About Xi'an
Xi'an, the capital city of Shanxi Province, is one of the oldest capitals for many dynasties of ancient China. It is also the eastern starting point of the Silk Road, and home to many UNESO world heritage attractions, such as the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Qin Shi Huang), the Terracotta Warriors, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and more. The City Wall, one of the best-preserved ancient walls in China, is still witnessing the changing Xi'an.
Terracotta Warriors
Travelling from Xi'an to Lhasa, is a culture-abundant experience, through which, you get to enjoy a combined trip composed of the four-thousand-year-old Chinese civilization and the equally fascinating and unique Tibetan civilization.
Compared with other gateway cities, Xi'an is within a relatively short distance from Tibet, either journey by air or train can be budget friendly and also fast. Hence many foreign travelers choose to take a flight or train into Tibet from Xi'an. Let's quickly run over the info on the transport and some travel guide to Xi'an.
Airports: Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (SIA) is located in Zhang Town, Xianyang City, 47 kilometers northwest of Xi'an City. It is one of the top 10 airports in China. Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is in Jiazhulin Town, Gonggar County, Shannan City, about 67 kilometers from the city center of Lhasa.
Airlines with direct flights: China Eastern Airlines; Tibet Airlines; Shenzhen Airlines; Shandong Airlines; Air China;
Duration: The fastest(direct) flight takes about 3 hours 20 minutes.
Ticket prices: The flights departing from Xi'an to Lhasa often come with very good airfare deals. The cheapest price can be only a few hundreds of Chinese yuan if you make your booking far in advance or in low season (winter months).
You may refer to Xi'an to Tibet Flights for more details (schedule and price).
Train Stations: There are three train stations in Xi'an, respectively Xi'an Railway Station, Xi'an North Railway Station, and Xi'an South Railway Station, among which Xi'an Railway Station is the one where you can embark on the two trains to Lhasa. There is only one railway station in Lhasa.
Trains and Frequency: Z265 and Z165 are the only two Xi'an-Lhasa trains, which originate from Guangzhou and Shanghai respectively, and stop at Xi'an daily. Z276 departs Xi'an at 09:45am and Z165 departs at 11:24am.
Duration: Z265 has a duration of 31 hours, while Z165 takes 32 hours.
Train Schedules:
| Train No.: Z265 | Cities/Towns | Depart | Arrive | Stopover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guangzhou | 11:45 | 11:45 | ---- |
| 2 | Chenzhou | 15:32 | 15:35 | 3m |
| 3 | Changsha | 19:08 | 19:16 | 8m |
| 4 | Wuchang | 22:34 | 22:54 | 20m |
| 5 | Zhengzhou | 3:33 | 3:40 | 7m |
| 6 | Xi'an | 9:36 | 9:45 | 9m |
| 7 | Lanzhou | 16:26 | 16:41 | 15m |
| 8 | Xining | 19:11 | 19:31 | 20m |
| 9 | Delingha | 23:33 | 23:35 | 2m |
| 10 | Golmud | 2:20 | 2:45 | 25m |
| 11 | Amdo | 10:54 | 10:58 | 4m |
| 12 | Nagqu | 12:17 | 12:35 | 18m |
| 13 | Lhasa | 16:45 | 16:45 | ---- |
| Train No.: Z165 | Cities/Towns | Depart | Arrive | Stopover |
| 1 | Shanghai | 20:08 | 20:08 | ---- |
| 2 | Suzhou | 20:54 | 20:58 | 4m |
| 3 | Wuxi | 21:20 | 21:24 | 4m |
| 4 | Nanjing | 22:54 | 23:01 | 7m |
| 5 | Bengbu | 0:33 | 0:39 | 6m |
| 6 | Xuzhou | 2:04 | 2:12 | 8m |
| 7 | Zhengzhou | 5:07 | 5:14 | 7m |
| 8 | Xi'an | 11:14 | 11:24 | 10m |
| 9 | Lanzhou | 18:17 | 18:34 | 17m |
| 10 | Xining | 21:07 | 21:27 | 20m |
| 11 | Delingha | 1:29 | 1:31 | 2m |
| 12 | Golmud | 4:15 | 4:40 | 25m |
| 13 | Amdo | 12:38 | 12:42 | 4m |
| 14 | Nagqu | 14:24 | 14:33 | 9m |
| 15 | Lhasa | 19:35 | 19:35 | ---- |
Note: Both Z265 and Z165 would have a 20-minute stopover at Xining Railway Station. Sometimes all the passengers to Lhasa need to get off with all the luggage, follow the instruction of the conductors and embark the peculiar Qinghai-Tibet train, which is equipped with oxygen supply. The seat or sleeper information on the new train remains the same with the previous one.
Ticket Price
| Ticket Types | Soft Sleeper | Hard Sleeper | Hard Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket Prices | 969.5 RMB | 611.5 RMB | 293.5 RMB |
You can book your train ticket online by yourself or with help from us. With the booking reference number, you can collect the real ticket at the counter of the train station ticket office. When collecting the ticket, you need to show the staff your Tibet Travel Permit in addition to your passport.
You may refer to Xi'an to Tibet Train for more details.
Your passport, a valid Chinese visa, and a Tibet Travel Permit (issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau) are the three mandatory documents needed for collecting the train tickets purchased online, check-in at the train station or airport and embarking the train or plane.
Tibet Travel Permit
The Ancient City Wall circuits the city, with the top of it accessible by pedestrians and cyclists. By walking, it takes about 3 hours to see the entirety. By cycling, it needs just 1 hour. Hiring a bike and pedaling around allows you to stop and see the ancient wall and resume anytime at your own pace, meanwhile also being physically friendly.
Terracotta Warriors is the highlight of Xi'an culture trip. But it can be exhausting because of the overcrowding due to the popularity. Therefore, if you don't like too many people, we suggest that you visit it on the early mornings of weekdays rather than weekends.
Shaanxi Provincial History Museum is free for all kinds of visitors. However, there are only a limited amount of 4,000 visitors allowed daily. Though you don't need to pay for a ticket, you do need to present your ID or passport at the ticket office to get a real visitor ticket to enter the museum.
The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower are also great places to admire the architecture of ancient China. They are both located in the city center and can be landmark buildings while you are wandering around.
The Great Wild Goose Pagoda is situated within the Great Ci'en Temple, in the south of Xi'an city. It was built in AD 652, in Tang Dynasty. The construction of the Pagoda was for storing the Buddhism scriptures, Buddha statues brought back to Changan(the then called Xi'an), by the respectable Buddhist scholar Xuanzang from India.
Food: Huimin Street is laden with snack stalls. It's very famous among tourists and can be very crowded. If you want to eat where the locals go, you can go to Xiaodongmen Street, where the Yongxing Food Lane is located. Xi'an cuisine features wheat products and often serves in generous portion. Hot noodle soup, cold rice noodle, Rougamo(Chinese hamburger), juicy steamed buns, Many dishes and snacks are made of mutton and beef, as Xi'an is home to a large amount of Muslims.
Below are some Xi'an to Tibet Tours you may be interested in:
7 Days Xi'an and Lhasa Highlights Tour
8 Days Xi'an to Tibet Train Tour
10 Days Xi'an & Tibet to Nepal Overland Tour
11 Days Xi'an Lhasa Everest Expedition Tour
