Ready for passengers.	A Tibetan lama on a prostrating pilgrimage to his holy destination.	A Tibetan woman praying in front of Jokhang Monastery.

Just one year ago, there were two choices of travel to Tibet. You could either dig deep for an expensive flight, or take your courage in both hands and travel by four-wheel drive vehicle along the bumpy, unsurfaced plateau road to the Roof of the World. But in July this year, a cheaper and more comfortable means of transport to Tibet became available -- the train. The price of a train ticket from Beijing to Tibet is RMB 1,500 cheaper than flying.

The Train

Inhabitants of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau tell of the four-seasons-in-one-day- temperatures that they experience in their plateau home. This is not the case for passengers on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. They can enjoy the changing scenery from their train window in the comfort of a constant temperature. All the train windows are double-glazed and UV protective, and oxygen is available for any passengers that experience symptoms of altitude sickness. The views are breathtaking. Clouds float in the vast azure sky over the plateau through which towering, snow-covered peaks may occasionally be glimpsed, before a clear blue lake suddenly springs into view. Wild donkeys race the train across seemingly boundless pastureland, occasionally keeping up, as they are capable of reaching 60 km per hour at a gallop. In contrast, the wild yak indigenous to the plateau strolls along at a calm, steady pace.

There are now three train routes to Tibet: from Beijing, Chengdu in Sichuan Province and Xining in Qinghai Province. Before long two new lines from Shanghai in the east and Guangzhou in the south will open. All the trains to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, are equipped with the most advanced technology. Carriages are installed with Canadian-made lightning insulation, an air filtering system, oxygen breathing devices, and air-conditioners that puff out oxygen when it is needed. Oxygen dispensing facilities are available near seats and in passageways. Any passenger suffering from an adverse reaction to high altitude can ask for an oxygen inhaler that plugs in to the dispensing device by their seat.

Other train facilities include built-in garbage containers, bright and spacious washrooms, and environment-friendly toilets that do not discharge waste on to the rails. Each car also has a toilet for the disabled. Wireless communication services along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway ensure that passengers have unrestricted access to information from around the world. The dining car is decorated in typical Tibetan style and also provides box lunches and suppers for RMB 20, but the rice is not as tender as it would normally be owing to the low oxygen at high altitudes. Breakfast comprises gruel, buns and cold pickled vegetables. Tibetan passengers usually bring along their own comestibles of dried beef and zanba (roasted barley flour, a staple of the Tibetans) that they have with a drink of hot water.

The train stewards are carefully trained and briefed. Before arriving at each scenic spot, a member of the crew explains its background in Mandarin, Tibetan and English and points out particularly striking aspects of the topography. In order to ensure sufficient power and oxygen supply, Qinghai-Tibet Railway trains are powered with three-engine, full steam diesel locomotives designed by GE.

The highest point of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the Tanggula Mountain Pass, which is at an altitude more than 5,000 meters above sea level. At this point passengers may experience slight high-altitude-reaction symptoms, such as headaches, but they soon pass as the train heads downward.

Scenery Along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

At the Xining Railway Station, my train switched onto the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which connects the many cities and towns along the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau between Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, and Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. The rail route passes through a wealth of breathtaking plateau scenery.

Xining is at an altitude of 2,275 meters above sea level and, as the starting point of the railway, is known as the "gateway to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau." The city covers an area of 3,456 square kilometers, and one quarter of its total 1.1 million inhabitants is of the Hui and Tibetan ethnic minority. Xining is an old town with a 2,000-year-long history, having been a main point on the old Silk Road. Prosperous, bustling Xining is the largest commodity supply center on the railway before the train arrives in Tibet. There are many shops in the city that sell traditional medicines and snack foods, and most of the shop owners are Hui people, who have a reputation for being hospitable and honest.

The Tar Monastery is the best-known monastery in Xining. As it is 25 kilometers to the southwest of the city, it is a sight to enjoy before boarding the train. The monastery was built in 1560, and is dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha. It is the birthplace of Zongkapa, founder of the Gelug (Yellow) Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and is regarded as a main center of Tibetan Buddhism in the northwest. As one of the six major Gelug Sect monasteries -- the other five being the Sera, Drepung, Tashilhungpo, Ganden and Labrang monasteries -- it is a grand complex that at its peak consisted of more than 800 halls and covered an area of 450,000 square meters. The monastery is still eminent in Southeast Asia. Its main works of architecture include the eight pagodas that stand before the temple, the Grand Gold Tile Hall, the Grand Sutra Hall, the Lesser Gold Tile Hall, the Sutra Printing Hall and the Maitreya Buddha Hall. The monastery houses many other cultural treasures, among which butter sculptures, frescoes and embossed embroidery are the three most precious. In the first, fourth, sixth and ninth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar, the monastery holds grand and elaborate celebrations. The birth of the Maitreya Buddha is celebrated by displaying a 100-m-long thangka on the mountainside and the performance of various Buddhist rituals.

Qinghai Lake is the first major scenic sight along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The train from Xining to Lhasa passes the lake at night, while the return train passes it at about 7 am. The lake name means "Blue Sea" in Tibetan and Mongolian, and it is the largest inland saltwater lake in China. It encompasses five islands in different shapes, of which Bird Island is the most captivating. Situated on the western shores of Qinghai Lake, its receding waters have rendered the island a peninsula. In spring and summer the lake attracts hundreds of thousands of migrating birds that nest on the island, and to which it acts as a bird sanctuary. Bird species that nest there include geese, gulls, sandpipers and cormorants.

The next big city along the railway is Golmud, the second largest city in Qinghai Province, which is at an altitude of 2,800 meters above sea level. In the Mongolian language, Golmud means a place where rivers gather. Every day, large numbers of automobiles cruise along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway from Golmud, which locals refer to as the "automobile city." To its west is the world famous Qarhan Salt Lake that covers an area of 5,800 square kilometers. Because the lake is surrounded by hot, dry Gobi desert, its rate of rainfall is far lower than that of its evaporation. Consequently the lake surface is a 3 to 4 meter crust of concentrated salt, strong enough for cars to traverse and on which the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is constructed.

Soon after passing through Golmud the train heads into the snow-capped Kunlun Mountains. The Kunlun summit is the Yuzhu Peak, which is at an altitude of 6,178 meters above sea level, and facing it on the other side of the railway is the 5,933 meter-tall Yuxu Peak. The Kunlun mountain range is considered sacred by Chinese Taoists. There is a legend that Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the Western Heavens and a deity within ancient Chinese Taoist mythology, holds her Peach of Immortality Banquet on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month every year and invites all immortals to her table. The train climbs over the mountain range via the 1,686-m-long Kunlun Mountain tunnel -- the world's longest frozen earth tunnel -- at the Kunlun Mountain Pass at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

The train then arrives at the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve, which covers an area of 250,000 square kilometers. It is the world's third largest uninhabited primal nature reserve and the largest in China. As the average altitude there is 5,000 meters above sea level, the air is very thin. There are 16 mammal and 30 bird species living in the nature reserve, including some that are indigenous to the area, according to a survey made in 1990. In recent years, however, Hoh Xil has been plagued by poaching and environmental damage that is a cause of grave concern to naturalists and environmentalists.

Qumar Station in Qinghai is designed in the shape of a Tibetan antelope, and an antelope sculpture also stands at its center. This is in recognition of Qumar Station's being a major stop on the migratory path of Tibetan antelopes. Herds of wild donkeys, goas (a gazelle indigenous to the Tibetan Plateau easily mistaken for an antelope) canter and gallop around the area.

The next scenic spot of note along the railway is the Tuotuo River. It appears as a cluster of small steams, but is actually the source of the Yangtze -- one of the two major rivers in China that runs through 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

After going over the Tanggula Mountain Pass, the train enters the Changtang Highlands in northern Tibet. In August, the climate there is mild, and wild flowers in a profusion of colors bloom on the Changtang's lush grasslands. An annual festival, whose main event is horse racing, is held on the broad grassland southeast of the town of Nagqu on the northern Tibet highlands. This annual horse race tradition began in the 8th century, according to local inhabitants. At the time preparations for the race are being made, participant and spectator herdsmen from surrounding areas converge in Nagqu and erect their tents, creating a "tent city." When the races begin, everyone, riders included, dresses up in their most beautiful ethnic costumes and ornaments. Tibetan women are particularly fastidious about their costume, as it is said that their wealth can be judged from their dress and jewelry.

The festival usually lasts seven days, and its many competitive events include long- and short-distance horse races, archery, high jump, long jump and weight lifting. This pastureland sports festival is also site of a trade fair for various agricultural and pastoral products.

Namco, Tibetan for "heavenly" lake, is the largest lake in Tibet and the second largest saltwater lake in China, next to Qinghai Lake. At an altitude of 4,718 meters above sea level and covering an area of 1,920 square kilometers, Namco Lake is the highest in the world. Tibetans believe that Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Vajras assemble and hold religious ceremonies at Namco every year of the goat on the Tibetan calendar. Circumambulation around the lake at a specific time is believed to equal one hundred thousand times that in normal years. Hence, on the 15th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, Buddhists flock to the lakeside on a pilgrimage to pay homage and pray. Namco Lake cannot be seen from the train, but Co Nag Lake, the world's highest fresh water lake that has an area of more than 400 square kilometers, can.

The train's final destination is Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, a city at an altitude of 3,650 meters above sea level and a history of 1,300 years. Lhasa is the political, economic, cultural and religious center of Tibet. The Potala Palace is its main scenic spot. It is the seat of Dalai Lamas and also a site of major political and religious significance for Tibetans. The Potala is also famous for its grand buildings, complex constructions, devout atmosphere and splendid artworks. The Jokhang Monastery is another place of historic interest in Lhasa. A life-size gold statue of the Buddha Sakyamuni when he was 12 years old stands in its main hall. It is considered the most precious treasure in Lhasa, as it is the sole life size statue extant of Sakyamuni, the statue of him at 8 years old height having been destroyed, and that of him at 16 years old having been lost in the Indian Ocean.

Train Ticket Prices:

Beijing to Lhasa: Departs Beijing at 21:30 and takes 47 hours and 28 minutes.
RMB389 for a hard seat, RMB813 for a hard sleeper and RMB1,262 for a soft sleeper.

Chengdu to Lhasa: Departs Chengdu at 18:18 and takes 48 hours and 10 minutes.
RMB331 for a hard seat, RMB712 for a hard sleeper and RMB1,104 for a soft sleeper.

Xining to Lhasa: Departs Xining at 20:07 and takes 26 hours and 23 minutes.
RMB226 for a hard seat, RMB523 for a hard sleeper and RMB810 for a soft sleeper.

In order to minimize the risk of adverse reactions to high altitude, passengers are not allowed off the train at stops other than their final destination.