The Tibet Railway

When I visited Lhasa the first time in May 2004 I said to my friend that it would surely take another ten years to finish such a high technical project like the Tibet Railway.
Three years later I was sitting myself in this train from Lhasa to Xining.
Opponents of China's Tibet policies claim that the railway was built to strengthen its political control over Tibet. But fact is the project is a masterwork of a technical construction.
There were and are many technical difficulties for such a railway. About half of the second section was built on barely permanent permafrost. In the summer, the uppermost layer thaws, and the ground becomes muddy. Chinese engineers dealt with this problem by building elevated tracks with foundations sunk deep into the ground, building hollow concrete pipes beneath the tracks to keep the rail bed frozen, and using metal sun shades. Similar to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System portions of the track are also passively cooled with ammonia based heat exchangers.
Most of the passengers go the way from Beijing to Lhasa which is the absolute wrong decision. Not only that its very difficult to get a booking the main problem is the acclimation to the altitude which cannot done before in Beijing with an elevation of only 43 Meters. If you use this way be sure you'll get massive problems with the altitude sickness due climbing to the rail way pass of 5,072 Meters within 36 hours.
Better to choose the way from Lhasa to Xining or further on to Beijing. You'll have the opportunity to stay in Lhasa in an altitude of 3,700 Meters for some days and get ready for the train ride toward to the world highest train-pass.
Our way from Lhasa to Xining is exact 1,972 km and it takes 23 hours and 50 Minutes. The train started Lhasa punctually and reached Xining punctually on the minute.
Its an amazing ride and you'll see the Tibetan landscape in such a breathtaking way that you'll never get out of your memory. I was asked to post my photos here that you can make your own impression.

When I visited Lhasa the first time in May 2004 I said to my friend that it would surely take another ten years to finish such a high technical project like the Tibet Railway. Three years later I was sitting myself in this train from Lhasa to Xining. Opponents of China's Tibet policies claim that the railway was built to strengthen its political control over Tibet. But fact is the project is a mas…  (read more)