Beijing is China’s capital and the hub of its railway network. The train to Lhasa leaves from Beijing West Railway Station, the station for trains to the south, southwest and northwest of China.
Beijing West Railway Station
Beijing West is in Fengtai District, in the southwest of the city. It is very large, with a North Square and a South Square.
District
Fengtai District
Metro
Line 7 and Line 9, Beijing West Railway Station
From Capital Airport
about an hour by taxi, depending on traffic
From Daxing Airport
about an hour by taxi
The Beijing–Lhasa Train
There is one direct train a day, usually leaving Beijing West in the evening and reaching Lhasa in the afternoon of the third day, about 40 hours later. The main stops are:
Stop
Roughly when
Beijing West
evening, day 1
Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan
night, day 1
Lanzhou
middle of day 2
Xining
afternoon, day 2
Golmud
late evening, day 2
Nagchu
morning, day 3
Lhasa
afternoon, day 3
Times change with each new timetable. We give you the exact times when we book.
Buying Tickets in Beijing
Required Documents
Foreign visitors and Taiwan residents: passport and Tibet Travel Permit
Hong Kong and Macau residents: Home Return Permit
Chinese citizens: ID card
Tickets to Lhasa are hard to get from June to August. Book your tour early so we can book your ticket as soon as sales open. Another option is to fly to Xining and take the train from there, where there are more trains.
Beijing Stopover Ideas
Time
Ideas
1 day
The Great Wall at Mutianyu in the morning, Wangfujing or a hutong in the evening, then the train
2 days
Day 1: the Great Wall. Day 2: the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven
3 days
Add the Summer Palace and a hutong walk
Scenery highlight: the train crosses the North China Plain and the Loess Plateau before climbing onto the Tibetan plateau. The high plateau section after Golmud is the most spectacular.
