Which city do you recommend to take the train from?

We recommend you to take the train from Chengdu for 3 main reasons.

First, Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status.It was recently named China's 4th-most livable city by China Daily. Panda also becomes a household name across the world. Getting close to them in Panda base located in south of Chengdu is a good idea.

Secondly, from Chengdu ,every other day a train departs to Lhasa via the Qinghai-Tibet railway.The Qinghai-Tibet railway was inaugurated on July 1st, 2006 when the first Lhasa-bound train started from Beijing on the same day. And the train T 22/ 23 from Chengdu to Lhasa made its debut on the second day. Besides Beijing and Chengdu, there are five other cities have Lhasa-bound trains. They are Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Lanzhou and Xining. Among all trains from mainland China proper to Lhasa, the Chengdu to Lhasa train is the shortest one after that originating from Xining and Lanzhou. It departs every other day at 20:59 PM from Chengdu north railway station, and arrives in Lhasa at 17:02 PM on the third day. It usually takes you 44 hours from Chengdu to Lhasa by train, this 44 hours train ride covers a distance of 3360kms with an average speed of 76.3 km per hour.

Last but not the least, from Chengdu, more than 7 flights to Lhasa daily while only 1 in any other cities within China.