Short answer
The Shanghai to Lhasa train — Z164/Z165 in the current timetable — is the longest of the Tibet services at 4,373 km, and it takes roughly 44.5 to 47.5 hours depending on the edition and stop pattern. Sources disagree on the exact departure and arrival clock times, so treat the schedule as evening departure, afternoon arrival two days later, and confirm your own date on 12306.
Published fares are about ¥793.5 for a hard sleeper and ¥1,262.5 for a soft sleeper. There is no high-speed option: the through service is a Z-class plateau train, and everything from Golmud onwards runs slowly and deliberately because of the gradient and the altitude.
Two things decide whether this trip works: a Tibet Travel Permit arranged in advance through a licensed agency, and two nights of sleeper comfort you are willing to pay for. Book the berth inside the 12306 pre-sale window, which has been around 15 days, and read the ticketing guide before you start.
The train and the 4,373 km route
Z164 leaves Shanghai in the evening and runs west across the eastern provinces, picking up Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Xi'an and Lanzhou before it reaches Xining at the edge of the plateau. From Xining the character of the journey changes: Delingha, then Golmud at the foot of the mountains, then the long climb over the Tanggula range and the descent into Lhasa.
Stop patterns shift between timetable editions, so read the stop list attached to your own departure rather than assuming the sequence above. What does not change is the shape of the trip: one night in the flatlands, one night on the plateau.
| Journey facts | Detail |
|---|---|
| Train | Z164/Z165 (published number; the return runs as Z163/Z166) |
| Departs | Shanghai Railway Station (上海站), evening |
| Arrives | Lhasa Railway Station (拉萨站), afternoon of the second day after departure |
| Duration | About 44h 30m – 47h 30m |
| Distance | 4,373 km |
| Frequency | Daily |
| Nights on board | Two |
Sleeper classes and fares
There is no second class and no business class on this train. The choice is between sleeper classes, plus a hard seat nobody should buy for two days.
| Class | Typical fare | Berths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft sleeper (软卧) | About ¥1,262.5 | 4 per compartment, with a door | Two upper and two lower berths, closing door, quietest option. The right buy for two nights. |
| Hard sleeper (硬卧) | About ¥793.5 | 6 per compartment, open | Two upper, two middle, two lower. Middle berths are the least comfortable and the cheapest. |
| Hard seat (硬座) | Cheapest | — | Upright seating for roughly two days. Not a realistic choice on this route. |
Berth position changes the price within each class — lower berths cost more than upper ones — and fares are revised with timetable changes, so treat these as published reference figures and check live prices on 12306. The seat classes guide covers how the Chinese class names map onto what you actually get.
The permit, which is not a ticket
Foreign passport holders need a Tibet Travel Permit to enter the region, and it is issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau through a licensed travel agency — not by China Railway. The agency also arranges your guide and itinerary, and for travel beyond Lhasa the additional permits are tied to that itinerary.
This is why most foreign travellers book the train through an agency rather than 12306: the permit and the berth have to be lined up together, and agencies hold allocations on the plateau trains. The train ticket itself still appears on 12306 if you prefer to book it directly, but nothing about the permit changes if you do.
Booking, step by step
- Decide the date before anything elseThere is one departure a day, and the return is also one a day. A two-day journey on a single daily service leaves almost no room to improvise.
- Register and verify on 12306Passport verification for a 12306 account normally clears quickly, but a failed check blocks booking. The 12306 in English walkthrough covers the steps.
- Add a passenger recordThe name must match the machine-readable zone of your passport exactly, including middle names. Permit, ticket and passport have to agree; a mismatch is what stops people at the gate.
- Pay through Alipay or WeChat Pay12306 does not take foreign bank cards directly. Both wallets accept foreign-issued cards after passport verification.
- Book into the pre-sale windowThe window has been around 15 days. Tibet sleepers are the scarcest berths on the network, so book the day the window opens for your date, not the week after.
- Arrange the permit in parallelUse a licensed agency and confirm that your permit names the entry point you are actually arriving at. If you board at Xining rather than Shanghai, that has to be reflected in the paperwork.
Altitude, oxygen and what the second day feels like
Most of the route runs at ordinary elevations. The serious climbing starts after Golmud, crossing the Tanggula Pass above 5,000 m before the descent to Lhasa at roughly 3,650 m. Carriages on the plateau trains are sealed and pressure-controlled, with oxygen available at the berth, and there is a doctor on board.
Gradual ascent is the reason to take the train rather than fly. It is not acclimatisation on its own — Lhasa still hits plenty of people on day one — but arriving by rail means the change is spread over a day rather than an hour. Take the first afternoon in Lhasa slowly, drink more water than feels necessary, and skip alcohol for the first night.
Shortening the trip at Xining
Two nights on a train is a lot for some travellers, and the standard workaround is to cut out the flatlands. Fly or take a high-speed train from Shanghai to Xining, spend a night there at around 2,200 m, then board a plateau train for the single overnight run into Lhasa. The high-altitude scenery is all on the Golmud–Lhasa section, so you give up very little and save roughly a day.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the train from Shanghai to Lhasa?
About two days. Published journey times run from roughly 44 hours 30 minutes to 47 hours 30 minutes depending on the edition and the stop pattern, over a distance of 4,373 km — the longest of the Tibet trains. That means two nights on board, leaving Shanghai in the evening and reaching Lhasa in the afternoon of the second day after departure.
Is there a high-speed train from Shanghai to Lhasa?
No. There is no high-speed line into Tibet, and the through service is a Z-class plateau train. High-speed rail gets you as far as Xining or Chengdu; from there the plateau railway is conventional and slow by design, because of the altitude and gradient.
Do I need a Tibet Travel Permit for this train?
Yes. Foreign passport holders need a Tibet Travel Permit, arranged by a licensed Tibet travel agency together with your guide and itinerary. The agency needs a passport scan and your China visa details and issues the permit shortly before travel. The permit is checked on the train and on arrival, so keep a copy with your passport.
How much does the Shanghai to Lhasa train cost?
Published fares are around ¥793.5 for a hard sleeper and around ¥1,262.5 for a soft sleeper, with a cheaper hard seat option. Prices vary by berth position and change with timetable revisions, so confirm the current figure on 12306, and expect an agency package price to add the permit and guide arrangements on top.
Which Shanghai station does the Lhasa train leave from?
Shanghai Railway Station (上海站) in the city centre is the departure point in the published timetable; Shanghai Hongqiao handles high-speed services and is not where the Lhasa train starts. Read the Chinese station name on your booking, since a taxi to the wrong Shanghai station is an expensive way to miss a once-daily train.
Is there oxygen on board and should I worry about the altitude?
The carriages are sealed and pressure-controlled and oxygen is available at the berth. The high section is the last stretch, crossing the Tanggula Pass above 5,000 m before descending to Lhasa at roughly 3,650 m. Mild headaches and breathlessness are common on arrival; plan a quiet first day.
Should I take the Shanghai train or fly?
The flight takes a few hours and the train takes about two days. Flying in also drops you straight into 3,650 m, which many people feel badly. The train ascends gradually while you sleep, which is the main argument for it, along with the Golmud to Lhasa scenery.
Can I break the journey at Xining?
Yes, and it is a common way to shorten the trip. Take a flight or a high-speed train from Shanghai to Xining, spend a night at around 2,200 m, then board a plateau train for a single overnight run to Lhasa. Confirm with your agency that the permit covers boarding at Xining.
Is a soft sleeper worth the extra money?
On a two-night trip, usually yes. The difference between a hard sleeper at around ¥793.5 and a soft sleeper at around ¥1,262.5 buys four berths in a compartment with a door instead of six in an open section, which matters much more after 40 hours than it does on a short overnight hop.
What should I bring on board?
Food you actually want to eat, a refillable water bottle, a power bank and a universal adaptor, and earplugs. Z-class trains have a dining car and hot water taps at the end of each carriage, but card payment on board is unreliable, so carry cash in small notes.
Related reading
If you are still planning the eastern half of the trip, the short hop between Shanghai and Hangzhou is covered in our Shanghai to Hangzhou train guide.
Compiled from published timetable data for the Shanghai–Lhasa plateau service (Z164/Z165), several independent Tibet rail guides covering fares, journey times, stop lists and berth layouts, and 12306 booking documentation, cross-checked 30 September 2026. Sources disagree on the departure and arrival clock times (18:33 to 20:08 at the Shanghai end) and give journey times from 44h 32m to 47h 27m; both spreads are shown rather than averaged, and the fares quoted are the published reference figures. Timetables, fares and permit rules are set by China Railway and the Tibet Tourism Bureau and change — confirm your own journey on the 12306 app and with a licensed Tibet travel agency before relying on any figure here.