{"id":"7adf1d44-3352-46ab-ac76-9b91309ececd","name":"Shanghai to Lhasa: train Z164/Z165","slug":"shanghai-lhasa-train","links":{"human_path":"/experiences/shanghai-lhasa-train","machine_capability":"experience.get"},"media":[{"role":"hero","license":"Rail Atlas editorial illustration","alt_text":"Unbranded long-distance passenger train crossing the Qinghai–Tibet plateau beside a high-altitude lake.","position":1,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"AI-generated editorial illustration by Rail Atlas","license_url":null,"ai_generated":true,"external_url":null,"rights_owner":"Rail Atlas","storage_path":"experience-media/hero/image-upgrade-v3-ai/shanghai-lhasa-train-c228e78901f0.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-14T07:51:35.678+00:00"},{"role":"gallery","license":"CC BY-SA 2.5","alt_text":"Shanghai to Lhasa: train Z164/Z165: 2 Z165 25T trains at Xining Railway Station","position":2,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"Photo: Baycrest — CC BY-SA 2.5","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5","ai_generated":false,"external_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/2_Z165_25T_trains_at_Xining_Railway_Station.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled","rights_owner":"Baycrest","storage_path":"experience-media/support/wave3/shanghai-lhasa-train-9d3c4a63e9.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-13T00:00:00+00:00"},{"role":"gallery","license":"CC BY-SA 2.0","alt_text":"A train to Lhasa on the Qinghai–Tibet railway.","position":3,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"Photo: Henry Chen — CC BY-SA 2.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/","ai_generated":false,"external_url":"https://live.staticflickr.com/223/496954802_7f163f830a_b.jpg","rights_owner":"Henry Chen","storage_path":"experience-media/hero/expansion1/shanghai-lhasa-train-2c628e4bcc.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-12T18:16:20.664+00:00"},{"role":"gallery","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","alt_text":"Shanghai to Lhasa: train Z164/Z165: 201812 HXD3D 0040 hauls Z164 at Bengbu Station","position":3,"media_type":"licensed_photo","credit_line":"Photo: MNXANL — CC BY-SA 4.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","ai_generated":false,"external_url":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/201812_HXD3D-0040_hauls_Z164_at_Bengbu_Station.jpg/3840px-201812_HXD3D-0040_hauls_Z164_at_Bengbu_Station.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","rights_owner":"MNXANL","storage_path":"experience-media/support/wave3/shanghai-lhasa-train-7ff3e58a08.jpg","rights_verified_at":"2026-09-13T00:00:00+00:00"}],"route":{"name":"Z164/Z165: Shanghai–Lhasa","slug":"shanghai-lhasa-train-primary","stops":[{"lat":31.2497,"lon":121.4547,"name":"Shanghai Railway Station","role":"origin","country":"China","sequence":1,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":32.0784,"lon":118.7797,"name":"Nanjing","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":2,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":34.7466,"lon":113.6253,"name":"Zhengzhou","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":3,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":34.3475,"lon":108.9401,"name":"Xi'an","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":4,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":36.5975,"lon":101.7766,"name":"Xining","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":5,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":36.4072,"lon":94.9014,"name":"Golmud","role":"via","country":"China","sequence":6,"country_code":"CN"},{"lat":29.6558,"lon":91.1721,"name":"Lhasa","role":"destination","country":"China","sequence":7,"country_code":"CN"}],"direction":"Shanghai → Lhasa","journey_id":"d20506dc-1b9b-4edf-b716-eed2d365cd50","distance_km":4372,"geometry_semantics":"representative_stops; no exact track geometry implied"},"operator":{"name":"China State Railway Group (China Railway)","slug":"china-state-railway-group-china-railway","official_url":"https://www.12306.cn/"},"countries":[{"iso2":"CN","name":"China","slug":"china"}],"editorial":{"tagline":"The longest run in China: 4,372 km and two nights to Tibet","why_take_it":"Two nights on board buys you a continuous transect of China: the crowded Yangtze delta, the loess country around Xi'an, the dry Qinghai basin and finally the Tibetan plateau, where the train runs for hours across grassland at over 4,000 metres with herds of antelope and snow peaks on both sides. 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