Tibetan Fuxing bullet train driver fulfills childhood dream on Qinghai-Xizang Railway

Tsering poses for photos with the Fuxing bullet train he drives at Lhasa Railway Station in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. A native of Xigaze, 31-year-old Tsering is the youngest Tibetan Fuxing bullet train driver on the Qinghai-Xizang Railway.

When Tsering was 10, he learned about trains from his elder brother who worked in the railway sector. Described as fast and stable, trains have got him hooked ever since.

In his third year of college, Tsering signed up right away when the company of Qinghai-Xizang Railway came to his campus to recruit train drivers. As a new employee of the company, he took a train from Lhasa to Xining for onboarding in 2017, which was the first train ride of his life.

Being a bullet train driver requires memorizing the contents from several books in Mandarin, including technical terms and data of bridges and tunnels along the entire railway line. Unfamiliar with Mandarin, Tsering often studied until 2 or 3 a.m., and practiced writing after finishing reciting the materials. Eventually, he passed all four qualification tests for J5, J9, J8 and J6 railway driving licenses on his first attempt, making him the only Tibetan trainee among his peers to achieve this feat.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Lhasa-Xigaze Railway, Tsering drove a Fuxing bullet train into his hometown Xigaze on August 16, 2024, believing that his hometown is getting better and better.

Now Tsering has settled down in Lhasa. Having fulfilled his childhood dream, his next goal is to obtain the J7 high-speed railway driving license. Tsering's dreams are evolving along with the times. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering's mother combs Tsering's hairs for white ones at home in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering and the Fuxing bullet train he drives are pictured upon arrival at Xigaze Railway Station in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin)

Tsering (2nd L) has lunch with his family at home in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering walks out of Xigaze Railway Station in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering heads back to the railway station as his family see him off in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

Tsering checks on a train at the Lhasa rolling stock maintenance center of Golmud locomotive depot of the China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group Co., Ltd. in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

Tsering drives a Fuxing bullet train towards Xigaze in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering runs tests on a train at the Lhasa rolling stock maintenance center of Golmud locomotive depot of the China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group Co., Ltd. in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering checks the conditions of train gates with a mechanist aboard a Fuxing bullet train from Lhasa to Xigaze in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering (R) drives a Fuxing bullet train from Lhasa to Xigaze in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering and his colleagues walk out of the Lhasa rolling stock maintenance center of Golmud locomotive depot of the China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group Co., Ltd. in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin)

Tsering's father tries Tsering's uniform cap at home in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering takes a sobriety test before driving at the Lhasa rolling stock maintenance center of Golmud locomotive depot of the China Railway Qinghai-Xizang Group Co., Ltd. in Lhasa, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

Tsering (L) talks with a fellow train driver at home in Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, June 27, 2026. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)