Atlas of China
Lhasa to Shigatse 拉萨 – 日喀则
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 2½ hours against about 3½ hours by road, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. A standard-class seat is ¥64. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainLhasa 拉萨 → Shigatse 日喀则 | 2 h 4 minC885, fastest | 2½ hours | ¥64standard class | 308:40–17:00 |
| By road259 km | 3 h 40 min | 3½ hours |
By train
3 direct high-speed trains a day run from Lhasa to Shigatse, between 08:40 and 17:00. The fastest, C885, takes 2 h 4 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥64. Coming back, 3 trains a day, the fastest 2 h 4 min (C886, 11:05 to 19:37).
Lhasa: Tibet Travel Permit required; trains out of Tibet are conventional, and the Fuxing trains to Nyingchi and Shigatse run only within Tibet. Shigatse: Tibet Travel Permit required; trains run only to Lhasa, and Peace Airport is about 43 km away.
By air
No nonstop flights.
By road
259 km by road, about 3 h 40 min of driving: routed on OpenStreetMap, with speeds calibrated on measured trips.
At the other end
Featured places around Shigatse.
-
Tashilhunpo Monastery 扎什伦布寺
The seat of the Panchen Lamas, with a 26-metre gilded Maitreya and a giant thangka wall
Around Lhasa: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple & Barkhor.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Lhasa · About Shigatse · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.