Train from Lhasa to Hong kong around chinese new year- possible?

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lee44
lee44

hey hey

I plan to make a trip in sept 2012 around asia ending up in nepal over christmas, tibet the first 2 weeks of january, followed by china for 2 weeks. After a bit of reading up i'm aware that it could possibly be a nightmare to travel in china over the chinese new year period. Unfortunately I have no choice in this as i fly from shanghai to japan at the end of jan... After tibet i really want to see xian, beijing and shanghai but now im thinking this isnt going to be possible.

my questions are, firstly, will i be able to get the train from lhasa to hong kong (to get my chinese visa) on my own after i finish my tour of tibet?

will this tibet- HK train it be likely to be full as it wlll be close to chinese new year or is this train not too affected my the festivities as its in tibet?

Can i book this train in advance in nepal when i book my tour? id really dont want to be stuck in lhasa with no way to get to hk..

any help would be great, id LOVE to see tibet but im just worried that im gonna have to cut it out my trip to make sure i make it to shanghai on time at the end of jan

thanks very much!! .

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westwood
westwood

There is NO train from Tibet to Hong Kong.

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lee44
lee44

surely i could get a train to chengdu and then on to HK?

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drumbrake
drumbrake

You can catch the train from Lhasa to Guangzhou. Then another to Hong Kong. Long journey though.

Booking - no online booking as yet. As to whether you can get tickets, it depends when exactly you are travelling in relation to CNY - when is it in 2013? The busy period is in the 2 weeks before CNY.

If you are coming from Nepal, you will get a visa of around 21 days. So, if you can see Tibet, Xian, Beijing and Shanghai, then you have no need to come to Hong Kong.

If you come to HK during CNY, the visa office will be closed.

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fluffydragon
fluffydragon

Chinese New Year is on Feb 10th so you should be okay if you are traveling in January. Might get a bit crazy right at the very end.

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losang
losang

As others have said, there is no train from Lhasa to HK. You can take the train to Guangzhou and from there you would need to take another train to HK.

Normally, it is no problem getting tickets leaving Lhasa during Chinese New Year. Any Tibet based travel agency can easily arrange these tickets for you in advance.

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lee44
lee44

thanks for your help everyone!! really appreciate the advise

for some reason I was sure chinese new year was on jan 23rd in 2013- must have made a mistake there but im REALLY glad its in feb as it gives me abit more time to see some sites in china and then get out before the busy 2 weeks before CNY.

Is it easy to get a 21 day visa if im leaving my tour in tibet and then travelling alone in china? how easy is it to get a single name on a permit? whats the current situation?

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