Qinghai Travel Guide

Welcome to Qinghai, a pearl on the plateau, which contains mysterious and brilliant cultural treasures and displays magnificent and gorgeous natural landscapes.

"Open blue sky, straight roads, rolling mountains, vast grasslands, running cattle and sheep and free you...”It's not that there is any magic in Qinghai so that people can get rid of distracting thoughts and cleanse their hearts after a trip, but that it has an innate spirit of beauty that can make people gain something during the journey.

Here, you can walk on the shore of Qinghai Lake and feel the embrace of the blue lake and the green grassland; You can wander in Chaka Salt Lake and indulge in the unique charm of saline-alkali land; You can hike in the Qilian Mountains and enjoy the magnificent scenery of alpine meadows.

Qinghai is also a place where multiculturalism blends. Traditional Tibetan festivals, Hui religious ceremonies, and Mongolian grassland songs and dances constitute colorful folk pictures here. It is also a place of faith, with Ta'er Monastery, Kumbum Monastery, and many other Buddhist holy places, attracting believers and tourists to worship.

Come to Qinghai, feel the beauty of the plateau, experience the charm of culture, and explore the mysteries of nature. Qinghai is waiting for your arrival, showing you the most authentic and beautiful side. Let's integrate into this magical land and leave a memory of Qinghai.

Our Qinghai Travel Guide can provide available information for your travel. It's time to start a wonderful trip to Qinghai!


Features

Chinese: 青海 Qinghai                                  Area: 722,300 square kilometers

Time Zone: UTC+8                                      Population (2023): 5,940,000

Location: Northwest China                         Climate: Plateau Continental Climate

Post Code: 810000-817200                        Administration Type: Provincial-level Administrative Region

Area Code: 0971-0979                               Average Annual Rainfall: 356.2mm


Top Qinghai Tourist Attractions

Qinghai Lake

Qinghai LakeQinghai Lake

With an area of 4,583 square kilometers, the vast and mysterious Qinghai Lak is a huge treasure mirror bestowed by nature on the Qinghai Plateau. The slight waves on the clear and blue lake seem to be whispering an ancient legend. Qinghai Lake is surrounded by four majestic mountains, like four high natural barriers. From the foot of the mountain to the lakeside, there is a boundless grassland, and Qinghai Lake is like a huge emerald jade plate embedded between the mountains and grasslands, forming a picture of mountains, lakes, and grasslands. 


Chaka Salt LakeChaka Salt Lake

Chaka Salt Lake

Chaka Salt Lake holds great significance on the ancient Silk Road. Sometimes the lake appears to be rippling, while at other times it is vast and white, possessing both beauty and magnificence. Among the numerous salt lakes located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chaka Salt Lake stands out as majestic and grand, known as the "mirror of the sky" in China.



Ta'er Monastery (Kumbum Monastery)

Ta'er MonasteryTa'er Monastery

Ta'er Monastery is one of the six major temples of the Gelu Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in China and the birthplace of Master Tsongkhapa, the second-largest Buddha in the world, with a history of more than 400 years. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Xining with its magnificent architecture, rich treasures and strong religious atmosphere. The butter sculptures, colorful murals, and embossed embroidery are known as the "Three Artistic Wonders", which have a unique national style and high artistic value.


Kanbula National Park 

Kanbula National ParkKanbula National Park

Kanbula region is famous for its unique "Danxia" landform, with tall and straight peaks. Kanbula National Park is a tourist destination integrating forest park, typical Danxia landform, religious culture, and ethnic customs. Lakes and mountains set each other off, and religious folk customs complement each other. In addition to enjoying the Danxia landform, Kanbula National  Park can also take a boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery of nature. The cool climate of Kanbula National Park is very suitable for summer vacation. It is a place worth visiting!


Qarhan Salt Lake

Qarhan Salt LakeQarhan Salt Lake

Qarhan Salt Lake is the largest salt lake in China. All the green plants in Qarhan Salt Lake are difficult to grow, but they breed magical salt crystals that are crystal clear and changeable. Because of the continuous evaporation of water in salt fields, the salt crystallizes and grows continuously, and finally emerges from the lake to form salt crystals, with different shapes in clusters and pieces, which decorate the salt lakes as beautiful as fairyland.



Wusute Yadan GeoparkWusute Yadan Geopark

Wusute Yadan Geological Park

Wusute Yadan Geopark is a rare water Yadan landform, where you can see the coexistence of gobi and lakes. The various Yadan landforms, set off against the blue lake water, are like a vast ocean in the endless desert, magical and mysterious.



Rongwo Monastery

Rongwo MonasteryRongwo Monastery

When you come to the Square at the entrance of Rongwo Monastery, you will be moved by the local people who kowtow their heads. Opposite the Square is the magnificent gate of Rongwo Monastery, and the golden words "隆务大寺" are engraved under the top of the glazed tile gate. In your spare time, you can chat with monks in the temple and listen to them talk about the culture in the temple. They may tell you something about the local Thangka culture. After all, Thangka is a major feature here, and now it has been listed as a non-legacy project in China.


Emerald LakeEmerald Lake

Emerald Lake

Da Qaidam Emerald Lake is a bright pearl inlaid in the plateau desert. The salt lake where blue and white blend together seems to be in a dreamy emerald world.  The calm and clear lake water is as blue as jade emerald in the sun, reflecting the ever-changing white clouds, which is so beautiful that it is breathtaking!



Zhuoer Mountain

Zhuoer MountainZhuoer Mountain

Known as the "Little Switzerland in the East", Zhuoer Mountain Scenic spot is located in Babao Town, Qilian County. It is located on the north bank of the Babao River, the top of the mountain is green, and the tall and verdant pine and cypress are dotted around it. Zhuoer Mountain is the Danxia landform, composed of red sandstone, conglomerate, and the perfect integration of pastoral, forest, and grassland to form a unique landscape. It is called "Zongmu Ma Glama" in Tibetan, which means beautiful ruddy queen.


La Ji Mountain 

La ji MountainLa Ji Mountain

La Ji Mountain is called "Gongmula" in Tibetan, meaning the place where Gala chicken (stone chicken) lives.The highest peak on the mountain is 4524 meters above sea level. Laji Mountain is the boundary between Huangzhong and Guide, and also the boundary between the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. You can hike to a tall mountain past red rock formations for a great view of the valley. 



Arou Temple

Arou TempleArou Temple

From a distance, Arou Temple is located on the hilly grassland in Qilian County, surrounded by rolling green grassland, which is very beautiful. There are quiet temples, few tourists, elderly lamas, and mottled red walls. It is worth mentioning that Arou Temple is not only influenced by the traditional art of Tibetan Buddhist temples in Tibet but also combines the architectural art of Han temples, which is an architectural form combining Tibetan and Han architectural art, also called Tibetan-Han architecture.



Sanjiangyuan (Three Rivers Souce) National Natural Reserve

Sanjiangyuan National Natural ReserveSanjiangyuan National Natural Reserve

It is the first national park to enter the national park system pilot, is also the largest national park in China (123,000 square kilometers), and gathers the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Lancang River, the source of the world's three famous rivers, called the "water tower of China", is a unique geographical wonder in the world. There are snow-capped mountains and glaciers, vast jungle grasslands, dense marshes and wetlands, rivers, and lakes in the Sanjiangyuan area, maintaining a relatively large and primitive alpine ecosystem.


Qilian Mountain

Qilian MountainQilian Mountain

The average mountain range of Qilian Mountain is between 4000 meters and 5000 meters above sea level, and the place above 4000 meters above sea level is called the snow line. Qilian Mountain's representative Damaying Grassland is in the basin between Yanzhi Mountain and Qilian Mountain. In July and August every year, Qilian Mountain, which is connected with the grassland, is still wrapped in silver, while the grassland is full of green, and you can see horses, cattle, and sheep. 


Menyuan Rape Flower Field

Menyuan Rape FlowerMenyuan Rape Flower

The plateau climate in Qinghai delays the flowering period of rape flower by three or four months, and it will not enter the full flowering period until mid-July, which will make you enjoy yourself so much as to forget to leave. The rape flower is in full bloom in July. Blue sky and white clouds, snow-capped mountains, red houses, and mosques complement each other, showing a charming scenery with characteristics. The air is filled with a rich honey fragrance, and you will be intoxicated with this poetic scenery when you look at the endless golden yellow.


Guide National Geopark

Guide National GeoparkGuide National Geopark

Guide National Geopark is a comprehensive geopark with natural landscapes and geological relics as its main features, supplemented by diverse ecological landscapes and rich cultural landscapes. Ashgang Colorful Peaks has seven kinds of mountain colors, with beautiful landforms, abrupt peaks, and strange geological shapes. This attraction has thirteen cultural theme squares and seven Danxia canyons, especially Nuwa Gorge, Qianfo Gorge, and Tongtian Gorge, which are rare natural wonders.

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