Thank you for sharing. Very informative. Wow, Train Travel has certainly changed. I took a train In 1990 from Beijing to Harbin on A Dieseled Engine. It took over 18 hours: Now, on a high speed (bullet) train it only takes 8 Hours. It was really comfortable.
I had some mild altitude sickness in Tibet. Nothing too bad. The train trip going up to 5,072 metres was memorable. The Chinese are building another railway to Tibet from Sichuan connecting Lhasa and Chengdu which will be finished in about 2030. The first stage from Lhasa to Nyingchi will open next year.
If you have the chance to go to Tibet, I suggest you to Nyingchi, where it is the region with the lowest altitude, best climate and best ecological environment in Tibet.
Tibet economy itself couldn't support any construction of the infrastructures. Every year, in order to help Tibet develop economically and financially, the central Chinese goverment took a huge amount of money from other provinces' budget and appropriate for the purpose of Tibet construction. Because of the extremely harsh natural environment, building a railway to Tibet is not only a financial and technological challenge, but also a challenge for the people who worked on site. Most of workers are from other provinces, because the Chinese government fears that western media and governments would smear China by saying they are making slavery of loacl Tibetan had they had employed any Tibetan to do the job. Tibetan people don't need do anything but just pray their gods everyday and enjoy everything other Chinese people created for them.
Check the western media. To know them with the most malice. To be honest, western people know a lot of fake news is there, But about china? the news is all correct.
@@dilkash1831 As if you had been to Tibet many times. Please tell us what kind natural resource you think in Tibet has been exploited? Tibet doesn't have as much as useable resources as you imagined. It literally has no industry and tourism is one of their major sources of income. That's why the Chinese central government has to appropriate funds for Tibet every year to help balance their financial deficit, just like what the US government does to native Indian people today. The only difference is native Indian population has been massacred and dropped from tens of millions down to as low as 5 million, while Tibetan population has been growing all the time.
The train looks fantastic, much better than the older version of the train. China has done really good job to improve transportation system throughout China.
Welcome to China, and I promise you'll have a great journey here.The most important, you'll see a totally different country that is often denigrated by the western media (except sometimes the air pollution issue in some industrial cities.🤣The cost of development,but we're working on it and have tremendous progress)
@@BamesNond4882 Are you telling me that the world's most efficient infrastructure conductor can't build roads in some places? Well then, no one else build that road if you refer to Himalaya
The natural scenery of Tibet is truly unparalleled. Like heaven, in 2013, I went to Tibet from Guangxi Province by bicycle. It took 2 months to ride 2000 kilometers. It was a crazy move! I plan to drive to Tibet this year!（西藏的自然景色真的无与伦比，天堂一样，2013年，我骑自行车从广西去西藏，花了2个月时间，骑行2000公里，那真是疯狂的举动！今年打算开车去西藏！）
The squad toilet is actually better to expell your feces, because in the squatting position you open those passages more so to expel more effectively vice sitting on the thrown. Squatting while deficating is healthier because who wants any left over poop in their system.
India could be half a developed like Its neighborhood China. Whats the reason after 70 years still we are soo poor. Infrastructure wise we are not even 1/2 reached. Need to agree china is great. Definitely it is because of its government and people.
Came here looking for lives on a van, instead got to see the bullet train going from Beijing to Tibet holy cow what an unexpected treat! Keep'em coming :)
SPARKLING CLEAN PLATFORMS IN HUMUNGOUS YET EXQUISITELY DESIGNED, AND SUPERBLY ORGANISED RAILWAY STATIONS. ANOTHER HALLMARK OF CHINESE PROPENSITY FOR DETAIL & PERFECTION.
Magnificent video Russos......that is probably a trip I will never do so I am very appreciative that you have taken us along and shared your adventure. Simply grand....looking forward to more. Thank you.
I love train trips. This was very informative. Beautiful scenery going to Tibet. I was in several towns in the Shanxi Province, and as a white woman, I was also stopped and looked at and I ended up on many, many selfies. The people are very friendly.
@@shrabanikundu4148 In that way, every place on this planet is "invaded and occupied". More than a thousand years ago, the leader in Tibet already claimed that Tibet is a part of China. You should read the history instead of some rubbish media.
Great video and what an impressive sights! Amazing to see all the sophisticated trains and railway stations in China; just wondering how this appears to American travellers and viewers as this is so much better than the US infrastructure! Will America ever catch-up again?
They got the money when all the industry left the USA and went to China... Then Americans bought all that stuff from China... Huge Money to rebuild China... Now it is moving back... Thank God...
Kees H , in all these countries , aquiring the land for right of way, is real easy, but in theUSA, there is so much congestion,, that only the original railway lines , is what the only high speed trains on the EAST COAST, CORRIDOR work, the ACELA, THE CARS EVEN LEAN IN CURVES, that’s DC,NJ-NY, BOSTON., But are also expensive.
I went from Guangzhou (Canton) to Lhasa by train and bus over a similar route in 1994. It took 4 days and the trains had triple decker bunk beds in the 1st class. The floors were covered in spit and the bathrooms were unmentionable! The last phase of the trip was from Golmud to Lhasa by bus for 22hrs in a 1950s English built bus. The locals had sheeps stomachs filled with oxygen to puff on during the trip. For 10hrs there was no bus "station" rest stop. So I begged my friend to ask the bus driver to stop after 8hrs for a pee. (Yes I am a wimp) At that altitude there is vegetation and only some rocks. So I just had to pee for all to see or burst. This trip sounds like a dream now. Also we were a bit under the radar as at that time there was a separate currency system FEC vs RMB that cost 10x as much.
You are a brave girl. Most tourists took plane to go to Tibet at that time. 1990's were the worst time to travel in China by train. Railway system couldn't keep up the pase of rapid economic development. China was following USA way to develop automobile industry and to build more highways than railways. The railways were outdated and slow. The changes started in 1997. You should visit again and take the same route from Guangzhou to Lhasa. There is a direct high speed train from Guangzhou to Lanzhou and then overnight train to Lhasa.
BTW - A while back I watched the building of the train to Lhasa, many problems, they had to account for expansion & compression of the rails and the rails are actually heated because of the extreme weather. As you mentioned, the train is pressurized with oxygen.
Thank you for this interesting video. You are right, the best way to get to know a place is on land, be it by train, bus or car. On a train I love looking out of the window.
When we moved from Florida to Colorado, we left Daytona Beach for Woodland Park, which sits at 8,500-plus feet up in Ute Pass west of Colorado Springs. Unpacking consisted of carrying a box down the truck ramp, then sitting down for five minutes to catch my breath. It took months to adjust to feeling normal again. When the hill climb racing season came around, I was a sports writer chasing hill climbers for the paper. At the top of Battle Mountain, I spent a day at the finish line interviewing drivers at close to 11,500 feet. I was still a smoker and keeping a cigarette lit was tough. But life at nearly two miles high does become normal. One adapts even to that. (I quit smoking soon, however.) I went to the top of Pikes Peak once and felt truly weird. Breathing wasn’t difficult but 10 steps at 14,110 feet tired me enormously. There was lots of air, but little oxygen. If I ever go back, I’ll need to take a tank with me.
We did this trip way back in 2013, 7 of us. Took the train from Beijing (not the bullet train). We had a Beijing friend booked and bought the train tickets for us. Its snapped up very fast the moment tickets open for booking. He's right though, if you do not have the foreigner's permit, you cannot alight at Lhasa train station, you have to backtrack out of Tibet. Unless you're Richard Gere (staunch follower of the Dalai Lhama), you can easily book a trip via the many agents on the websites , and the agents will arrange for your permit upon your arrival at Lhasa train station. There's also another permit which the agent will obtain for you, i.e. the travel within Tibet permit. Do not fret my friends, just book this railway trip with the tour agents. They will arrange everything. Do not try to embark on this journey by your own, I.e. backpack on this trip. Its difficult to buy the train tickets let alone you cannot obtain the foreigner's permit without the tour agents help. The real purpose is they want the tour agents to monitor your activities in case there are the ' Free Tibet Movement' in their midst. Our journey from Beijing took us 43 hours to Lhasa train station. Yes, he's right, right after Tanggula pass (elevation 5,200 m) the sleeper berth will bleed oxygen at the corner of your bunk. If you dont want to dine out at the food car, there will be a lady usher with a pushcart selling ready to eat foods, instant noodles, snacks, fruits, drinks, water, beer, ciggies..every hour.you must take this trip once in your lifetime. Security at Lhasa is tight. At every corner of the city, there will be military checkpoints, X ray scanners, body searches. Wonderful part is, Potala Palace is right smack in the middle of the city. Sad though, you can't take pictures within the temple grounds.
Hi - did the trip in the summer of 2009 (after the Total Solar Eclipse of 2009), I had the ‘hard sleeper’ and meet some wonderful Chinese co-travellers on the way.
I caught the Tibet train 3 years ago but from Lanzhou, not Xinning. Spectacular scenery. There is an extension rail line from Lhasa to Xigatse which I travelled on. From next year the rail line from Nyinchi to Lhasa will open and that section will be part of the Chengdu/Lhasa rail line which will open in about 2030 being a second line into Tibet from China.
Love it! I lived in China 10+ years. Used both bullet and older trains. So many great memories. btw,,, the smiles in China in your wink scenario are embarrassment, not fun. The staring becomes really old after about 6 months of constantly being rubbernecked at. Also, the squat for hole in the grounders becomes second nature when it is the only game in town. haha. I'm still always amazed at the shear vastness of train stations in China... and the crowds therein! Agree it is a once in a life opportunity which more westerners need to experience. It makes one realize how fortunate we are in so many ways. Another btw... little packets of tissues are indispensable and cheap, since most public restrooms have no tissue or charge for it; excepting 5 star restaurants where they are handed out. I learned to do as the locals and collect unused packets for later utility to the point I had a collection I'd share to newbies. LOL Scarcity and greedy fingers make it so, along with perhaps a built-in sense of self-sufficiency among Chinese people. Thanks for sharing this! Enjoy you guys tons!
Joe Barron that’squatting position, is actually better than sitting on a ‘toilet‘ most muslem countries are like that, I have a ‘SQUATTY POTTY,’ which raises your feet to emulate squatting’
In fact in almost every country in Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan etc.), we have those squat toilets, a legacy of yesteryears. You will find modern toilets in new buildings or houses.
Everything is perfectly paradise. I'm obsessed by watching this lovely video made by you both. I have a keen interest to travel from Beijing to China.But amount is big to afford. Then I have to reach Nepal and Kathmandu to Lhasa by air and then from Lhasa to Beijing and from Being to Lhasa and again Nepal and then again INDIA. So big amount to afford. Therefor I keeping lagging behind thinking the budget but I have been cherishing a dream to travel through the highest rail line train from Beijing to The capital City Lhasa of Tibet. It is life times wonderfully blessed and marvelously great experience to cross through the Paradise on Earth Tibet which is known to us The Roof of the World. Magically enchanting to look through the window extraordinary beautiful surroungding full of natural beauty from the start Beijing to Lhasa. A wonderfully marvelous train journey which can achieve a lucky few to keep the unforgettable memories forever in their minds to recall during the painful times to get comforts and peace of mind. Thank for uploading such magnificent video.
Awesome adventure, I would love to do this train ride! And it is not longer than the train trips I did in Russia in summer during the World Cup (took about almost exactly two days to get from Kazan to Sochi, and I think 37-38 hours to get from Sochi to S:t Petersburg), so that should not be any problem, but the altitude might be a bit of a problem to start with at least, especially when you come right into it like that with no gradual acclimatisation beforehand. Not sure how the toilet situation is on all of these trains, though you showed a little, but hopefully they are clean enough- cannot do those hole-in-the-floor toilets, so yeah, glad to hear there are Western style ones as well. But those things are about stepping out of your comfort zone anyway. That food in the dining actually looks good, not sure how the actual taste is though. Though I probably would do as I did in Russia and bring lots of food with me. Overall trains looked comfy and the scenery is amazing, so yeah, hope to do this trip someday.
I'll get there, though perhaps by another route. I'm in love with Nepal, and so I will probably take a vacation there once every few years for as long as I live and am able to travel. On my last trip there I went to the Mustang region, which is on the western side of Nepal and south of the border with Tibet. A special permit is required to go to the area closest to Tibet, and I did not acquire that permit, but I may do that next time. Mustang is the most beautiful place I have ever been, largely populated by Tibetan expats, and I intend to investigate whether it is possible to get a visa that will allow me to enter Tibet from Nepal. If not, then I will take this railway most likely, in a few years.
If i have to take to take a dump in a public toilet, i'd prefer the squat toilet. That way, i am not sitting on a toilet seat that could be infested with lots of germs, regardless of how much i would have cleaned the seat before sitting on it.
You people are really living in luxury, Once i had to travel from jammu to tamil nadu (india) for my exam, it was 52 hour journey, and my ticket was not confirmed (although i booked it before 15 days of journey), the train was fully packed with passengers i was forced to do the whole journey by standing and by sitting on the floor. I will never forget that experience.
Remind me when I was in university in 1990 our classmates had to travel that kind of long hours standing in the train. I did that too but only 20 hours.
Your wish will come true soon. I wish, it is not just India, but the whole Asia and Africa continents which have been labelled as "third-world", shall all gain full-range development.
Are you willing to pay the real cost of your Amtrak trip ? The Feds heavily subsidize Amtrak and it still runs deficits. There is very little money left for new cars.
I had the wonderful opportunity to take the same Qinghai-Tibetan railway a few years ago as a college student studying abroad in Nanjing. Taking the train is definitely the way to go when getting to Tibet.
Thanks for the information, hope to make on of those trip one day, before I left this planet. It’s sure a beautiful world around we use have to keep it together.
Wow, oxygen pumped into the trains. Definitely one of the most unique travel experiences I've ever heard of. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I took train from Lhasa to Shanghai 2011 for 48 hours and the mountain landscapes are stunning .Now you can travel to Tibet without with the group tour?
Nice to be able to get a feel for this wonderful trip. Amazing but 8 hours on a train, then switch to another and do another 20 some hours so am I the only one that notice that this guy always has the same shirt on ?
You are watching a really nice informative and beautiful video and the only comment you can make is about the guy's shirt???????! Talk about a Debbie Downer here
in Hawaii you can drive in a passenger car to the top of Hailiakala in a passenger car. it is over 10,000 feet. it was harder in the early 200s than in 19080 0n my honeymoon, the stairs seemed much higher 25 years later.
Thanks for this. I watched a video earlier tonight of a couple of American morons making dorks out of themselves in airport lounges. It's nice to see people from my home country traveling like decent folk.
thanks for the video! i have never ride on one of those 'green skin' train in my life. the general impression of green skin is poorly equipped and unclean, but the one in your video is pretty good. cheers!
4 года назад
In the near future, train journey will be the major long distance transport mesure. The governing is striking to reduce the ticket price and perfect the facilities and service. No matter good and bad, Chinese life style gives us a future perspective of our life. High speed train, no cash payment, and e-commerce. You can’t believe that you could receive your on line order for a computer just in less that 24 hours you place it. When the delivery man come to your city, you could see his location, movement trace, phone number, service comments, personal photo all in the app. You don’t even need to wait for home at home, and you see your package is near your home, you could even rush out and call the man, telling him that you could not wait any more to get it. This is the Chinese speed. For those who know nothing about China, they could never understand.
Even Tibetan are restrained from moving one part of Tibet to another while the Chinese are given incentives such as jobs, loans, and education if they move to Tibet. The Tibet Autonomous Region released data stating that Tibet had 25 million visitors in one year - the figure is doubtful as total population of Tibet is less than 4 million. Of course millions of Chinese visit each year to Tibet.
