The first stop out of Korla was Qarkilik (aka Ruoqiang). I was lucky enough to arrive during the Loulan Date Festival and was able to participate in a big Uyghur dance held in the town's central square.

Somewhere on the road between Qarkilik (Ruoqiang) and Shimianquan, on the border between Xinjiang and Qinghai.

A young girl plays with her pet rabbit in Shimianquan (aka Asbestosville)... the worst place I've ever been in Xinjiang.

At the Qinghai border, suddenly the road becomes sealed. It must be because people want to drive through the barren nothingness of western Qinghai at high speed.

Golmud, Qinghai is home to a significant population of Huis, Muslim Chinese. This is the city's main mosque.

We boarded the train to Tibet in Golmud at 4:15 am. Most people were still sleeping. Check out the plush upholstery and carpeting... not bad for "hard seat", the lowest class on Chinese trains.

The sun rises over the high plateau in southwest Qinghai.

The unique shadow of the train to Lhasa is cast over Kekexili Nature Reserve near the Qinghai-Tibet border.

Free oxygen for everybody. Hooray! It really helps when you start to get a headache from the altitude.

A perfect reflection of a perfect sky at Cuona Hu in northern Tibet.

The train to Lhasa passes through Tibetan grasslands.

A few hours north of Lhasa, the train stops at Nagchu. Is that a shiny brand-spankin' new train or what?

Now this is starting to look like Tibet. On the other side of these mountains lies scenic Namtso Lake.

Train stations are usually ugly, utilitarian affairs in China. Not the new train station in Lhasa!

When I was heading back to Korla, Xinjiang I got stuck in the small town of Miran. Thankfully, I was able to hitch a ride with these nice truckers. They brought me seven hours to Korla and wouldn't accept a dime!