There are a pair of direct trains operated between Beijing and Lhasa in Tibet daily. It travels through Taiyuan, Xian, Lanzhou, Xining, Golmud, and arrives Lhasa 40 hours later. The train is specially designed to suit for the high plateau climate of Tibet. We have more details at Tibet trains page. At present, the connecting plan of train travel to Tibet is more popular. Many people, who cannot tolerate the long journey, take bullet train or flight to Lanzhou or Xining, then board the train there onto Lhasa via the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
| Z21 | 20:00 Beijing West | 12:30 +2 Lhasa | 40h30m | Soft Sleeper $187 Hard Sleeper $11 Hard Seat $55 |
Detailed Schedule:
| Number | Station | Arr. | Dep. | Stay |
| 1 | Beijing West 北京西 | - | 20:00 | 0min |
| 2 | Shijiazhuang North石家庄北 | 22:33 | 22:37 | 4min |
| 3 | Taiyuan太原 | 00:19 | 00:25 | 6min |
| 4 | Zhongwe中卫 | 07:05 | 07:16 | 11min |
| 5 | Lanzhou 兰州 | 12:17 | 12:33 | 16min |
| 6 | Xining 西宁 | 15:00 | 15:20 | 20min |
| 7 | Delingha 德令哈 | 19:22 | 19:24 | 2min |
| 8 | Golmud 格尔木 | 22:15 | 22:40 | 25min |
| 9 | Naqu 那曲 | 08:04 | 08:10 | 6min |
| 10 | Lhasa 拉萨 | 12:30 | 12:30 | 0min |
Travel time from Beijing to Lanzhou reduces to less than 9 hours with high speed trains. The below listed trains are for your reference only.
Train No | Dep. Station | Dep. Time | Arr. Station | Arr. Time | Duration | Mileage |
G437 | Beijing West | 6:27 | Lanzhou West | 13:40 | 7h13m | 1784 |
G429 | Beijing West | 10:45 | Lanzhou West | 19:50 | 9h5m | 1784 |
All trains to Lhasa meet at Lanzhou and make this city a gateway onto Tibet. Plan your trip according to schedule of Z917 which is the only train terminates at Lanzhou.
Train No | Dep. Station | Dep. Time | Arr. Station | Arr. Time | Duration | Mileage |
Z223 | Lanzhou Station | 9:28 | Lhasa Station | 9:55 | 24h27m | 2187 |
Z322/Z323 | Lanzhou Station | 9:29 | Lhasa Station | 9:55 | 24h26m | 2188 |
Z917 | Lanzhou Station | 11:20 | Lhasa Station | 11:20 | 24h0m | 2188 |
Z21 | Lanzhou Station | 12:32 | Lhasa Station | 12:45 | 24h13m | 2184 |
Z264/Z265 | Lanzhou Station | 16:41 | Lhasa Station | 16:45 | 24h4m | 2188 |
Z164/Z165 | Lanzhou Station | 18:34 | Lhasa Station | 19:35 | 25h1m | 2188 |
