Shanghai to Lhasa Train

Should I Choose Soft Sleeper or Hard Sleeper?

There are mainly three categories of accommodations available on Shanghai-Lhasa train, namely soft sleeper, hard sleeper, and hard seat. Hard seat is not recommended as the long ride is a huge challenge to tourists’ stamina and a comfortable accommodation matters a great deal.

The difference between soft sleeper and hard sleeper

If it is your first time taking a train to Lhasa from Shanghai, it is important to figure out the difference between the classes and make the best choice for your train journey.

The differences between soft and hard sleepers are mainly based on the following aspects.

Berth Quantity and Size:
Soft sleeper: 4 berth/ compartment, 75cm*190cm
Hard sleeper: 6 berth/compartment, 60cm*180cm

Compartment Door:
Soft sleeper: sliding lockable door in each compartment to provide more privacy and security
Hard sleeper: no door

Toilets:
Soft sleeper: one Western-style toilet and one squat toilet
Hard sleeper: two squat toilets

Ticket Price:
Soft sleeper: from 1262.5 RMB
Hard sleeper: from 793.5 RMB

Soft sleeper is more spacious than the hard one

How to choose the best Ticket class?

The soft sleeper is better for more privacy and quietness. Given the extreme altitude for second half of the long ride, it is advisable to buy soft sleeper ticket because you can have more privacy and enjoy cozier sleeping environment. But accordingly, the price for soft sleeper is more expensive.

While the hard sleeper is more affordable and easier to get. Compared with the limited 64 soft sleeper berths, there are 407 hard sleeper berths in 7 carriages of Shanghai-Lhasa train, increasing the chance of getting a ticket. However, you cannot get a private cabin in a hard sleeper car.

What if your preferred Tickets get sold out?

Taking Qinghai-Tibet train is truly popular. It’s extremely difficult for individual travelers to buy train tickets themselves during peak season. If you failed finally, don’t be disappointed, you can try the following 2 alternative plans:

Option 1: Choose another Ticket class on the same train. E.g. if you miss the ticket of soft sleeper, you can change to book a hard sleeper ticket on Shanghai-Tibet train.

Option 2: Fly to Xining and take a train to Lhasa from Xining. There are several daily trains bound for Lhasa from Xining, and the capacity is even greater than Shanghai-Lhasa train. It is much easier to get tickets.

Notes: try to avoid Spring Festival Travel rush. During the spring festival, a sizable number of migrant workers from eastern China will take this train to their hometown. Therefore, the spring festival rush makes it virtually impossible to book Shanghai-Lhasa ticket.

6 Steps to Get On your Train to Tibet

1. Get to the right station in advance

There are four railway stations in Shanghai city, and the Shanghai Railway Station is the only one operating the Shanghai-Lhasa train. So you need to find the right station.

Shanghai Railway Station is located in Moling Road, Zhabei District of the city. Besides taking a taxi, you can take metro Line 1, Line 3, or Line 4 to get to the station easily.

It is suggested that you arrive at Shanghai Railway Station at least 1.5 hours in advance, as there is a queue to go through the security check, ticket inspection, etc.

2. Check at the entrance

At the entrance, you need to show your passport, Tibet train ticket, and Tibet Travel Permit. The automatic gates at the entrance of the railway station can only recognize Chinese ID cards. You need to bring your passport, Tibet Travel Permit, and the train ticket to get through the manual entrance check.

It is recommended to prepare your documents in advance or keep them in a small bag that you can easily access with you.

Shanghai Railway Station

3. Go through security check

After getting though the entrance of the station building, line up for the security check to enter into waiting hall.

You need to put all your luggage such as backpacks, carry-on bags on the security scanner conveyor belt, and walk through a detector gate and wait for staff to use a scanner on you to check forbidden articles.

4. Find the right waiting room

Once enter into the waiting hall of Shanghai Railway Station, you can find an LED screen showing Train Number (车次), Terminal (终到站), Departing Time (开点) and Waiting Room (候车室). Get your waiting room information and wait for check-in there. Train number Z164 is well marked in the correct waiting room.

5. Check in to get to the platform

Usually check-in starts 15-30 minutes before departure and barriers close 5 minutes before departure. After check-in, you can find Led screen telling your platform (站台) and direction of your carriage (车厢).

Please be careful with your luggage when going up and down the stairs. If you are traveling with children, please also take care of your children.

6. Find your train and seat

Following the instruction to find your carriage. The staff waiting at the carriage gate will check your ticket again to make sure you board the right carriage of the right train.

After getting on the train, you can find your berth according to your ticket. Put your baggage on the rack overhead or under the lower berth.

Your sleeper ticket will be exchanged for a plastic berth card by staff shortly after boarding. Staff will return your ticket and get back the berth card about half an hour before arriving at your destination.

Tips for Getting on board the Shanghai Lhasa Train

1. Make sure you have your passport, Tibet Travel Permit and ticket with you as you could be checked many times during the long journey. It is also advisable to have many copies of Tibet Travel Permit.

2. It is possible to swap ticket with other people to stay with friends or family in the same cabin. You may ask conductor to swap tickets with other passengers to stay with your family or friends. Do remember your cabin and seat No.

3. If you need pick-up service after arrive in Lhasa, tell your Travel consultant. As requested, our guide will greet you and bring you to your hotel in Lhasa.

Life onboard

Having a ride on Qinghai-Tibet train like Shanghai-Lhasa route is definitely the experience of a lifetime. Besides, the long distance and pressurized train tailor-made for acclimatization of extreme altitude make the ride different from other train journey.

So how about the life onboard the train? What things to do to kill time onboard? Here we will show you the real life on Shanghai-Lhasa train.

Dinning and Drinking

You can get 3 meals and drinks from the dining carriage located in the middle of the train. Usually only Chinese food is available and it costs about 20 CNY/meal and accepts cash payment, Wechat payment and Alipay.

The trolleys loaded with food are served in each compartment sporadically. You can buy from the staff of train. Besides, you can get free boiled water from hot water dispenser near the sinks.

Before boarding on the Shanghai railway station, do bring enough food. It could be snacks, fruit and instant noodles wrapped in bowls. Sharing snack with roommates is the easiest way to break the silence.

Tourists are having dinner in the dinning car.

Oxygen Supply

Oxygen Supply System Onboard

Altitude sickness is the biggest concern for travelling to Tibet. However, there is no need to be panic about altitude sickness.

To better adapt to high altitude, Shanghai-Lhasa Train is tightly sealed and pressurized like an airplane.

There are two sets of oxygen supply on the train: the dispersion-mode oxygen supply system operated by the train staff and the distribution-mode oxygen supply that can be connected to individual passenger.

As the train ascends to Golmud, the oxygen is automatically pumped into the train. You can also manually use the oxygen outlet to minimize altitude sickness symptoms such as headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea,etc. It is advisable to bring altitude sickness medicines to ease the discomfort.

Note: smoking is not allowed onboard.

An illustration of how to use oxygen outlet on Qinghai-Tibet train

Altitude changes along Shanghai Lhasa Railway

Shanghai lies at sea level. The subtle altitude change between Shanghai and Lanzhou will not cause any discomfort to you.

After Lanzhou, the altitude climbs slowly to 2,275 meters at Xining. Xining is the first station where altitude sickness is likely to occur for a few passengers.

The altitude begins to ascend and reaches 2,829 meters when arriving at Golmud. After Golmud, the altitude increases sharply by more than 1,000 meters in less than 100 kilometers, causing altitude sickness for some passengers.

When arriving at the world's highest railway pass, the Tanggula Pass (5,072m), most tourists will suffer from altitude sickness. Then, the altitude drops slowly as you travel south through Nagqu and finally reaches 3,650 meters in Lhasa.

This graph gives you a rough idea of how altitude changes along Shanghai-Lhasa railway line

Toilets on board

Toilets are located at the end of each carriage, adjacent to the washbasin, dustbin and hot water dispenser. The soft sleeper carriage has one western-style toilet and one squat style toilet, while hard sleeper carriage only has two squat style toilets.

The toilets will be locked when the train stops. Avoid to use them when the train is about to stop for arriving at a station.

Unfortunately, there is no shower room in the train. Do bring some wet wipes in stores and a small towel. And small but equally important thing is to bring enough toilet/tissue paper.

Views along Shanghai Lhasa Railway

Most of the major attractions along the Shanghai-Lhasa railway route will be seen as the train enters Golmud, for the highlights of Qinghai-Tibet train exist in Xining-Lhasa railway section.

You can see attractions such as Yuzhu Peak, Tanggula Pass, Kekexili Natural Reserve and Tsonag Lake along the way. If lucky enough, you can also see wild animal such as Tibetan antelope, wild yak along the way.

Yuzhu Peak is the summit of east part of Mt. Kunlun

The Tanggula is the source of the Ulan Moron and Dangqu Rivers.

The Tsonag Lake is seen as the "soul lake" of the Razheng Living Buddha

More things to do without Wifi onboard

The journey of Shanghai Lhasa train ride is as long as 47 hours, and it’s essential to find some things to kill the time onboard.

One good choice is to watch movies on the train. Since there is no Wifi onboard, you are suggested to download some movies on your phone, iPad, or laptop in advance.

You can also read a book or a novel on your kindle, or listen to musics while appreciating the window scenery. Chatting with other passengers is also a good way to pass time.

Notice:
It is suggested to bring your own power bank, although there are power plugs for chargers located in the corridors or under your table in the cabin.