1.Ticket price (one-way only) 

Train: 360 yuan (about 58 US dollars) for a hard seat, 763 yuan ( about 123 US dollars) for a hard sleeper, or 1,186 yuan (about 191 US dollars) for a soft sleeper.

Air: Around 2,700 yuan

2.Duration 

Train: 48 hours

Air: 9 to 10 hours

3.Scenery along the way 

Train: Qinghai Lake, Kunlun Mountain, the origin of Yangtze River, Qiangtang Grassland and Tibetan antelopes.

Air: Blue sky and clouds, clouds, clouds, clouds!

4.Travelling comfort 

Train: The train will stop at nine stations along the way from Golmud, a large city in Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, which allows tourists to stretch their legs and take photos.

Air: Lucky if you can find the seat area spacious enough to relax your legs.

5.Ticket availability 

Train: Although theoretically one can get tickets for trains 60 days before each scheduled train, the possibility of getting the most sought train ticket from regular channels in July is almost none. It is said that all the tickets for July have been booked out by official organs and travel agencies.

Air: Available by reservation in advance.