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The Tibetan Plateau, also known Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (青藏高原) or Himalayan Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau in South Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region, most of Qinghai, Northwestern Yunnan, Western half of Sichuan, Southern Gansu provinces and Southern Xinjiang within China, and small parts of India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Guided trip at a glance
Country: People's Republic of China
Period: 11 Apr to 20 Apr 2012
Flight timings:
- 11 Apr: MU 5094, SIN–XIY, ETD 0300 ETA 0940
12 Apr: MU 2279, XIY–XNN, ETD 0745 ETA 0905
19 Apr: MU 2336, LXA–XIY, ETD 1530 ETA 1810
20 Apr: MU 5093, XIY–SIN, ETD 1850 ETA 0200 (21 Apr)
- 13 Apr: K917, Xi Ning to Lhasa, ETD 1504 ETA 1450 (14 Apr)
- Orient Hotel Xi'an - 西安东方大酒店 (11 to 12 Apr)
Xiadu Qinghai-Tibetan Mansion - 夏都青藏大厦 (12 to 13 Apr)
Jiangsu Shengtaiyuan Hotel - 江苏生态园酒店 (14 to 17 Apr)
YangTse Hotel - 陽孜飯店 (17 to 18 Apr)
Jiangsu Shengtaiyuan Hotel - 江苏生态园酒店 (18 to 19 Apr)
Orient Hotel Xi'an - 西安东方大酒店 (19 to 20 Apr)
Here's the overview of the trip itinerary:
Day 1 – Midnight flight MU 5094 to Xi'an (西安) via Kunming. After checked in to Orient Hotel Xi'an, took a "Terracotta Army" tour. Had dinner at one of the eateries near the hotel.
Day 2 – Took domestic flight MU 2279 to Xining (西宁). Upon arrival, proceeded to tour Qinghai Lake. Checked in to Xiadu Qinghai-Tibetan Mansion.
Day 3 – Visited the Great Mosque and Kumbum Monastery in Xining. Boarded sightseeing over-night train K917 from Xining West station to Lhasa.
Day 4 – Reached Lhasa (拉萨) after 25 hours on train. Checked in to Jiangsu Shengtaiyuan Hotel. After which, no visit to any attractions but we were allowed to acclimatize to the local altitude.
Day 5 – Visited Potala Palace and Tibet Museum.
Day 6 – Traveled about 100-km from Lhasa to Yangpachen geothermal area, then back to Lhasa and visited Jokhang Temple and Barkhor. Watched a "Happiness on the Way" performance in the evening. Took pictures of Potala Palace at night.
Day 7 – Traveled about 110-km from Lhasa to Yamdroktso and took photo of Nojin Kangtsang Glacier. Visited Kumbum Monastery at Gyantse (江孜). Finally reached Shigatse (日喀则) and visited Tashilunpo Monastery. After which checked in YangTse Hotel.
Day 8 – Traveled back to Lhasa along Yarlong Tseangpo River. Checked in to Jiangsu Shengtaiyuan Hotel, again.
Day 9 – Traveled 70-km to Gonggar Airport and boarded domestic flight MU 2336 back to Xi'an. Checked in to Orient Hotel Xi'an, again.
Day 10 – Explored the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Muslim Quarter and Drum and Bell Towers. Took flight MU 5093 back to Singapore.
Kunming Wujiaba International Airport (昆明巫家坝国际机场)
The Kunming Wujiaba International Airport was the main airport serving Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. The airport is located 4-km southeast from the city center.
This airport only served as a connecting airport between our flights from Singapore to Xi'an. Its departure hall was rather huge and I was kind of lost but to follow the crowd to the next boarding gate (photos below).
Airside transfer bus was provided to shuttle us from the airport terminal to the aircraft (photos below). These airside transfer bus usually are fitted with minimal seating to allow a majority of passengers to stand during the journey.
Almost two months later after our arrival and departure, the Kunming Wujiaba International Airport was decommissioned on 28 Jun 2012 and replaced by Kunming Changshui International Airport (昆明长水国际机场), using the same IATA code of KMG.Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (西安咸阳国际机场)
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is the main airport serving Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. The airport is located 25-km northwest of Xi'an city center. The IATA code for this airport is XIY.
Covering an area of 5 square kilometers, it is the second largest airport in Northern China (photos below).
It has a wide departure hall where several shops can be found (left photo below). While waiting for the flight, I managed to browse a few books inside this bookstore (right photo below), but did not buy anything there.
Xining Caojiabao International Airport (西宁曹家堡国际机场)Xining Caojiabao International Airport is an airport serving Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province (left photo below). The airport is located 30-km east of downtown Xining. The IATA code for this airport is XNN.
It has a rather a small arrival hall with only two luggage belts (right photo below).
Lhasa Gonggar Airport (拉萨贡嘎机场)Lhasa Gonggar Airport is an airport serving Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. The airport is located 97-km to Lhasa, and at an elevation of 3,500-meters above sea level which is one of the highest airports in the world. The IATA code for this airport is LXA.
The total area of the terminal building reaches about 25,000-square meters consists of a newer building completed in 2004 (photos below).
The hall for passengers seeing-off, together with ticket office, sortation office for baggage and shops are located on its first floor of the terminal. Departure lounge and shops are found on its second floor (photos below).
Within a radius of 30-km the airport is surrounded by mountains with elevations ranging from 5,362 to 6,126-meters. Totally awed by the imposing mountains, personally feel that this airport has the best scenic view in the world (photos below).
Xining West Railway station (西宁西站)Xining West Railway station is a railway station on Qinghai-Tibet railway (青藏铁路) and it is located 12-km from Xining Railway station (left photo below). Only seats are fitted in this station (right photo below) and a few shops selling snacks, and magazine and books.
Lhasa Railway station (拉萨站)
Lhasa Railway station is a railway terminal station on Qinghai-Tibet railway. It is located just 5-km southwest from Potala Palace.
Towering at the altitude of 3641-meters above the sea level, Lhasa Railway station is designed as a two-storey italic building with a height of 22.9-meters (left photo below). The main station has a length of 340-meters and a width of 60-meters, covering a building area of 23,600-square meters (right photo below).
AccommodationOrient Hotel Xi'an (西安东方大酒店)
Orient Hotel Xi'an is located in the Cultural district of the southern suburbs of Xian (left photo below). The 4-star hotel has more than 250 guest rooms over its 22-storied building. What impressed me was the three-storey high main lobby that allowed natural light to shine through (right photo below).
The room design was simple (left photo below) with basic amenities provided (right photo below).
Though not the typical breakfast buffet that we expected, the Chinese style breakfast provided in this hotel (photos below) had a wide variety of selections and was the best among of the four hotels we stayed.
We only had one chance to take this hotel breakfast on our last day, as we had to skip on our second day to catch an early flight to Xining. Breakfast was taken at the second floor of the hotel (left photo below) and my selection was rather typical (right photo below).
Xiadu Qinghai-Tibetan Mansion (夏都青藏大厦)
Xiadu Qinghai-Tibetan Mansion is a 3-star hotel located in the center of Xining City. Opened in 2007 and renovated in 2011, the hotel has total of 172 guest rooms over its 10-storied building (left photo below). This hotel also has a spacious main lobby (right photo below).
Room design was simple with some classical modern furniture (photos below).
Breakfast selection was reasonable (left photo below) and my selection was standard with noodles and some meat (right photo below).
Jiangsu Shengtaiyuan Hotel (江苏生态园酒店)Jiangsu Shengtaiyuan Hotel is a 4-star hotel located near the Lhasa city. The hotel occupied a building area of 18,000-square meters (left photo below) and has a grand main lobby (right photo below).
The room design was simple (left photo below) with basic amenities provided (right photo below).
Stayed in this hotel for four nights and interestingly we had breakfast in two different venues but with similar buffet selections (photos below).
Breakfast selection was limited and rather pathetic in this 4-star hotel. I even had instant noodles for breakfast during my last day of stay there. Followering were the breakfast choices I made in two days (photos below).
YangTse Hotel (陽孜飯店)YangTse Hotel is a 3-star hotel located in Shigatse (left photo below). The hotel occupied a building area of 6,200-square meters and has the elegant Tibetan style furnishing at both its entrance and main lobby (right photo below).
Compared to the rich decorations, its room was much simpler with functional furniture (photos below).
Its breakfast area also has the rich Tibetan style (left photo below). Although only porridge and some vegetables were available, the hotel staff even prepared some toasted bread and fried eggs (right photo below) for us. We were delighted as this was much familiar to us compared to the Chinese style breakfast we had for the past days.
Interesting Observations
- Similar to what I saw in my Beijing trip, the English translation in Kunming Wujiaba International Airport definitely needs improvement (left photo below). However when comes to Chinese, it can be direct and straightforward just like the wordings at the back of a car (right photo below).
- Gentle reminders can be fun with the words as in the signages I saw in the toilet of Xining West Railway station (photos below).
- Saw this complex Chinese character in front of some eateries in Xi'an (left photo below). It is made up of 58 strokes in its traditional form (right photo below) and one of the most complex Chinese characters in modern usage. Pronounce as "Biang", it is the name of a noodle dish "biang biang noodles" which is a signature wheat noodles in Shaanxi province of China. The name of this dish is onomatopoeia for the sound produced when they're being made and slapped on the table.
- Many food outlets, probably not even heard in Singapore, can be found in China; such as the "Perch Coffee" (普奇咖啡) café at Xi'an Xianyang Airport (left photo below) and the "Dico's" (德克士) fast-food restaurant in Tibet (right photo below).
- Toilets may be a concern when traveling in China. Modern and clean toilets can be found in cities, such as restaurants and tourist attractions (left photo below). But in more rural areas, simple toilets without any flashing system or tap water can still be found (right photo below).
- It is no joke when comes to high altitude sickness (over 2500-meters), where the lack of oxygen can cause headache, dizziness, lethargy, nausea, breathlessness and irritability. Mini oxygen tanks can be purchased in the hotel (left photo below) and oxygen is provided on the Qinghai-Tibet railway train (right photo below).
- Did a small altitude experiment on the inflation of a sealed packet snack. It looked normal (left photo below) at the start of the rail road at Xining (2,275-meters) but got bloated (right photo below) at the end of the route at Lhasa (3,650-meters).
