Qinghai

Introduction

sitting at the gate of the guesthouse

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Qinghai (青海) is a very large province in the northwest of China and is one of the most remote and sparsely populated places in the world. In the past, Chinese parents would threaten to send their bad children to live in Qinghai as it is home to many prisons, labor camps and toxic waste sights. This has given Qinghai province an extremely bad reputation it does not deserve. It is a diverse area with many minority groups and a fascinating history. The beauty of Qinghai lake and the stunning mountains surrounding Yushu County just give a glimpse of what Qinghai has to offer.

Geography

The geography of Qinghai is high altitude plateau with mountain ranges. One of the major geographical features of Qinghai is large salt water lake called Qinghai lake. Qinghai has domestic borders with Xinjiang, Gansu, Sichuan and the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Cities

• Golmud is an industrial oil town and the last stop on the highway and railroad to Lhasa.
• Tongren is a small Tibetan town and a great place to buy Tibetan thangkas.
• Xining is a modern city and capital of the province with a few nice sights.
• Yushu County is in southern Qinghai and has great temples.

Sights and Activities

• Mengda Nature Reserve
• Qinghai lake is the largest lake in China and home to the famous bird island.
• The sources of the Yellow and Yangtze River

Events and Festivals

Weather

Getting There

The easiest ways to get to Qinghai is to take an airplane or the train to Xining from anywhere in China. There are also several buses that service the highways from all of the surrounding provinces to smaller towns on the provincial borders. In many more remote areas you will have to flag buses down on the side of the highway.

By Plane

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

There are several highways that snake across the main parts of Qinghai. You can also take the train to a few cities such as Xining and Golmud.

By Plane

Currently there is only one airport in Qinghai Province just outside of Xining. Airports are being slowly constructed in Golmud and Yushu County.

By Bus

Buses serve all the cities and towns in Qinghai.

By Train

The train only services cities between Xining and Golmud.

By Car

By Boat

Eat

Qinghai food is heavily influenced by Chinese and Tibetan cuisine. One of the staples of the diet is a noodle soup known as laomien, which originates from the neighboring province of Gansu.

Drink

Sleep

People

Tibetans, Tu, Hui, Salar, Mongolians and Han.