Qinghai-Tibet Railroad (Qinghai Portion)

Xining Railway Station, halfway between Beijing and Lhasa	Xining Railway Station	Red granite horse sculpture in front of Xining Railway Station	Monument in front of Xining Railway Station
Communist-style monument, Xining	An hour before departure for Tibet	Xining Railway Station, starting point for my 25 hour train journey to Lhasa, Tibet	Xining to Lhasa 1956km
I arranged the tickets through China Cultural Center in Beijing	The local guide and driver, Xining	Chinese characters for Xining	Getting tickets for Chinese trains is a big pain
4 trains through Xining for Lhasa today - from Chongqing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing	Waiting hall, Xining Railway Station	Chinese railway billboard	The Beijing-Lhasa train at the platform in Xining
T27/28 Beijing West - Lhasa	The trains are new and rather comfortable	The elusive rail ticket to Lhasa, a bargain at 810 yuan, if you can get one	18:29 departure from Xining to Lhasa
Cliffs honeycombed with caves west of central Xining	Leaving Xining behind	In the 4 berth cabin	My other 3 cabin mates were all Chinese from Beijing
Corridor of the railway carriage	Luckily I didn't need this too often	What a shock...only American Budweiser on board	Kitchen of the dining car
Dining car - Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Washbasins outside the toilets	Early morning after a relatively good sleep having slept through the stop at Golmud	Snow along the old road to Lhasa, Qinghai Province
It takes several days to drive from Xining to Lhasa	Watchtower at a remote outpost along the railroad, Qinghai Province	Road bridge and railroad viaduct shortly past Chumaerhe station, Qinghai	Qinghai-Tibet Railroad crossing one of many wide rivers
Barren Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Province	Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii)	There's cellphone coverage along the railroad	Outpost prior to Wu Dao Liang station
Wetlands, Tibetan Plateau	Wudaoliang Railway Station, 1100km from Xining, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Cloudy day over the Tibetan Plateau	The new railroad parallels the old road to Lhasa
It's +2C here	Streams passing through an area of snow fences	A lonely hut and tent with a man riding a yak	Scenery along the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad
Herds of yaks and sheep alongside the railroad tracks	Herds of yaks and sheep alongside the railroad tracks	Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Muddy dirt road alongside the railroad tracks
The Tibetan Plateau is the source of the great rivers of China	Snow capped mountains, Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Province	The road to Lhasa rejoins our route	I once thought it would be fun to drive from Xining, but I think I'll pass...
Highest railroad tunnel in the world - Fenghuoshan - 5072m/16,093ft	Small labor camp along the Tibet-Qinghai Railroad	Snow covered peak near Jiangkedong Station, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Collapses road bridge near Jiangkedong, 1174 km from Xining
My guess would be the river flooded	Communication tower along the Tibet-Qinghai Railroad	Tibetan Plateau and the road to Lhasa	Tibetan plateau with snow covered mountains
Tuotuo He River,	Stupa and prayer flags, Tuotuo Heyan	Odd stupa near Tuotuo Heyan, Qinghai Province	Tibetan prayer flags, south of Tuotuo Heyan
Upper tributary of the Yangtze River, Qinghai Province	Qinghai-Tibet Railroad viaduct	High altitude section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad nearing the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region	Tibetan Plateau
Tiny settlement along the Tibet-Qinghai Railroad	Between Dri Chu and Tanggang Stations, Qinghai Province	Yanshiping, Qinghai Province (33.597N/92.069E	Tongtien He River, Qinghai Province
Yan Shi Ping, Qinghai Province (33.597N/92.069E)	A small bridge across the river with the Tibet Highway on the opposite bank	Nearing the border between Qinghai Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region	Tibetan tent with a man and a motorbike
Yakherder ,ear the Qinghai-Tibet border	Yak herder on the Tibetan plateau