China’s Sky Train — Highest Rail Journey in the World

The magic of a long rail journey has always been captivating for many travelers — the romance of a dimly lit sleeper car, the hypnotic rhythm of the rails, and the anticipation of arriving in someplace new and unexplored. The legendary Orient Express to Istanbul, the Trans-Siberian Railroad … these names resonate in the imaginations of world travelers.

Now, there’s a new train that has taken its place among the great rail journeys of the world. China’s Sky Train made its inaugural run in July 2006 after five years of construction, including engineering innovations that were unthinkable just a decade earlier when Swiss railway engineers declared the project impossible.

More than three-quarters of the track line crosses high-mountain terrain over 13,000 feet in elevation, traversing 340 miles of permafrost, which shifts as it melts by day and freezes again at night, creating the potential for track buckling. Chinese engineers addressed this problem with an innovative track-cooling system that keeps the ground under the tracks permanently frozen. But traveling at speeds up to 60 mph, passengers are little aware of the high-tech marvels buried in the tundra below.

Ensconced comfortably in rail cars that are pressurized (just like airplane cabins), with extra oxygen available for the very highest points of the journey, travelers are enthralled by the passing scenery, some of the most breathtaking on the planet. It’s an astonishingly pristine region, perhaps even somewhat desolate. Signs of human habitation on the Tibetan plateau are few and far between. But antelopes, wild donkeys, and yaks graze on the vast plain, a brilliant emerald green under the bright high-altitude sun. In the distance, the mighty snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas rise majestically to the sky.

As the train climbs ever higher, three locomotives are required to power the 16 cars across the 16,640-foot Tangula Pass, the highest point of the trip. Finally, after traveling more than 2,000 miles from Beijing, the start of the journey, the Sky Train arrives in Lhasa, Tibet, one of the most fascinating destinations in the world and home to the incomparable Potala Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the former residence of the Dalai Lama.

AAA Preferred Travel Partner General Tours World Traveler offers a 13-day small-group escorted tour to China, including an overnight full-day journey on the Sky Train across the high Tibetan Plateau. With no more than 20 guests per departure, this China to Tibet by Rail tour visits Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, and Lhasa. Priced from $3,399 per person, the trip includes deluxe hotel accommodations, an overnight onboard the Sky Train, 24 meals, comprehensive sightseeing, and all on-tour transportation and internal flights. Sixteen guaranteed departures are offered from April 2008 through April 2009.

For more information, contact your AAA Travel professional or visit www.AAA.com.