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Highest Railway in the World ! Running at altitudes of 4000-5200 m (16.000ft). Most of the track is laid upon permafrost soil. 4000 km from Beijing to Lhasa: The mega-project was accomplished in 2006, one year ahead of schedule. It took 38.000 Workers 5 years. They had to wear oxygen bottles most of the time to avoid altitude sickness. Thousands of bridges and tunnels were built. A Swiss Consulting firm concluded the project was not feasible due to unstable permafrost soil. So Chinese Engineers designed special cooling systems for summer time to assure support structures will not sink into the mud. Travel time to Lanzhou is now cut to 30 hours and to Beijing 50 hours. Compartments are pressurized and oxigen masks are provided if needed for each passenger. Author’s Notes: Cabin staff is friendly and helpful even if nobody speaks or reads a word of English. It’s a joke when they try to check your passport. 
Restaurant staff is particulary unpleasant to foreigners. Food is poor and the menu is good only for those who read Chinese. Staff will say most of the time “meiyaou”(no have)while the Chinese at the next table are having full meals. Even in soft-sleeper class bring your own tea mug. Restaurant does not serve beverages , but cabin staff will provide hot water.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
