THIRTEEN Shenzhen holidaymakers will be among the first from the city to travel to Tibet by train, as part of a tour group leaving Thursday (July 13).

These tourists will first fly to Xining, capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, where they will board the Lhasa-bound train. During the 22-hour train ride, tourists are expected to view desert mirages, Yuzhu Peak of Kunlun Mountain, glaciers and chirus.

The package tour, priced at 6,880 yuan (US$860) per person, includes three flights and one train journey, according to Wen Rui, a consultant with Eachtravel, the travel agency organizing the tour. "As summer holiday approaches, many people inquire about a trip to Tibet. They are especially excited about the idea of traveling to Tibet on the train. The 6,880 yuan offer sold like a hot cake," Wen said.

Tours to Tibet operated by Eachtravel also include five-day, seven-day and 10-day programs, with prices ranging from 6,080 to 9,180 yuan per person.

Some other travel agencies offering Tibet trips are Shenzhen Comfort Travel Service and Shenzhen Pengyun International Travel Service. They are operating 8-day or 9-day package tours. However, tourists must fly from Shenzhen to Chengdu to join the travel group.

Tourists with these two agencies will board the train for Lhasa in Chengdu. As the packages only include one flight and one train ride, the price is around 5,000 yuan per person. Along the Chengdu-Lhasa section, holidaymakers will be able to see the Tuotuo River, Tanggula River, Tanggula Mountain and glaciers.

Shenzhen Airlines introduced flights from Shenzhen to Xining on July 3, which led to a large increase in the number of travelers to Tibet.

Editor: Wing