Qinghai-Tibet Train Ticket Booking and Reservation Tips

Plan a Tibet Train Tour with taking the Qinghai-Tibet Train to Lhasa from Xining, Chengdu, Beijing or Xian, etc., but do not know how to book the Tibet train ticket and then how and where to get your train ticket. This article will give you some tips of ticket reservation, selection, exchange, rescheduling.

1. How to Book and Where to Book Qinghai-Tibet Train Ticket to Lhasa?

1.1 Book with US (top recommended)

We offer the paid train ticket booking service to tourists travelling to Tibet. Our Tibet Tourism ticket reservation team has already controlled more than 3000 tickets each year for our clients. Generally, Tibet travel agency (Tibet Tourism) has bigger opportunity to book the train ticket to Lhasa successfully than travelers themselves.

You just need to send your passport copy to our travel consultant who will help you arrange the following train ticket booking process. Do not worry about any communication barriers, Tibet permit, ticket booking, delivery and collecting. This will help you to solve much troubles.

1.2 Book At Train Station

If you are already in China and want to book your train ticket at train station. There is also no problem to buy ticket at any train station in mainland China.

Before you go to the train station, please bring your original passport and Tibet Travel Permit. At most of stations such as in Xian, Chongqing and Lanzhou, you need offer original Tibet Travel Permit to the ticket conductor for checking. In Chengdu and Xining, the colorful pictures of Tibet Travel Permits is OK.

In the ticket hall of train station, you have to wait in long line and buy the ticket from ticket window. You need tell the ticket conductor which station to which station, which date, and which kind of ticket you need. Almost all the ticket conductors can only speak in Chinese. If you do not know Chinese, please prepare how to translate your language to Chinese in advance. The conductor searches the train ticket in the system and tell you whether there is the train ticket you need. If there is no ticket, you have to change your plan.

There is an advantage of booking train ticket at train station. You can tell the conductor which sleeper berth position you need, such as upper berth or lower berth.

1.3 Book on 12306.cn or other agent platforms

The 12306.cn is the only official ticket reservation website operated by China Railway Administration. It is a website in Chinese. If you want to book train ticket online, you need know Chinese, and register an account, fill in all required information, choose ticket and pay for it in a complicated process.

You can also book Tibet train ticket via other ticket agent platforms, such as Trip.com, Alitrip.com, etc. You also need register an account and fill in all information and know how to get the your train ticket in the complicated process.

2. How to Choose Qinghai-Tibet Train Ticket to Lhasa?

If you travel to Tibet by train with your family or close friends, a sleeper carriage is the best choice. A hard sleeper compartment has 6 berths and a soft sleeper has 4 berths. Given that you do not have enough member to cover a compartment, you can also pay extra ticket fee to buy the empty berth, letting all of you in a same compartment.

If you travel alone, you can choose hard or soft sleeper compartment. A hard sleeper berth will cost less then a soft sleeper. But please note that it will be extremely hard to buy train ticket to Lhasa during the tourism peak season (June to Oct.7) .

3. How Long in Advance to Buy Tibet Train Ticket?

Usually, the train tickets start to sell online 30 days in advance and at train station 28 days in advance.

However, in order to manager the tickets reservation well, the train station asks for train ticket reservation plan from travel agencies and ticket agencies in advance, at least 45 days in advance. The train tickets are controlled according to the time when reservation plan is sent to train station and ticket requirement. It is obvious that the earlier booking, the better controlling.

Therefore, we advise our clients to book Tibet train ticket with us at least 60 days in advance.

4. How and Where can You Get Your Train Ticket to Lhasa?

If you book Tibet train ticket with us, you do not worry about it. We will arrange how to deliver ticket paper to you. Before you board the train, your ticket will be delivered to you at the beginning train station or your hotel, or you need hold your Tibet travel permit copy and your original passport to train station ticket window and ask the conductor to print your train ticket.  

If you book ticket at train station, you can get ticket paper immediately and you need to keep it well.  

If you book ticket online by yourself, the ticket platform will send you the reservation information to you in advance. If you do not receive it, it is to say that you do not book train ticket successfully.

5. How Much are the Qinghai-Tibet Train Tickets?

The Qinghai-Tibet train tickets are different when from different cities. From Beijing, the cost of the lower soft sleeper ticket is RMB1186, the hard sleeper is RMB 768 and the hard seat is RMB360.

If you buy the train ticket from Xining to Lhasa, the cost of the lower soft sleeper ticket is RMB808, the hard sleeper is RMB521 and the hard seat is RMB224.

Note: The ticket prices above are the net price. The actual ticket booking price is higher with service fee included.

6. Can I Cancel or Change the Tibet Train Tickets that I Have Reserved?

Yes, if passengers can not follow the original Tibet train tour plan, they can cancel or change the train ticket.

If your train ticket paper is printed out, you have to cancel or change at railway station by using your original passport. The conductor will refund the ticket fee after reducing the prescribed handling charges.

If your train ticket is booked with us, we will help you solve the ticket cancellation and changing problem. But there will be some losses.

7. What Documents or Permits are Needed to Book Train Tickets?

On the train ticket, there are train station names, travel date, ticket information and your personal information, such as your name and passport number. So, you need get your personal passport in advance.

In addition, Tibet Travel Permit is required for all foreigner tourist travelling to Tibet. When you pick up your train ticket at train station, pass through the security check and board the train to Tibet, you need to show your Tibet Travel Permit. It is only applied for via Tibet travel agency (Tibet tourism) from Tibet Tourism Bureau. Read more about How to Apply for Tibet Travel Permit.