Tibet by Train
Other Suggested Itineraries: Eastern China | Hong Kong & Macau | Western China | Tibet
Beijing to Lhasa by Train
With the completion of the new high altitude railway into Tibet, Lhasa will soon be accessible by a luxurious and thrilling train journey across China. Starting in Beijing, site of the 2008 Olympic Games and home of Tiananmen Square, The Great Wall of China, and some of the finest cuisine in the world, this journey spans the length of the Middle Kingdom and finishes high in the Himalayas. While service began on the line in 2006 with a fleet of new, high-tech trains, soon a number of luxury trains, run by the Kempinski hotel group, will ply the rails. The trains will be decorated in a style befitting a five-star hotel and carry a select group of 96 passengers. Each will have 12 passenger cars, two dining cars and a sightseeing car. The 108 square-foot suites will each include a double bed, a living room and a bathroom.
Day 1 - Beijing
VIP arrival in Beijing. A limousine takes you to one of the city's sumptuous five-star hotels: the Peninsula Palace, Shangri La, St. Regis or Raffles. Relax and have a massage or spa treatment, followed by a marvelous dinner in the hotel.
Day 2 - Beijing
Visit the remarkable Tiananmen Square and the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the 15th Century gate that guards entry into the Imperial Grounds and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen is the largest public square in the world, and as one visitor has commented, the only place where "an entire army could be massed and all the kites in the world could fly." The Forbidden City was home to the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is China's best preserved ancient treasure and one of the great man-made wonders of the world.
In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Heaven, a 15th Century architectural masterpiece of the Ming Dynasty, built without a single nail, and used by Middle Kingdom emperors for elaborate harvest rituals. Explore the sweeping grounds famed for their harmonious setting, and pause at the teahouse by the east gate for a perfectly brewed cup of one of China's famed varieties of tea over the clacking of tiles from local's games of mah jong.
Have a traditional Chinese dinner in the home of an important local family together with some of their friends, and members of Beijing's intelligentsia.
Day 3
Day 4 - Great Wall, Beijing
Your private car and driver and guide take you to the Great Wall, the 2200 year old world wonder built in the Qin Dynasty as a fortification to keep out unruly northern tribes. As Chairman Mao once remarked, "he who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man."
Spend the day at the Simatai section of the Wall, which is a remote, un-restored section of the wall which is not crowded and is much more authentic than many other parts of the wall.
In the evening, return to Beijing in time to catch the brand new Tangula Express luxury train, the world's highest railway, for a two day journey to Tibet, the "rooftop of the world."
Day 5 - Xian to Golmud
Morning arrival in Xian, eastern terminus of the famed Silk Road, and site of the Army of Terracotta Warriors.
The train continues across the plains of Gansu and Qinghai Provinces, home to the headwaters of the Mekong, Yangtze, and Yellow Rivers. You reach the city of Xining at the base of the Tibetan Plateau in the evening, and continue on across the Qaidam Basin salt flats throughout the night.
Day 6 - Golmud to Lhasa
Arrive in Golmud, last outpost of civilization before Tibet, at 6 AM, where you change trains and embark at 7 AM on the Lhasa Express. It is a 15-hour journey through the Tanggula Shan Mountains, most of the time at elevations over 13,000 feet. China's new rail marvel crosses the Tanggula Pass at 16,640 feet, making it the highest passenger rail service in the world. Oxygen is available in all the sleeper cabins to help deal with the high elevations.
Arrive in Lhasa in the late evening, where your Tibetan guide will meet you and escort you to the one of the best hotels in town, the Lhasa Hotel or the Jinshishengyuan Hotel. Both properties are comfortable and clean, but by no means 5-star accommodations - and it is definitely worth it to be in such a special and far-flung place.
Day 7 - Lhasa
Explore Lhasa, beginning with a visit to the phenomenal Potala Palace, the former winter residence of the Dalai Lama. An architectural wonder that rises above the Kyi-Chu Valley and is thronged daily with Tibetan pilgrims, the Potala served the lineage of Tibetan Dalai Lamas, and now is a museum and treasure trove of Tibetan history. Not to be missed are the spectacular Sunlight Halls which house magnificent pearls, jewels and antiques.
After the Potala, make a pilgrimage to the Jokhang, which is Tibet's holiest temple. Thousands of Tibetan pilgrims coming from all over Tibet and China walk a clockwise kora (perambulation) around the periphery of the Jokhang Temple, some prostrating themselves the entire way. The Jokhang houses the Jowo Rimpoche, a giant pure gold statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, and also contains many of Tibet's oldest artworks and religious icons. The 7th-century temple was built to honor the marriage of King Songtsen Gampo and Tang Princess Wencheng. Have a private blessing with one of the monastery's top abbots. From the roof of the Jokhang, one has fabulous views of the Potala, Kyi-Chu Valley, and busy Barkhor markets.
Barkhor, a circular street at the center of Old Lhasa, is the home of a great bazaar where one can wander around for hours and haggle for Tibetan handicrafts with friendly merchants.
In the evening have dinner with the family of a local intellectual in their home and learn about their lives and their culture.
Day 8 - Lhasa
Spend the day at Drepung, the 15th Century monastery that was formerly home to over 10,000 monks. Considered the Oxford of the Middle Ages, this was the largest monastic institution of any religion in the world. Drepung's Ganden Palace was home to the Dalai Lama prior to the construction of the Potala in Lhasa.
The monastery offers the visitor a perfect opportunity to participate in local temple life, with debate sessions, prayer incantations, and yak butter tea and tsampa (roast barley) breaks going on throughout the day. Pilgrims walk koras around the grounds, and visit the Maitreya, a two-story statue of the future Buddha. Drepung sits in the western hills of Lhasa, with commanding views of the Kyi-chu Valley below. Have tea and a snack with one of the important monks in his private chambers, and learn about his life as a devout Buddhist.
Day 9 - Lhasa
Wander through the streets of Lhasa and explore the sights and sounds of the city.
After lunch drive to Sera Monastery, north of Lhasa. Sera is a 15th-century Monastery and former home to 5000 Gelugpa monks. The numbers today are down to about 600 monks, but Sera is still famous for its extremely lively debating sessions that go on in the courtyard every afternoon. The monks pair off under the courtyard's large trees and proceed to debate the higher points of Buddhist philosophy, and the event makes for a most interesting glimpse into Tibetan Buddhism. Meet some of the monks and join in the debate if you dare!
Return to Lhasa for dinner preceded by a cooking demonstration by one of
Day 10 - Gyantse
After breakfast, bid adieu to Lhasa and make your way over several high passes to reach Gyantse, one of the most original and least Chinese-influenced towns in Tibet. En route, you will cross several 15,000-foot passes, the Kamba and Karo La, each with astonishing views and adorned in prayer flags.
Stopover at Lake Yamdrok Tso, also known as the Scorpion Lake due to its snaking shape. The lake is one of the four holy lakes of Tibet, and has pilgrimage routes along its shores that you will follow for most of the route to Gyantse.
Gyantse sits in the fertile Nyang-chu Valley and is home to an impressive fort, the Gyantse Dzong that sits on a hilltop towering over the valley and town, offering amazing views.
Check into the quite basic Gyantse Hotel and then spend the afternoon exploring the Pelkhor Chode Monastery, formerly home to huge populations of Gelugpa and Sakya monks. The monastery suffered greatly during the Cultural Revolution, but is now having a revival. The monastery is most famed for its massive Kumbum Chorten (100,000 Images Stupa), which is covered in murals and frescoes, and has sets of "Buddha eyes" looking out protectively over the surrounding countryside. Pelkhor also offers another opportunity to see pilgrims making their koras, spinning prayer wheels and reciting mantras as they circumnavigate the giant stupa. You will have a rare and wonderful insight into the rural life of Tibet.
Have tea or dinner with a few of the pilgrims and hear from them about their very powerful and spiritual journey.
Day 11 - Shigatse
Follow the fertile fields of the Nyang-chu Valley to Shigatse, capital of the central Tsang region, and Tibet's second largest city, where you will stay at the modern Shigatse Hotel.
Visit the very important Tashilunpo Monastery, home to the Panchen Lama, who is the second most important reincarnated spiritual figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama. The monastery was founded in 1447, and is extremely large and complex, full of chapels, courtyards, and byways. There is a 75-foot gold gilded statue of Maitreya inside Tashilunpo, and the monastery has a fairly active resident monk population.
Day 12 - Shigatse
Hike around the hills of the Ngor Monastery outside of Shigatse, on a popular pilgrim and trekkers trail between the Ngor and Nartang monastic complexes. Founded in 1429, Ngor is a lovely small monastery with beautiful surroundings.
In the afternoon, explore Shigatse, visit the bazaars and the remains of the old dzong (fortress), or returning to Tashilunpo for a final visit. Have tea or dinner in a local home with the extremely warm and friendly people.
Day 13 - Beijing
Depart from Gongkar Airport and fly to Chengdu, in Sichuan Province, for a connecting flight to Beijing.
Check back into the Peninsula Palace, Shangri La, St. Regis or Raffles. Have a massage and a delicious dinner.
Day 14
Fly home.