These tourists were among the first urban residents to visit the plateau from the eastern metropolis.

China Daily staff photographer Gao Erqiang boarded the train when it left Shanghai Railway Station and documented the 52-hour trip in photographs.

The Shanghai-Lhasa line extends 4,373 kilometres from the country's eastern coast to the western inland. According to the Shanghai Railway Administration, the train will run every other day, with ticket prices ranging from 406 yuan (US$51) to 1,314 yuan (US$164).

Interest in Tibet has soared since the Qinghai-Tibet section of the railway began operating in July.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the first railroad linking Tibet with the rest of China.

A feat in China's history of railway construction, the railway is now the world's highest.

Some 960 kilometres of its tracks are located 4,000 metres above sea level and the highest point is 5,072 metres, at least 200 metres higher than the Peruvian Central Railway in the Andes, which was formerly the world's most elevated rail.

The railway is expected to play an increasingly important role in the social and economic development of Qinghai Province and Tibet.

Cargoes sent to Tibet include food, coal, living necessities and building materials. Volume is expected to hit 200,000 tons this year.

The Ministry of Railways estimated that the railway would carry 75 per cent of the total 2.8 million tons of cargo in and out of Tibet by 2010.

Statistics indicate that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway carried 450,000 passengers, most of whom are tourists from around the country, up to September 18.