As the train pulled out of Beijing’s huge West Station to the strains of Auld
Lang Syne, the excitement among the 800 or so passengers was palpable.
We were at the start of a 48-hour journey that would inaugurate one of
China’s great engineering feats — a railway to the Roof of the World.
First things first. Having installed my luggage on the bottom bunk in my
six-person hard sleeper compartment, it was time to inspect the facilities.
How were the loos? Shiny steel squat facilities, as in every other train in
China. So nothing special then on the first train to Lhasa, capital of the
Himalayan region of Tibet.
Since departure time was 9.30pm, the restaurant car was not serving food. But
it didn’t take long to discover that, even at that late hour, beer was
available for a price. Entertainment was limited to recorded announcements —
in Mandarin and English — about the achievement that is the train, Tibet and
its traditions and protection of the environment. I returned to my bunk and
was soon tucked up between clean white sheets and nodded off to sleep. But
sharing a tiny compartment, without a door, with five other people and the
rattle of the breakfast trolley up and down the train to feed several
hundred passengers made dozing beyond 7am impossible.
The food could not be described as the high point of the journey. Rice,
pickles, a boiled egg and a preserved egg along with a chunk of sweetish
bread and a box of sugary orange juice constituted breakfast.
Looking out at the scenery as the train trundled across the plains of central
China soon palled. The towns that we flashed through offered a monotonous
array of concrete blocks, chimney stacks and factory compounds.
Only lunch — another tray with rice, stir-fried vegetables, a couple of
chicken wings and some pork in a brown sauce — enlivened the day. But anyone
coming on this journey isn’t there for the food.
Before the Government found a couple of billion pounds and some very
innovative engineers, the railway used to end, abruptly, on the outskirts of
the town of Golmud in Qinghai province. Now, built over treacherous
permafrost, the highest railroad on Earth snakes its way all the way to
Lhasa. It’s a construction feat that few, even in China, believed could ever
be achieved. It seems destined to become one of the world’s legendary train
journeys.
Just before dawn, the express ground to a halt with a squeal of brakes in
Golmud. Passengers scrambled into down jackets and disgorged on to the
platform. The green engine typical of all other Chinese trains, which had
pulled us almost 3,000km (1,750 miles) across China, was decoupled. Out of
the gloom appeared three gleaming white locomotives, built in the United
States and each of 3,800hp. Engineers have assessed that this is the only
way to generate the power necessary to pull the 16 carriages up to the high
Tibetan plateau where the thin air stretches the capacity of both man and
locomotive.
Within minutes, Golmud and the plains had disappeared. The restaurant car with
its picture windows offered the ideal place from which to view our progress.
Vast vistas opened up on both sides. Empty grassland was bordered by hills
purple in the morning shadows. In the distance there were glimpses of
snow-capped peaks. Then the train began to climb. The locomotives pulled
their charges up the railway equivalent of hairpin bends. Looking back down
the valley it was clear how rapidly we were gaining altitude when we could
look down on bridges crossed just minutes earlier.
Smoking was forbidden after Golmud as oxygen began to pump through the
carriages to help passengers to breathe as we climbed. Outside the window,
trucks and cars dotted the road that for decades had been the only route
from Golmud to Lhasa and now wound parallel to the train.
The wildlife was unexpected. Herd after herd of yaks. These burly, hairy
beasts with fearsome horns broke away into a delicate prancing trot as the
train clattered by. Elegant little gazelle grazed a mere stone’s throw from
the line and as we gained height the numbers increased. A sighting of the
endangered Tibetan antelope would have been a treat, but was not to be.
However, rare wild asses galloped away in the distance as we neared the
highest point of our journey: the Tangula Pass.
By this stage some passengers needed the additional oxygen outlets with which
each seat is fitted. Some said they felt faint and queasy as they sat with
oxygen tubes clipped to their nostrils. A hit of the oxygen seemed to help a
little. But I found the altitude exhilarating rather than exhausting. I even
found space for a little tray of lunch, delivered with a grin by the waiter
who pointed to the ribs and said: “Yak. That’s all we can get here.”
The altitude made it impossible to boil water, so instead of rice for lunch,
we had steamed bread rolls that had been loaded on to the train at Golmud.
And the American locomotives were so efficient that we reached Lhasa with an
hour to spare. It’s a city where every extra hour is a joy. To trail the
stream of pilgrims circling Tibet’s holy of holies, the Jokhang Temple, is
to feel a depth of religious faith that has endured for centuries, surviving
appalling persecution.
All trains are now travelling at full capacity, and China is urging its
people, who could never before afford the air fare to Lhasa, to be patient
and delay their trip until next year. With 3,000 tourists streaming off the
trains each day, it seems Lhasa is best visited sooner rather than later —
before the flood of Chinese travellers changes this Himalayan eyrie for
ever.
Need to know
Getting there: GW Travel (0161-928 9410, www.gwtravel.co.uk)
has a ten-day rail journey from Beijing to Lhasa, including the Roof of the
World, leaving on September 21, 2007. From £2,995 (flights not included).
Great Rail Journeys (01904 521980, www.greatrail.com) is finalising a new
19-day escorted tour for early August 2007. In Search of Shangri-La will
start in Shanghai and include the Roof of the World and a stay in Lhasa.
From about £4,500, flights included.
Audley Travel (01869 276217, www.audleytravel.com) is planning a two-week
group tour to Tibet, including a trip on the Lhasa Express next October.
From about £2,500 (flights not included).
Useful website: www.chinatibettrain.com.
