Traveling to Tibet through central China is a transformative experience; the journey itself is almost as interesting as actually visiting Tibet, an autonomous region within China.
I worked in China for about 8 years. This trip to Tibet was a team-building exercise with our local representatives in China. My partner and I were the only non-Chinese speaking Westerners.
There are many different roads and transportation options for traveling to Tibet. We opted for traveling to Tibet by private vehicle from Xining to Lhasa, a popular but very arduous route offered by many companies (so evaluate them before you pick one). A train line also exists as well.
Here is a peek into our experiences across central China to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.