through permafrost areas in northern Alaska this railway construction is of a different scale permitting the carriage of moving trains. Our arrival at Xining railway station was as scheduled at 0645 (on 20180611) next morning after travelling for 21 hours 45 minutes. After disembarking from the train we were led by our guide and had to push our bags for about 250 metres to the tourist bus stand where we were picked up by a tourist coach for the onward journey to Xining airport. There were no porters to be employed here.

The rationale was it would acclimatize us better to Tibet's altitude. We had the soft sleeper which was actually quite soft. The upper buks don;t give you a very good view though, however the dining car will give you an excellent view, as well as a good lunch, dinner or breakfast. The train change at Xining is relatively painless as you just step across the platform and use the same carriage/bed/seat as before. One word of caution though, the suitcase storage is just a little smaller on the Xining train so what fit before won't necessarily fit in the new train. It is a good test of your creativity and problem solving. Scenic views include lakes, yaks, more yaks, some lakes and yes snow and mountains. Worth the experience, go try it.