Hi!
I am in Shanghai and just bought a train ticket to Lhasa (51 hours!!!).
The travel agent at the hostel phoned the China Railway and they said that you don't need to buy a permit in advance anymore. According to them the so-called 'Tibet travel permit' is actually just a piece of paper that can be filled on board the train.
After reading all the posts about getting this permit in Chengdu or somewhere else, I am a little worried that the people who gave me the info here had actually no idea what they were talking about.
Anyone out there just travelled recently on the train without a permit???
I have a Chinese working visa with multiple entries and already travelled to HK and Macau without any problem at all.
Thanks a bunch
katiavokrugmira
1
kellyhuang
Generally it needs three days to get the Tibet permit if you could supply the full necessary documents. And it needs another 3 days (or more) to Express Deliver the permit. I don't think you have enough time.
2
zhaoyun
They likely don't know what they're talking about. The Tibet permit must be gotten through a travel agent and, like #1 says, usually takes a few days to process. Usually you cannot buy a train ticket on your own without the permit. It is possible to buy a ticket through a Chinese friend- as you seem to have done- but they often check if you have the permit on the train, though not all the time.
Even if that agent isn't lying to sell you a ticket even though they can't get a permit, and the ticket office really did say that, it still doesn't necessarily mean you don't need the permit anymore. In the summer the Zhongdian bus station began selling tickets to Tibet to foreigners, even though there was no actual change in policy. It doesn't hurt them to sell more tickets; it will only hurt you when you get caught.
But I do think the agent cheated you, since it sound like they don't even know what the permit is. My advice is find a place to get a permit ASAP or return the ticket.
Read #74 on the FAQ for details on the Tibet permit.
3
losang
Sounds like your travel agency is clueless about the permit. All foreigners are still required to have the permit BEFORE they board the train. You can't get it on the train.
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