The Railway to Heaven: From the U.K. to Tibet on the longest and highest railways in the world – Matthew Woodward

Taking his long-distance train travels to a whole new level, Matthew Woodward embarks on an intrepid journey from his home in the UK to Lhasa in deepest Tibet, for many years closed to visitors.

Travelling over 20,000 kilometres on trains across Europe and Asia, he sets out to reach his objective via the little used Trans-Manchurian route across Siberia to Beijing, and from there to the Qinghai–Tibet railway across the Tibetan Plateau – the highest railway in the world.

Unprepared for what he is to experience in Lhasa, he discovers a city in modern-day China, but a place still largely living in the traditions of a truly mythical past.

Those that know Woodward’s writing will appreciate his honest and humorous reflections of life on the rails, and his efforts – sometimes successful – to decode cultural misunderstandings. He tells his story with thoughtfulness and introspection you’d expect of a solo traveller, and gives you the detail that makes an incredible journey like this feel possible for you, too.