Lhasa Railway Station
Lhasa Railway Station serves Lhasa, Tibet. Conventional services, opened 2006.
Station name and what to look for
| Chinese name | 拉萨站 |
| Pinyin | Lasa Zhan |
| English name | Lhasa Railway Station |
| City / province | Lhasa, Tibet |
| Train types | Conventional services |
| Main lines | Qinghai–Tibet railway, terminus of the line from Xining and Golmud |
| Opened | 2006 |
Match the Chinese characters on your ticket to the characters above. English translations of Chinese station names vary between booking sites, but the Chinese name is the same everywhere.
About the station
Lhasa station opened with the completion of the Qinghai–Tibet railway in 2006 and is the terminus for trains from Xining, Golmud, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The building sits in the Liuwu area south-west of the old city, with the river between it and the Potala Palace.
At about 3,650 m this is a high-altitude arrival, and the station is designed around that: the walk from the platform to the exit is short, and there is nowhere to rush to. Take it slowly for the first hour and drink water.
The station is roughly 8 km from the Barkhor and the old town. It is not a walk you want to do with luggage on your first afternoon at altitude.
Getting to and from Lhasa
Taxis and buses connect the station to the city centre. There is no metro in Lhasa. Agree the fare before departure or insist on the meter.
Many travellers arrive on a tour arrangement that includes a pickup, largely because Tibet travel requires a permit and an organised host. If you are travelling independently, confirm in advance how you will get from the station to your accommodation.
What catches travellers out here
- A Tibet permit is required to enter the region and is arranged in advance through an approved travel operator, not at the station or on arrival. Boarding a Lhasa-bound train without the correct documents is not permitted.
- Altitude is the thing that shapes your first two days, not the sightseeing. Plan a light first day, and do not book a dawn start for the morning after you arrive.
- Facilities and English signage at the station are adequate but thinner than at mainland high-speed hubs. Having your hotel name and address written in Chinese is genuinely useful here.
Other station guides in Tibet
Before you travel
Tickets are issued against your passport and there is no paper ticket to collect for most domestic services. Read the booking guide if this is your first Chinese train, or the seat class guide if you are choosing between a hard sleeper and a soft sleeper. For the station itself, the general station guide explains how gates and boarding work at any Chinese station.
Station details are compiled from published railway information and are checked periodically. Facilities, station layouts and access arrangements can change — confirm anything critical locally before you travel.