A French Family on the Roof of the World

The Train Problem — and How It Was Solved

Xining → Lhasa · Train Z9821 · 4 berths in one cabinet

Train tickets from Xining to Lhasa are notoriously difficult to secure. The service runs once a day; soft-sleeper berths are in high demand; and tickets are allocated from the Xining end — where our local contacts have limited leverage. For a group of four, the goal is always to get all four berths in the same carriage, ideally the same compartment, so the family travels together through a twenty-hour overnight crossing of the world’s highest railway.

When the booking window opened for the Blondels, our Xining partner could not secure four berths together. At that moment, Mark was not at his desk — he was on holiday in Thailand. An alternative standby plan was prepared and offered to the family. They politely declined. They had planned for the train, and the train was what they wanted.

So Mark worked the phone from Thailand. Rather than his usual Xining contact, he reached out to a different partner network in Xi’an — a city with stronger connections into the rail booking system. The cost of securing the tickets through this route was considerably higher. That was not the concern. Within twenty-four hours the tickets were confirmed: four berths, Car 08, all in the same cabinet, on Train Z9821, departing July 11 at 15:27.

The family travelled together. They watched the Tanggula Pass and the Qiangtang Plateau through the same window. They arrived in Lhasa on time.

A practical note for travellers planning the Tibet train

Whenever possible, we recommend experiencing the Qinghai–Tibet Railway in the direction from Lhasa to Xining — not Xining to Lhasa. In Lhasa, we are local. We have the relationships needed to guarantee your berths in the same carriage. The scenery — the Tanggula Pass, Hoh Xil, Namtso at sunrise — is identical in both directions. The logistics are considerably more reliable. You can read more on our Tibet Train page.