[Enter Tibet by Z322 Train] Chengdu to Tibet Lhasa Classic 7-Day Train Tour

Welcome to Chengdu, the hometown of the giant panda. Our driver will meet you at the airport or train station exit and escort you to your hotel to check in and rest. You can arrange the remaining time freely. If you are tired, you can rest at the hotel to relieve the fatigue of the journey. If there is still time, you can also stroll around the area, or consult your guide for travel suggestions based on your time and interests. Suggested ways to arrive 1. By plane: Chengdu has two airports—Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU) and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)—with many direct domestic routes, such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Guilin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Lhasa, Chongqing, Wuhan, Guiyang, Xiamen, etc., as well as direct international routes, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, etc., making transportation very convenient. 2. By train: Chengdu has four railway stations in total. You can take a high-speed train to Chengdu from cities such as Beijing (7–11 hours), Xi'an (3–4 hours), Chongqing (1.5–2 hours), Shanghai (12.5–14.5 hours), Kunming (6–6.5 hours), and Guiyang (3.5–4.5 hours).

After breakfast, you will drive about 17 kilometers to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the northern suburbs of Chengdu to see China's adorable national treasure, the giant panda, and learn about their habits and conservation. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, or Chengdu Panda Base for short, houses more than 100 giant pandas, making it the base with the largest number of captive giant pandas in the world. Here, you can see giant pandas of different ages playing, eating, climbing hills, climbing trees, sleeping, and other cute and interesting scenes in the park, and you can also follow your guide to visit the Panda Museum to learn more stories about pandas. In addition, if you visit in autumn, you may also have the chance to see adorable giant panda cubs in the Moon Nursery and Sun Nursery. Moreover, the famous Chinese panda star Huahua lives here, known for her cute appearance and unique personality, and is called a "top female celebrity." (Note: Giant pandas prefer cool weather and are more active in the morning, so it is recommended to arrive early to see more natural panda behavior.) Then, head to People's Park, praised as one of the most beautiful parks in Chengdu, to experience the leisurely Chengdu culture up close and the slow life of the locals. Here, you can order a cup of fragrant covered-bowl tea in a century-old teahouse, sit on bamboo chairs with a few friends and chat leisurely, experience the intangible cultural heritage of ear cleaning and enjoy the tingling "little comfort" that rushes straight to your head, or watch the exciting local mahjong games and stroll through the famous matchmaking corner. Afterwards, you can leisurely stroll through Kuanzhai Alley, praised as one of the "Top Ten Most Beautiful Streets in Sichuan," to experience Chengdu's relaxed life, enjoy a wonderful Sichuan opera face-changing performance, take great photos, admire the exquisite distinctive architecture, and taste authentic old Chengdu cuisine. (Optional activity: You can try local spicy dishes such as chuanchuan and dandan noodles, and you can even try one of Chengdu's most iconic specialty foods—spicy rabbit head!) After the tour, we will take you to Chengdu West Railway Station to board train Z322 to Lhasa. The train departs at 20:53 in the evening and arrives in Lhasa at 07:24 on the third day, with a total duration of 34 hours and 31 minutes.

After traveling overnight, the train has already left Sichuan and entered Gansu. Throughout the day today, the train will mainly travel through the Lanzhou to Golmud section. Through the window, you can see the vast northwestern loess plateau landscape, the winding Yellow River, the beautiful and expansive Qinghai Lake, as well as grasslands, salt lakes, the Gobi, high mountains, deserts, and other stunning plateau scenery.

Tashi Delek! Welcome to the City of Sunlight - Lhasa. Upon arrival, our driver will meet you at the airport or train station exit and transfer you to your hotel in downtown Lhasa for check-in and rest. For the remaining time, you can rest well at the hotel and let your body slowly adapt to the high-altitude environment. Warm tips: Do not do strenuous exercise on the day of arrival in Lhasa, and do not take a shower that night to prevent catching a cold. Do not drink alcohol. Drink more water and eat fruit, and avoid overeating. Rest more. You may bring your own American ginseng lozenges or health supplements such as Rhodiola and Gao Yuan An to relieve altitude sickness. Follow the guide's arrangements, try not to go out for activities, and maintaining a calm mindset and adequate rest is the best way to prevent altitude sickness. If you feel unwell, seek treatment at a hospital promptly.

After breakfast, head to visit the holy site in the hearts of Tibetan Buddhist followers - Jokhang Temple. [Jokhang Temple] was first built in 647 AD and has a history of 1,350 years. It is the most magnificent surviving Tubo-period building in Tibet, with a total of 5 golden roofs and 108 Buddhist halls. Here, you can see the world's rare life-size statue of Shakyamuni at age 12 and devout pilgrims worshipping in front of Jokhang Temple. In the afternoon, drive about 30 kilometers (50 minutes) to visit Sera Monastery, one of the three major monasteries in Lhasa. [Sera Monastery] is also one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is solemn and sacred. At Sera Monastery, you can watch the famous debate sessions, which generally start at 15:00 (except Sundays). During the debates, the monks in the courtyard engage in heated discussions, and you can truly feel the faith and power of Tibetan Buddhism. Finally, return to downtown Lhasa and visit [Barkhor Street]. This is not only the route for local kora rituals, but also a very lively ancient commercial street. Here you can encounter locals wearing Tibetan robes and devout pilgrims, stroll through the alleys and browse handicraft shops, or find a sweet tea house and learn from Tibetan friends their tranquility and contentment.

After breakfast, head to visit the world's highest ancient palace-style architectural complex - Potala Palace. [Potala Palace] is located on Mabur Ri in the northwest of downtown Lhasa. It is a magnificent building integrating palace, castle, and monastery, and is also the largest and most complete ancient palace-style architectural complex in Tibet. The Potala Palace is built against the mountain, with 13 floors in total, 117.19 meters high, and more than 400 meters long from east to west. You will climb up the long stairs of the Potala Palace step by step, overlooking Lhasa along the way and taking in the grandeur of the city. Take photos and rest as you go, then enter the Potala Palace to explore this mysterious and ancient palace with very few images shown online. Afterwards, drive about 12 kilometers (35 minutes) to visit [Drepung Monastery], one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is built layer by layer along the mountain terrain and is grand in scale. The complex of white walls and red eaves looks especially peaceful and serene under the sunlight. After entering the monastery, you can visit important buildings such as the Tsokchen Assembly Hall, Ganden Phodrang, and the four major colleges in turn to learn about Tibetan Buddhist culture. You can also go to the debate courtyard to watch monks debate Buddhist teachings (around 14:00), or stroll within the monastery and seek inner peace. In addition, around August each year, a grand thangka unveiling ceremony is held here, which is the famous Shoton Festival.

Today concludes this wonderful 7-day train journey from Chengdu to Lhasa, Tibet. Our driver will, according to the agreed time, transfer you in advance to Lhasa Airport or Railway Station for your next destination. If you would like to extend this trip and explore more destinations in Tibet, such as Shigatse Everest, Yamdrok Lake, Namtso, Nyingchi, Ali Mount Kailash, and other places, you can also contact our customer service to arrange them for you. We look forward to welcoming you again someday in the future.