Zhari Namco’s Lightening Peninsula | Tibet Travel Blog

Zhari Namco’s Lightening Peninsula | Tibet Travel Blog

Rawok Lake-Home at the Heart of the Lake | Tibet Travel Blog

Rawok Lake-Home at the Heart of the Lake | Tibet Travel Blog

Oldest Man To Climb Mount Everest

Yuichiro Miura, a Japanese mountaineer, became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 80, and, while the climb up was difficult, Miura said the Mt. Everest expedition nearly killed him.

Miura had previously scaled Mount Everest two other times, at the age of 70 and five years late at the age of 75, and he returned to the mountain last week to climb the 29,035 feet needed to reach the peak. After conquering Mt. Everest for a third time, Miura promised to take it easy after the descent nearly cost him his life.

Miura began his descent of Mt. Everest on May 23 and, speaking at a press conference at Clark Memorial International High School in Tokyo, described the incredible trip to Everest. Miura said he was incredibly weak after reaching the summit, soon losing strength in his legs, saying, “I could not move at all.” Miura was helped by his son, Gota, an experienced mountaineer who has scaled Mt. Everest twice, and a team of experienced climbers throughout his journey.

Miura took a necessary break at base camp, eating food and drinking water to help regain his lost strength, and continued to hike two-and-a-half hours to the team’s base camp located at 26,247 feet. Unlike the expeditions before, this Everest Base Camp tour is even more dangerous. Gota said of his father, “He just wouldn't give up.”

Miura's achievement eclipses that of a Nepali man who climbed Everest at age 76 in 2008. Meanwhile, Miura's 81-year-old rival, Nepalese climber Min Bahadur Sherchan, was at Everest's base camp preparing to attempt to regain his title as the oldest to conquer the mountain. Sherchan held the record for five years until Miura snatched the title. "I hope his success is good news. I wish him best of luck," Miura said in Japanese, with his son Gota, 43, serving as his interpreter.

Miura became famous when he was a young man as a daredevil speed skier. He skied down Everest's South Col in 1970, using a parachute to brake his descent. The feat was captured in the Oscar-winning 1975 documentary, THE MAN WHO SKIED DOWN EVEREST. He has also skied down Mt. Fuji.

It wasn't until Miura was 70, however, that he first climbed to the top of Everest. When he summited again at 75, he claimed to be the only man to accomplish the feat twice in his 70s. After that, he said he was determined to climb again at age 80.

Junko Tabei - The first woman to scale Mount Everest

Junko Tabei is a distinguished Japanese mountain climber, who is the first female to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Her Mt. Everest expedition is almost legendary. She was only four foot, nine inches, but it was her sheer fortitude that made her dream come true, of conquering the world famous “Seven Summits.”

Born on September 22, 1939, Tabei has always nurtured the desire of climbing mountains since her childhood. At the age of ten only, accompanied by a teacher, Tabei climbed Mt. Nasu during a school excursion. She admitted that she enjoys climbing especially, for it is not a competitive sport.

In1962 Tabei acquired a degree in English Literature from Showa Women’s University. After graduation, she sincerely pursued her mountaineering career and formed the “Ladies Climbing Club: Japan” in 1969. She has climbed Mt. Fuji and Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps and by 1975, she was an accomplished mountaineer and now she aimed for the Mount Everest, 29,029 feet on the border of Tibet and Nepal.  A  Mt. Everest tour is an inevitable trip.

It was a turning point in Tabei’s career, when she was selected among the fifteen women team out of hundred aspirants and was send to Nepal by the Yomiuri newspaper and Nihon Television to succeed Mount Everest.

Completing the rigorous training session, the team set for the expedition, early in 1975, from Kathmandu, guided by nine local Sherpa people. In early May, within a few days of their journey all the mountaineers along with the nine Sherpas, unfortunately got buried beneath the snow, when they were camping at a height of 6,300 meters. Tabei also became unconscious for at least six minutes, until the Sherpa guide rescued her. This Everest Base Camp tour alomost killed her. However, Tabei instead of retreating went ahead with her indomitable nature, leading her team, sometimes even crawling on her hands and knees. Eventually, twelve days later she succeeded in conquering the summit of Mount Everest, on May 16, 1975.

Tabei also aspired to conquer the “Seven Summits” - the highest mountains on seven continents and she materialized her dream by 1992 and is regarded as the first woman to accomplish such a difficult task. The “Seven Summits” are:

- Mt. Everest: with an altitude of 29,029 feet on the border of Tibet and Nepal.

- Mt. Denali: the highest mountain peak in North America with a height of 20,320 feet.

- Mt. Elbrus: 18,442 feet - an inactive volcano in Russia

- Mt. Aconcagua: 22,841 feet - the Andes, South America.

- Mt. Carstensz Pyramid: 16,023 feet – Indonesia

- Mt. Kilimanjaro: 15,092 feet - Tanzania, Africa.

 - Mt. Vinson: 16,050 feet - Antarctica

What’s the best time can we see Mt. Everest clearly?

Some survey shows that the Mount Everest has shrunk with the global warming. Therefore, the number of travelers to trip to Mount Everest has been increasing in recent years. The best time of year to visit the Mt. Everest is April, May and October during which visitors can see the Mount Everest clearly.

As the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest is known as Qomolangma in Tibetan. Qomolangma literally means 'Goddess the Third' in Tibetan language, highly was enhanced magic power and mysterious color by local people. The height of the Mount Everest measured in 1975 was 8,848 meters, but has decreased to 8844.43 meters above sea level according to the measurement in 2005.

Summer is the monsoon season at the Everest region, making the Everest covered by mist all the day and the road to the Everest Base Camp from Tingri muddy in rainy days. Travelers who visit Everest Base Camp in this season may only be able to the Everest hiding behind her veil which makes the peak mysterious, but also makes the visitors disappointed.  

Spring offers better weather and less rain, but unpredictable winds coming from India can affect visibility at lower altitudes. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. For travelers, to see the real appearance of the world’s highest peak is the main purpose. Wind is a big risk for Mt. Everest climbers who may stay at the base camp to wait a good chance without strong wind to conquer the Mt. Everest.   

For best visibility and comfortable temperatures, it is best to visit the Mt. Everest in October and November. Winter is also a good season to make an Everest Base Camp tour, because there isn’t much snow at this altitude and the crowds are smaller. However, the restaurants or hotels there might be closed in winter due to the few visitors. 

Tingri

Tingri County is located in the middle of the northern foot of Mount Everest Himalayas which with an average elevation of 5000 meters. The world's highest peak - Mount Everest belong to the county. There are four peaks that more than 8,000 meters in this county, namely Mount Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu(Qiaowu Ya Feng), Makalu. Mount Everest is located at the junction between Qudang County and the boundary of Nepal which is the world’s highest peak. These towering and steep mountains constitute the county's most spectacular natural landscape which attracting people to have a Mount Everest expedition.

In recent years, Tingri County is increasing the investment on transportation, energy, communications and other infrastructure. When people get into the town, they were greeted by the new buildings. The local people are actively participating in construction of the town.

There are two forests scenic in Tingri County- Gama scenic spot and velvet scenic spot. Due to the terrain are enormous differences from the lowest point to the highest point relative an elevation of 6200 meters, the mountain forest ecosystems vertical differentiation obviously and there are Six vertical mountain ecosystem in total. This is another scenic spot that people who have Mount Everest base camp tours would go.

Special landforms and diverse climatic characteristics are raising the abundant wildlife populations, due to the dense forest area and less vandalism; some rare and endangered species also has a considerable number.Gama forest scenic spot is formed by several types of valleys. Gamma valley had a reputation of the world's "top ten landscape" due to its strange and beautiful landscape. Particularly striking is the widen valley of the Gama forest where rhododendron open from low elevation to high elevation in the spring making it become a veritable cuckoo Valley. Velvet forest scenic spot has the most beautiful forest landscape in Tibet due to the decoration of deep valleys, clear rushing water, floated down waterfalls and ancient idyllic cottage.

When people leave Tingri County to visit Mount Everest base camp will pass Rongbuk Monastery which is located at the foot of Mount Everest. Rongbuk Monastery is the world’s highest temple full of Tibetan monks and Nepal monks and rich of Tibetan features tourist destination.

It has become very popular among travelers to travel from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp in recent years. Tibettravel.Org, as a top online Tibet travel agency, has organized such a tour for thousands of foreign travelers since 2009. Its professional team with excellent trip advisors, knowledgeable tour guides and experienced drivers always makes travelers enjoy a memorable trip. For more information about it, please visit http://www.tibettravel.org/.

Xi'an Railway passionately service Tibetan student summer return

July 2006, opening and operation of the Qinghai-Tibet railway from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and other cities directly to Lhasa which is called "Heaven Road"that realized the Tibetan nationality students back home dream. Because of the high price of flight from Xi’an to Lhasa, but as the few train ticket from Shaanxi Province direct to Lhasa, far from meeting a few days to travel thousands of teachers and students focus on the situation. Xi'an Railway Bureau actively report the situation to the Ministry of Railways, ask for help from brothers Railway Bureau to fight Tibetan nationality student’s home ticket.

    Under the coordination of the Ministry of Railways, the railway sector multi-hand, Beijing Bureau, the Shanghai Bureau, the Chengdu Bureau and the Guangzhou Railway Group on everything and make the greatest efforts to set aside the amount of Xi'an standing tickets. In 2009, the Xi'an Bureau CDB passenger train from Xi'an to Xining, students can not only through Lanzhou, but also Xining transit through, the way home smoother and more convenient. therefore, Xi'an Bureau actively coordinating the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company and Lanzhou Railway Bureau to arrange trips and seats to help students through Xining (Lanzhou) go to Lhasa in advance.

    In order to better service transit students, the train to Lhasa from Xi'an Railway Bureau travel sites will gradually change from Xi'an to Xianyang, and for a good advance in student tickets from Xining (Lanzhou) go to Lhasa, students can get two first interline ticket, they can direct ride the train Xining in (Lanzhou) station.  

    In the past 6 years, Xi'an Railway Bureau Zheng Xiaofang in charge of student transportation work engineer bench beside filled with banners and Hadad, greetings and passion from the snow-covered plateau overflowing the room. Currently more than 90% students are riding the train back to Lhasa.  

    Every year before the holidays, Xi'an Xianyang Bureau Passenger Department will go ahead to learn China Academy student’s leave the specific time and return the number of transit lines. Xianyang Station ticket points was Instituted in the college, Park also run from the, for ticket office, ticket "through."

In order to better serve the Tibetan students, Xianyang station set up guide signs placed in a prominent position in Tibetan service manuals, Tibetan staff on passenger train. Yao Aiping family service station opened a special green channel, the unified arrangement of teachers and students in the waiting room waiting with soft seat pitted. In order to help Tibetan students to focus on the return trip, it also equipped with staff help to take luggage, personally brought cars provide maximum convenience for kids to go home.

By the way ,if you choose Xi’an to Tibet railway for your Tibet tour, may be  CITS Tibettravel.Org can help you.

The significance of Beijing South Railway Station

Railway is the symbol of the industrial age, over a century, the railway witness and participates in the development of the city. From the first day that train get into China, the history of China's railway has always closely linked with Beijing. The history of Beijing South Railway Station could be dating back to 1897 and its name has changed for twice which first name is Majiabao station and later renamed the Yongding Gate Station.

It is the first railway station in Beijing, but now, new Beijing South Railway Station will be build. New Beijing South Railway Station is a large-scale three-dimensional transport hub. The "Big Mac" is located between the South Second Ring Road and South Third Ring Road which covers an area of 499,200 square meters. As the Beijing-Tianjin intercity high-speed railway starting point, the east end of the Beijing-Tianjin inter-city railway and Beijing station, the west connecting train section of Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, Beijing-Jingshan railway, and yongfeng railway. Beijing South Railway Station also known as "Asia's largest train station."

The middle oval main building of Beijing South Railway Station has the function of waiting and transfer which looks like a flying saucers. The design inspiration comes from the Qinian Hall in the temple of heaven. The station carries the elegant demeanor of the royal gardens and continuation of the ancient capital culture essence at the same time.

The main building is slightly elevated when looks from the north and south direction. There is a large steel awning sites in east and west sides and the main building material is silver metallic aluminum. The highest point is 40 meters and the high cornice is 20 meters. It looks much more like the transverse of stretching Qiniandian. Now, Beijing South Railway Station Corroborate the capital of Beijing's historical charm and vitality of the perfect combination of product.

There is a very important significance after the completion of the Beijing South Railway Station for China's railway transportation because it improved the route of railway in northern China, especially the cargo transport capacity. It is further strengthening the exchange of Eastern and Western China, especially provides transportation infrastructure for the increasingly popular tourism in Tibet.

With the continuous improvement of people's living standard in China, people’s demand for tourism is more and more big, especially travel to Tibet. Beijing south station provides the convenience for tourists train to Tibet and they can watch scenery along the way on the train.

If you are planning a trip to Tibet by train, Contact Tibettravel.Org, a top online China-based Tibet tour operator, offering a wide array of train trips to Lhasa from Beijing, Shanghai,Chengdu and Xining. Visit   http://www.tibettravel.org/tibet-train

Chengdu—plays an important role in Tibet tourism

Now visitors can travel to Tibet by train in Chengdu, the time people take in journey will be no more than 45 hours. It is understood that the rail line in Golmud-Lhasa section will pass through 19 stations. There are five longest docked stations in this section which are located in the most famous Tibetan landscape tourism zone. Visitors can get off to get a good view of the beautiful human landscape and natural landscape.

 Visitors leave Chengdu by train to Qinghai Tibet railway will be routed via the city of Baoji, Lanzhou, Xining and Golmud. The length of the section from Golmud to Lhasa is 1142 Km. there are 19 stations in this route which most of them are unmanned, but is safe and good plateau scenery in there. This, undoubtedly, is a special journey for visitors. There is beautiful human landscape and natural landscape that people fly to Lhasa from Chengdu would never see.

Furthermore, in order to resist the Tibetan Plateau wind, strong ultraviolet radiation and other harsh natural environment, the train started from Chengdu will adopt totally closed double big glass and the sealing windshield. There is a special technique used in the joint of the train so the passengers will not feel the wind just like in other trains. With the development of sealing, the oxygen concentration, temperature and pressure are balanced in the train so the passengers would feel very comfortable. In response to the special geographical environment and the Tibetan Plateau climate, high altitude aircraft and train configurations are almost the same, each train is equipped with two oxygen system, a set of air-conditioning systems by mixing oxygen in the air, so that the oxygen content of each section of the train increased to 23% which called "diffuse" type oxygen. If passengers need more oxygen, another set of system allows passengers to use a separate interface to have more oxygen which is called concentrated oxygen. These two supply system give the passengers "double insurance."

After the completion of the Qinghai Tibet railway will gain great social and economic benefits. Some experts in Chengdu believe that the operation of the railway is not only linked the “Silk Road” in Northwest and the Potala Palace which made it to be the new gold tourism hotline in western China, but accelerate China's western tourist routes Shangri ring formation. Chengdu, as an important hub connecting the east and west, will plays an increasingly important role of Tibet tourism in the future.

 If you are planning a trip to Tibet by train, Contact Tibettravel.Org, a top online China-based Tibet tour operator, offering a wide array of train trips to Lhasa from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xining.

Visit http://www.tibettravel.org/tibet-train

How much does it cost on an Everest Base Camp tour

To see the highest peak on earth is the dream of many people, no matter they are young or old, normal workers or officials. But some people have to give up their dream because of the high cost. It is true that Everest Base Camp tour cost is much higher than that on a tour to other places.

At first, travelers have to go to Lhasa or another city or town with a relatively lower altitude for acclimatization. Most travelers choose Lhasa as their first destination in Tibet since Lhasa is the economic and traffic center of Tibet. If you go to Lhasa by flight from mainland China, it costs RMB 2500 to RMB 4000 on the air ticket. If you travel to Tibet by train from mainland China, it costs around RMB 2000 on the train ticket, including the ticket fare and the service fee of booking the ticket. When you arrive at the Lhasa airport or train station, you need to take a taxi or rent a car to your hotel in Lhasa downtown. It may cost about RMB 100-200.

After arriving at Lhasa, you need to spend at least two full days there for fully acclimatizing yourself to the high altitude. But during the two days, I think it is impossible for you to just stay at your hotel or wander on the streets in Lhasa city. There are many famous tourist sites in and around the city that deserve your visit, such as the renowned Potala Palace, the holy Jokhang temple, interesting Sera Monastery, etc. During these days, it may cost you around RMB1600-2000 including food, tour guide service, transportation, admission fee and 2-star or 3-star hotel.

And then you need to apply for an Alien’s travel permit, hire a tour guide and rent a car or take a tourist bus to EBC. In peak season, the service of a tour guide is around RMB 300 per day. The transportation fees of different types of vehicles vary from types of different vehicles and in different seasons ranging from 3RMB to 10RMB per kilometer, including the gas and the driver. It is around 1500 kilometers from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp, so it is about 3000km to go there and back. For accommodation, it costs around RMB 100 to RMB 400 per night. For food, it costs around RMB 80 to RMB100 per day.  

Generally, travelers who make Mount Everest Base Camp tours are charged an entrance fee of 180RMB per person. And the tour guides are also requested to pay the entrance fee of EBC unlike in any other tourist sites. In addition, the vehicles taking you into the EBC are also charged entrance fees according to the type of the vehicles. The entrance fee of a 4WD is 405RMB and of a tourist bus is 605RMB. You cannot drive your own car to the EBC. You will be required to take an environmentally-friendly tourist bus to the Everest Base Camp from Rongbuk Monastery. But you can also do a Tibet Everest Base Camp trek instead of taking the bus.

The world’s highest police station at Everest Base Camp

For safety and security of travelers and local people at Everest region in Tibet, a police station was established at an altitude of 4,480 meters above sea level on November 20, 2008. It is the highest police station in the world. There are 20 policemen who have to go on patrol at areas with average elevation over 5,200 meters above sea level every day. Sometimes, they also go to pick up trash left by travelers who are not so responsible during their Everest Base Camp tour.

  

As the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest witnesses more and more travelers. The Everest Base Camp has become the most popular tourist site in Tibet. Every year, millions of travelers make a Lhasa to Everest Base Camp tour to view the grand mountains at the border between Nepal and Tibet. It was said that more than 40,000 people visited the mountain from the Chinese side in 2008. At least 514 people were reported to have summited the mountain from both the Tibetan and Nepali sides in 2008. Since then, the number of travelers travelling to Everest Base Camp is increasing rapidly.

At the same time, the number of cases of theft, prostitution and gambling is also increasing. The influx of people to the area has brought increased crime to the north face of Everest. Visitors to Everest also complain about unethical guides, tricksters selling defective oxygen bottles, prostitution and gambling. Therefore, Chinese authorities pledged to boost the police presence following reports of thefts of food, oxygen tanks and climbing gear in 2009. A former police post housed in a trailer has been upgraded to a full police station, complete with a modern 1,800-square-meter (19,375-square-foot) facility.

The police station was manned by more than 20 border policemen. The policemen do not only carry out patrols, but also help tourists or climbers out whenever they are in need, in the chilly cold winter or at night. Most of the policemen can speak English and Tibetan fluently. Some of them even can speak other languages, such as Japanese, Hindi and Nepali. If you are confronted with any trouble during your Mount Everest trip, go to the police station and they will help you.

Can Travelers Send Postcards to Their Friends at EBC?

If you travel to Everest Base Camp, do you want to send postcards to your friends or family members? I suppose they will be very happy when they get a postcard from the base camp of the highest peak in the world. You may worry about that there is no post office at such a remote place. Unfortunately, you are wrong. There is a China Post Office at the Everest Base Camp in Tibet.   

You know, the torch of Beijing Olympic reached Mount Everest in 2008. It was the first time that the torch of Olympic reached the highest peak in the world, which also made Mount Everest known to more people all over the world. Since then, more and more travelers are eager to make a Mount Everest trip. In order to meet travelers’ demand of posting card to friends and family members, Tibet Post Company set up the China Post office at Base camp at the altitude of 5300m. It is said that the China Post Office on Mount Everest is the world’s highest one above the sea level.

However, in the post office at EBC, there are merely three officials, the director, the comprehensive official and the courier. The opening time of the post office is from 10:00 am to 18:00 pm. Besides, the post office is only available in the peak season of Tibet’s tourism, from the end of April to August. During this period, there is a temporarily post road set up by post office in Shigatse from the Everest Base Camp to Tingri. Thousands of travelers travel to the base camp from home and abroad in summer. Lhasa to Everest Base Camp tour is the most popular choice among travelers.

Most of us would like to share our happiness with our friends or family members because it is the best way to multiply our happiness. Our sorrow will be reduced by half and our happiness will be doubled if we share it with others. We can share our joy with others in different ways in our daily life, but during traveling we can share it only by making our friends a call, chatting online or sending postcards when our friends are far away from us. So when you make an Everest Base Camp tour, do share your happiness with your friends.  

The postmark suit here cost 25 RMB, and each postmark is 5 RMB at the China Post Office on Mount Everest Base Camp.

The fee for seeding post Card:

From Mount Everest to Beijing is about 3 RMB per postcard

From Mount Everest to UK is about 10 RMB per postcard

Olympic Flame Burning at Mt. Everest Peak

The picture of Olympic torch passed on the roof of the world at is indeed amazing. Red flames burning against white snow are entirely fascinating and eye-catching. Live scene broadcasted through CCTV, CNN and other international media, are of special meanings. Olympic torch is making a historical move when having this trip to Mt. Everest.

Before the Olympic torch arrives, Chinese experts and workers made several Everest expeditions to ensure the feasibility of this miracle. This climbing means a lot. From sports’ perspective, it shows that human beings can reach new heights both in courage and perseverance, which spreads the joy and passion of Olympic Games to all over the world.

Only owning to China’s aerospace science and technology, can the torch be ignited and keeps burning under such hard circumstance of nearly minus 30 degrees Celsius and 18m/s’ wind speed. Audience who watch the TV must have been shocked by the stable broadcast and wide coverage. In order to make this happen, Chinese telecom operators set a temporary base in the Everest Base Camp. This particular Everest Base Camp tour is hard for all the staff, who are trying to get latest information of Olympic torch.

Olympic torch burning at Mt. Everest peak not only demonstrates China’s booming technology and science, but showes the resolve and confidence of Chinese people who target at what other people define impossible.

The CNN, New York Times and BBC also give great accomplishments, through which Chinese people also get to know how the western media work and the essential concept of them. People also show great respect to western journalists’ novel thinking, sharp questions and curiosity fot truth.

This deed under the call of Olympic Games shows China’s team work and joint efforts. If you are interested in having a Everest trip, remember to get yourself ready.

The Conquerors of Mt. Everest

There have been numerous Mt. Everest expeditions since decades ago. In all these Everest expeditions, some failed, while some succeeded. Here are some heroes and conquerors who made it to the top of Mt. Everest. Just because some Everest Base Camp tours failed, doesn’t mean they were not of any crucial meanings at all. They actually laid the foundation of successes of expeditions after.

Time	Conqueror	Event
1956	Swiss Mountaineering Team	This team, consisting of 5 people, made it to the top with the help of some Nepaleses and guides.
1960	Chinese Mountaineering Team	Chinese team finished this goal under a very particular and troublesome time. This success meant a lot to China.
1963	American Mountaineering Team	They climbed from the Nepal side and all 6 members made to the top.
1965	Indian Mountaineering Team	All these 9 menbers, who climbed over Mt. Everest, were selected from Indian Army
1973	Italian Mountaineering Team	This team is made up of navy army, ground force, air force, police, doctors, and weather experts. They eventually succeeded with their backup plan.
	Japanese Mountaineering Team	This is the 1st success in Autume.
1975	Japanese Women Mountaineering Team	This women mountaineering team experienced a snowslide, yet survived.
	Chinese Mountaineering Team	In this team, there were Han people, Tibetans and other minorities. They had various occupation: athletes, doctors, cooks and so on.
	British Mountaineering Team	2 British climbers made it to the top from the south side of Mt. Everest. 1 team member died during this operation.
1988	Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese Mountaineering Team	The 3 teams from 3 different countries deceide to do this together via 3 totally different routes.
1990	Chinese, Soviet and American Mountaineering Team	In the name of peace, 2 teams met at the peak of Mt, Everest.
1993	Chinese Mountaineering Team	6 team members all climbed to the top, some of who are from Taiwan.
1996	Chinese Mountaineering Team	Some of this team once climbed Mt. Everest before. 1 of this team is a university student and 4 of this team are Tibetans.
1999	Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Team	In this team, there was a woman who climbed Mt. Everest twice.
2002	Wang Tianhan	He climb Mt. Everest alone.
2003	Chinese and Korean Mountaineering Team	The joint efforts from the 2 team made a huge success.

Travel from Xining to Lhasa

As the closest capital city to Tibet and the starting city of the world famous Qinghai-Tibet Railway, Xining is a very important gateway city to Tibet. Located on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the upper reaches of Huangshui River, Xining is the political, economic, scientific and technological, cultural and traffic center of Qinghai Province and the east gate of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. As the most common passing channel of the ancient Silk Road, Xining has a profound cultural background as well as fantastic landscape. Just outside the city are many famous monasteries, national parks, and nomadic grasslands worth visiting.

Xining also provides different choices for travelers who want to travel to Lhasa from this city. Travelers can travel from Xining to Lhasa by train, by air, by car, by bike and even by foot.

Trains from Xining to Lhasa                                     

Traveling to Tibet by train has become a fashionable way among travelers for they will be on the highest railway in the world, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Since Xining is the starting point of this railway, all the trains to Tibet from mainland China stop here or start from here. The trains from other cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou usually stop at Xining train station for over 10 minutes. There are also two trains from Xining to Lhasa starting at this station every day. In the peak season of Tibet’s tourism, there might be one more train starting from Xining to Lhasa in order to release the load of the existing trains. It takes around 24 hours from Xining to Lhasa by train and costs about 1,000 RMB including the ticket fare and food onboard, but excluding the service fee charged by your travel agency who books the Tibet train tickets for you. You know, it is usually hard for individual travelers to get a sleeper berth ticket in the peak season as most train tickets are reserved by large travel companies.

Flights from Xining to Lhasa  

Currently, there are only two flights from Xining to Lhasa. One is Flight 3U8687 (A319) operated by Sichuan Airlines and the other is Flight TV9826 (A319) operated by Tibet Airlines. Both flights take 2.5 hours to fly to Tibet, which saves much time.

Qinghai-Tibet Highway

The Qinghai-Tibet Highway connecting Xining and Lhasa was the major link between these two cities before the operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Many domestic travelers travel to Tibet via this highway by car and bike. Some pilgrims even spend months to go to Lhasa on foot along this road. 

Xining, a place worthy of visit before boarding the train to Tibet

Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in west China, is the starting point of the famous Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Every train to Lhasa, capital of Tibet stops here a while. Some travelers get off the train here to enjoy a short Xining tour before they continue their trip to Tibet. 

Xining has a history of over 2100 years and the gateway to travel between Tibet and the Gansu Corridor Silk Road trade route. It was also a chief commercial hub on the Hexi Corridor caravan route to Tibet, handling especially timber, wool and salt in ancient times.  

Xining now is known as a summer resort city due to its cool weather in summer. Of course, apart from the pleasant weather, it has many attractions making a tour here well worth considering. It provides both cultural and natural attractions.

The representative cultural tourist site in Xining should be Taer Monastery, to the city’s southwest. It is the birthplace of Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Gelugpa or the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is a must-visit place in this city. Now, it is the religious activity center of both monks and followers of the Yellow Hat Sect. During its long 400 years of history, it has gradually become a place of interest for its distinct ethnic color and native style.

Then the representative natural tourist site in Xining is Qinghai Lake. This lake offers an escape from fervent cities and allows you to experience beautiful natural scenery relaxedly. Situated on the northwest of the lake, the Bird Island is the highlight of this lake.

No wonder most visitors to Tibet from both home and abroad would stop at Xining for one or two days during the journey to Tibet. From Xining, it is easy to travel to Lhasa. For domestic travelers, they prefer to drive or cycle along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to Lhasa to get more close to the nature if the time permits. Otherwise, they would take the train from Xining to Lhasa, which is also a popular way to Tibet among foreign travelers for they are curious about the world’s highest railway, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. In addition, travelers can also fly to Tibet from Xining. 

The Highlights of a Tibet Train Journey start from Golmud to Lhasa

Though the Qinghai-Tibet Railway starts from Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, its highlight is the section from Golmud to Lhasa. The lotal length of this railway is 1,956 km, 815 km of which is between Xining and Golmud and 1,142 km of which lies between Golmud and Lhasa. Over 80% of the Golmud-Lhasa section is at an elevation of over 4,000 meters above sea level, with the highest point of 5072 meters at the Tanggula Pass.

To build the railway from Golmud to Lhasa, engineers were confronted with many challenges. The biggest challenges were permafrost, lack of oxygen and fragile ecological environment. Among them, the permafrost was a world-class problem that confused experts all over the world. About half of the second section was built on permafrost. In the summer, the uppermost layer thaws, and the ground becomes muddy. The heat from the trains passing above is able to melt the permafrost even with a small change in temperature.

To maintain the permafrost, embankments of large rocks were built at areas of permafrost that were not very fragile, while railway bridges were built in the most fragile areas. In addition, elevated tracks with pile driven foundations sunk deep into the ground were built. Similar to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System portions of the track were also passively cooled with ammonia based heat exchangers.

During the Tibet train journey from Golmud to Lhasa, travelers can see the world's longest plateau railroad, the world’s longest track on frozen earth, the world’s highest railway station – the Tanggula Train Station, the world’s highest railway tunnel- the Fenghuoshan Tunnel, the world’s longest plateau tunnel– the Kunlun Mountain Tunnel and the world’s longest plateau railway bridge- the Qingshui River Bridge, as well as experience the world’s fastest train on frozen earth- the Qinghai Tibet train.       

 On the train to Lhasa, travelers can also enjoy the uniquely and breathtakingly beautiful scenery along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, snow-capped mountains, grand glaciers, boundless grassland, vast desert, clear rivers and lakes, blue sky, white clouds, colourful wild flowers, flocks of sheep and yaks, Tibetan nomads’ tents, etc. No wonder many people say it is a lifetime journey.