Tanggula Pass

Marker on the Tanggula Pass border between Tibet and Qinghai, 5231 meters above sea level.

The Tanggula Pass (Traditional Chinese: 唐古拉山口; Simplified Chinese: 唐古拉山口; pinyin: Tánggǔlā Shānkǒu) in the Tibetan Tanggula Mountains is a mountain pass that rises to over 5000 metres above sea level. Just to the north of the pass is the small village of Wenquan which holds the record for being the highest human settlement in the world.

The Qinghai–Tibet Highway reaches its highest point of 5231 meters here. On August 24, 2005, rail track was laid through the Pass at 5072 meters for the Qingzang railway, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet railway, making the Tanggula Pass home to the highest railway in the world, surpassing the altitude of the highest Peruvian by 255 m (837 ft).^[1] The railway connects Xining, Qinghai Province to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. The 1,080-kilometre (670-mile) section from Golmud to Lhasa was opened on July 1, 2006. The rail cars have built in personal oxygen supply to avoid altitude sickness.