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.