The Trans-Mongolian Line (7865km, 6 days)

This is the most popular of the three routes. In 6 days the traveler experiences an unmatched sense of passage: from European Russia’s industrial areas, west over the Ural Mountains, through Siberia’s endless pine forests, past Lake Baikal and across Mongolia’s grass steppes, scarcely populated by herds of sheep and horses. After a 30 minutes’ stop in Mongolia’s capital Ulan Bator, the train continues across the eastern Gobi Desert and through the fertile rice-fields of China, offering glimpses of the Great Wall, to arrive in Beijing 5,5 days after leaving Moscow. You can break your journey in the two most interesting cities Irkutsk and Ulan Bator and feel the atmosphere of bygone times, of the caravans carrying tea from China to Russia along the old post road. The whole route is serviced by a Chinese train (#4), departing from Moscow once a week. If you want to break your journey, you’ll have to use also local Russian trains. From Beijing you can fly back to you initial destination or, as many do, continue around Asia on your own.