Qinghai-Tibet Railroad (Tibet Portion)

Map showing the area around Mount Tanggula (6070 m) on the border between Qinghai Province and Tibet Autonomous Region	Tibetan plateau along the Qinghai-Tibet border	Tanggula Mountains, Qinghai-Tibet border region	Tanggula Mountains, Qinghai-Tibet border region
Tibetan Plateau from the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Snowy and desolate Tibetan Plateau	Soon after the Qinghai-Tibet border, the clouds partially cleared	Isolated settlement along the railroad (N32.722/E91.518) near Zhajiazangbu Railway
A tributary flows to join the Za'gya Zangbo River	Za'gya Zangbo, a large river in northern Tibet	Za'gya Zangbo, a large river in northern Tibet	The railroad crossing a dirt road, northern Tibet
Crossing the Zhajiazangbu River (Tsagya Tsangpo, Za'gya Zangbo)	Zhajiazangbu River (Tsagya Tsangpo, Za'gya Zangbo)	Zhajiazangbu River (Tsagya Tsangpo, Za'gya Zangbo)	Zhajiazangbu River (Tsagya Tsangpo, Za'gya Zangbo)
Shallow streams and rivers criss-crossing a desolate snowy plain (N32.512/E91.532)	A narrow dirt road following the railroad tracks	Passing Tuoju (U-nyok Chu) Station - km 1499	Mountain at N32.381/E91.596, 15 km north of Amdo, but 25 km following the tracks
Bend in the tracks, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Road bridge between Tuoju and Amdo	Mountain at N32.381/E91.596	Occasionally I spotted wildlife but they were difficult to photograph
A dusting of snow on the hillside	Snow covered mountain along the railroad	Tibetan plateau between Tuoju and Amdo	Dirt road and drainage gutter beside the tracks
Looking back at the big bend south of Tuoju Station	Snow cover increases as the train climbs over higher terrain	Fences line the railroad tracks for much of the way	Rugged terrain 10 km outside Amdo
Nearing Amdo from the north	Amdo sits on a plain surrounded by mountains	Amdo sits on a plain surrounded by mountains	Cuona Lake (4595m - N32.02/E91.51)
Cuo Na Hu (Cnona Lake) Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Sign in Chinese and Tibetan at Cuo Na Hu Station, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Dark cloud building beyond Cuonaho Lake, Tibet	Cuonahu Lake, Tibet - km 1553 on the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad
Prayer flags on the shore of Cuonahu Lake, Tibet	Cuonaho Lake, Tibet	Tibet Highway crossing a river (N31.805/E91.546) near Liantonghe Station	Tributary of the Nu Jiang River which becomes the Salween River in Burma
Industrial plant near Gang Xiu station	Communications towers at each of the stations provides near continuous mobile phone coverage	Gang Xiu Station, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad km 1632	Tibetan Plateau between Gangxiu and Nagchu
Qinghai Tibet Railroad - tracks	Outskirts of Nagchu, Tibet	The first large town in Tibet, Nagchu, in the distance	Nagchu, Tibet
Arriving at Nagchu, Tibet	Construction on the outskirts of Nagchu, Tibet	Warehouses under construction, Nagchu, Tibet	Freight terminal at Nagchu, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad
Freight terminal at Nagchu, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Nagchu Tibet	Nagchu, Tibet	Chinese soldiers in formation, Nagchu, Tibet
Na Qu Station (4513m) km 1650 - the highest station on the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Na Qu Station, Nagchu, Tibet	Imposing building in Nagchu, Tibet	Nagchu Station
Qinghai-Tibet Railroad conductor	Train at the platform at Na Qu Station	Chinese officer on the platform of Na Qu Station	Nagchu, Tibet
Construction yard outside Nagchu, Tibet	Gu Lu, Tibet km 1735, Qinghai-Tibet Railroad (N30.829/E91.622)	Tributaries of the Lhasa River which will eventually flow to the Brahmaputra	Crossing another small river between Gu Lu and Damshung, Tibet
"Mount Hawk", Nyainqentanglha Range, Tibet	Nyainqentanglha means "God of the Grassland" in Tibetan	Vast plain in front of the Nyainqentanglha Range of mountains	"Mount Hawk", Nyainqentanglha Range, Tibet
Qinghai-Tibet Highway along the Nyainqentanglha Range, Tibet	Odd earthen mounds, perhaps a cemetary?	As the train heads farther south, the land gets greener and more populated	Tibetan house with a grazing yak
Qinghai-Tibet Highway, this section still unpaved	Each traditional Tibetan house in this area has its own enclosure	Tented camp along the railroad	Nyainqentanglha Range and grassland, Tibet
Nyainqentanglha Range and grassland, Tibet	Tibetan house with grazing livestock on the surrounding grasslands	The rivers and streams of this valley will eventually end up in the Brahmaputra River	N30.646/E91.537
Nyainqentanglha Range and grassland, Tibet	Tibetan nomad tents with grazing yaks	Vast grazing lands at the base of the Nyainqentanglha Range	Green grass covered hills
Tibetan nomad tent along the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Nyainqentanglha Range and grassland, Tibet	Valley between Gulog and Dangxiong, Tibet	Sturdy rural Tibetan dwelling on the edge of the vast plain
Tibetan house with enclosure outside Dangxiong	Tibetan house with enclosure outside Dangxiong	Tibetan house with enclosure outside Dangxiong	Qinghai-Tibet Highway, paved in this area
Tibetan house with the Nyainqentanglha Range and its fertile grasslands	Herd of yak on the grasslands along the railroad	Green marking the route of a stream across the vast plain between Wumatang and Dangxiong, Tibet	Nyainqentanglha - "God of the Grasslands"
Wetlands outside Dangxiong with the Nyainqentanglha Range, Tibet	The paved Qinghai-Tibet Highway paralleling the railroad	The paved Qinghai-Tibet Highway entering Dangxiong	Entering Dangxiong, Tibet
Storage tanks built into the mountainside, Dangxiong (N30.479/E91.116)	Dangxiong (Damshung) Tibet	Dangxiong (Damshung, Damxung) 4361m (14,310ft)	Dangxiong (Damshung) km 1808 Qinghai-Tibet Railroad
Petro station, Dangxiong (N30.468/E91.088)	Around 100 miles outside of Lhasa	Outskirts of Dangxiong, Tibet	Tributary of the Lhasa River
Tributary of the Lhasa River south of Dangxiong, Tibet, with the Nyainqentanglha Range	This valley is around 100 km long, stretching from near Gu Lu well past Dangxiong	The first Tibetan monastery I've spotted (N30.443/E91.041)	Hillside monastery above Dangxiong (Damshung)
Railroad viaduct outside Dangxiong (N30.455/E91.060) Tibet	Mountains southwest of Dangxiong, Tibet	Tributary of the Lhasa River	Village lying in a valley south of the railroad at N30.422/E91.025
Between Dangxiong and Daqiongguo	Tibetan house between the railroad and the highway	Livestock grazing the fertile grasslands	River passing through the flat grasslands
River alongside the railroad tracks	Nyainqentanghla Shan range	Road along the Nyainqentanghla Shan	Snowy mountains in the Nyainqentanghla Shan range
Clouds rising about the mountains	Pastureland at the base of the Nyainqentanghla Shan range	Stone livestock enclosure on the valley floor	Nyainqentanghla Shan range
Clouds on the snow covered peak	Nyainqentanghla Shan mountain range northwest of Lhasa	Tibetan nomad tent	Mount Nyainqentanghla (7162m)
Mount Nyainqentanghla (7162m)	Mount Nyainqentanghla (7162m)	Leaving the grassland plain behind us for the final push to Lhasa	Tibetan pilgrim prostrating himself along the pilgrim route to Lhasa
The mountains close in from both sides of the railroad now	Village a short distance outside Yang Ba Jing (Yangpachen) Tibet	There are large mountains on the other side of the river as well	Tibetan tents outside Yangpachen
The ruins of a mudbrick fort outside Yangpachen	The tower looks small against the mountain	Qinghai-Tibet Railroad, 24 hours since departing Xining	Yang Ba Jing (Yangpachen) looking southeast towards Lhasa, less than an hour away
Yang Ba Jing (Yangpachen, Yangbajain) km 1881 on the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad	Mount Nyainqentanglha rising 7162m to the north of Yang Ba Jing	Yang Ba Jing (Yangpachen, Yangbajain) N30.086/E90.549	The sun is starting to set casting shadows against the mountains
Crossing the Lhasa River railway bridge	Pulling into Lhasa Station 25 hours after departing Xining. Long, but worth while	Trains serve Lhasa from Beijing West, Guangzhou, and Xian	Outside Lhasa Station looking for the guide
Lhasa Railway Station