Qinghai Travel Guide
A namesake of the largest inland saltwater lake, Qinghai Province is located in the western part of China, northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Qinghai has two prefecture-level cities, Xining being the administrative seat and the other one is Haidong City.
Qinghai has an average elevation of 3,000 meters. Tanggula Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains are the two major ranges, with the highest peak being the 6,86-meter-high Bukadaban Peak.
The Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Lancang River (Mekong River in Southeast Asia) originate in the southern part, giving it the name of the Origin of the Three Rivers.
Weather and Climate
The province has a typical continental plateau climate: long and fridge winter lasting from late October to next February, dry and cool summer lasting from April to August, and spring and autumn are considerably short. Rainfall mostly comes in summer. Spring and autumn are very arid and spring is prone to sandstorms and strong winds. As a result, summer is the best time to travel.
Qinghai is home to 43 ethnic groups including the Han, Hui, Tu, Mongols, Tibetan, and salar. Qinghai has a mixed culture that is greatly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism and Muslim, just as the scholar David Goodman put it: “between Mongol and Tibetan culture, north to south, and Han Chinese and Inner Asia Muslim culture, east to west”.
The co-existence of Tibetan Buddhism and Muslims offers an interesting insight into the region’s history.
Best Time to Visit
The best time for a Qinghai trip is in the summer, namely from April to July. Long-sleeve tops and long pants are essential no matter what time of the year. Due to temperature variation, the overcoat is needed for the night. Sunlight is intense here, which means travelers need extra protection such as sunblock, hats, and glasses.
Top Things to Do in Qinghai
1. Qinghai Lake
The nation’s largest lake, Qinghai Lake is located 100km west of Xining City. Its older Mongolian name Kokonor means “Blue Lake”, indicating its vast teal appearance viewed from above. The saline lake takes up 4,317 square km of land on an endorheic basin and has an average depth of 21m and an altitude of 3,025m.
Geological study shows that this rift lake was formed by a fault fall-in of the Qilian Mountain Range and Nanshan Mountain Range back as early as 2 million years ago. It was freshwater and interlinked with the Yellow River until a new tectonic movement.
The movement uplifted the mountains on the east lakeshore and the outflow to the Yellow River was blocked. Salinity increased as the climate became drier.
Being a saline lake doesn’t mean it is an arid place for life. Qinghai Lake lies at the crossroads of a number of bird migration routes in Asia. By 2014, the listed number of bird species that stop at Qinghai Lake for intermediate rest had reached 222, covering 35 families in 14 orders.
The best time for bird-watching comes between April and May every year when numerous birds nest, mate, and nurse their babies. The most common birds include bar-headed geese, tufted ducks, Eurasian Wigeons, cormorants, demoiselles, and swans. Bird Island at Buha River Mouth is noted as the best place to spot these passers-by.
Lake Worship is an important practice of the Mongols, a part of their Shaman religion. 4th of the fifth lunar calendar is the big day. Lamas and common people walk and chant around the lake following the lead of the Living Buddha. Pouring food and all kinds of offerings into the lake is believed to be sacred and blissful.
This thousand-year-old ritual was listed in the second national nonmaterial cultural heritage list in 2008.
2. Ta’er Monastery
Ta’er Lamasery holds tremendous significance in the Tibetan cultural region of Amdo. The monastery is also known as Kumbum Monastery. Located in Lusar Town 25km southwest of Xining, the monastery was firstly built in 1379.
The monastery is listed alongside the Six Grand Monasteries of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being Gandan Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Tashilhunpo Monastery in Tibet, and Labrang Monastery in Gansu.
Ta’er Monastery seconds only to its superior Drepung Monastery in Lhasa and was a memento to Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug sect (Yellow Hat). Tsongkhapa was born in 1357. Legend has it that sandalwood sprouted out at the very spot where blood drops when his umbilical cord was cut.
There were one hundred thousand leaves on the tree. Every leaf had a Buddha’s face and a roaring lion. He went for advanced education in Tibet at his 16th.
Tsongkhapa went for the advanced education of Buddhism in U-Tsang (Central Tibet) in his 16th. He followed and absorbed the Mahayana principle. Tsongkhapa combined this concept and set up his own tenet, which can be thoroughly interpreted as universal compassion, insight into true wisdom, and the former two being built upon the liberation of renunciation.
Along with the emphasis on Tantric Buddhism, his "Three Principal Aspects of the Path" is the foundation of the Gelug sect.
In 1379, Tsongkhapa’s mother built up the original monastery with help of the locals. The 3rd Dalai Lama (1543-1588) requested to construct a bigger monastery at this location and made himself the head lama. In the 1610s, the 4th Dalai Lama established a study facility.
A debate college was opened at the Monlam Prayer Festival of 1612, making the monastery officially a monastic academy. There are four tantric colleges, three major temples, and one thousand-some houses.
Just 30 minutes away from the city, a visit to Ta’er Monastery is an eye-opener for art fans. Presents and donations from the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties made it a huge treasure trove for Buddhism cultures. Till today, the monastery houses a total amount of 20,000 religious paintings, yak butter sculptures, murals, barbolas, statues, and embroideries.
Sunning the Buddha is an important event held on the birthdays of both Sakyamuni and Tsongkhapa.
3. Tibet Culture Museum of China
The museum is formerly known as the Museum of Chinese Tibetan Medicine Culture. It is located outside the city center of Xining, 40 minutes by car. Throughout the museum, three display sections present insightful learning on Tibetan medicine and Tibetan cultures. It is easy to spend a couple of hours navigating through the exhibition, with or without a guide.
The ground floor is dedicated to the mysterious Tibetan medicine. Some ancient instruments and collections of herbs are on display. Illustrations of the human body, medical examinations, surgical procedures, and astronomical phenomena suggest that the ancient Tibetans had a remarkable mastery of medical techniques that are associated with astronomy.
An interesting exhibit shows that ancient Tibetans had discovered a way for easy brain surgery by removing the skulls.
The world’s biggest Thangka painting scroll (Tibetan sacred art piece) on the second floor is an absolute pride of the museum. This masterpiece was made by over 400 artists and took almost 27 years.
It charts almost everything about Tibetan culture, including stories of Buddha, gods, and goddesses, legends and tales, Tibetan medicine, landscape, and important figures in Tibetan Buddhist scholars and spiritual leaders. Its elaboration could make you hours looking into every detail for hours without noticing it.
In the basement exhibit hall are some day-to-day stuff used in Tibetan houses, multicolored costumes, and some ancient weapons. If you want to take home some interesting pieces, there is a gift shop selling Tibetan medical items and trinkets on the B1 level.
4. Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve
With an average elevation of 4,800 meters above sea level, Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve (可可西里国家自然保护区) in the northwestern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a realm only for adventurers. In Mongolian, the name means “Blue Ridge” or “Lord of Ten Thousand Mountains”.
Hoh Xil covers a land of 83,000 square kilometers with a severely inhospitable environment. Hoh Xil is the least-populated region in China and the third worldwide.
As barren as it is, more than 230 species of wildlife home it as paradise, 20 of which are under national-level protection. The protection list includes wild yaks, wild donkeys, brown bears, snow leopards, blue sheep, Pallas's cats, white-lipped deer, kestrels, Tibetan antelopes, and so on. In the 1990s, at least 35,000 Tibetan antelopes were killed by armed poachers, reducing the pack down by almost 50%.
Since then, the Chinese government has been taking sterner measures to crack down on armed poaching and smuggling. The gratifying result has been archived that Hoh Xil has more than 300,000 Tibetan antelopes by 2014.
Hoh Xil remains one of the most primitive and remarkably preserved lands in the world. The legendary Qingshuihe Bridge (清水河大桥) is among the rarely-seen human touches in the region. Qinghai-Tibet Railway runs on the bridge and takes in views of the wildlife’s fairyland.
Travelers who take the rail to Tibet earn this extra bonus as they can see Tibetan antelopes gallop among rocks or yaks feeding on the grass while passing Hoh Xil.
A trip to Hoh Xil is now possible since 2009, however with some strict strings. The annual limitation for travelers is 1,000 and 15 travelers per group. Health certification is required for permission and so is the physical examination in Golmud. Hypertensive patients are not allowed to enter. Only the patrolling route is available and travelers shall not wander about without a guide.
5. Dongguan Great Mosque
The biggest mosque in Qinghai Province, Dongguan Great Mosque is located in the eastern corner of Xining City. Its original construction was built in the Ming Dynasty in 1368 and has undergone destruction and restoration many times.
Today’s mosque was built based on the restoration in 1913 and once extended in 1979. For the Muslim population, it is a sacred worship center and a festival venue for important days.
Taking up large footage, the mosque covers 11,940 square meters. The style is typically Islamic and featured Chinese tastes. Two hexagonal towers of the main prayer hall are 8 meters high and in white-and-green wall paint. The main prayer hall holds over 3,000 people for service.
There is an Islamic academy inside the mosque that offers a scholar backstage for the Muslim community in Qinghai.
How to Get to Qinghai
To get to Qinghai, Xining is the gateway connected to the countries’ big urban centers by air. There are three cities with airports, Xining, Golmud, and Yushu. They have regular flights between each other that cut off some commute time for your travel. Non-Chinese travelers are not allowed to drive private cars into the province.
However, it is a good and free way to go to hire a private car with a guide and driver.
Only one rail line in Qinghai, that being the Qinghai-Tibet Railway with stops in Golmud and its counties. Taking the Qinghai-Tibet rail to get in is a privilege to experience the amazing landscape, especially in Hoh Xil. With Xining as the central hub, the province’s extensive bus lines transfer travelers to all places at a very low cost. Prepare yourself for a long drive when taking the bus.
How to Stay Healthy and Safe
Just like traveling to Tibet, the high altitude of Qinghai gives some travelers on a serious health warning. It is always advisable to consult your personal doctor before traveling to Qinghai. Ascending height, taking medicine and good rest is the key to a healthy body.
People in Qinghai eat a great deal of meat, flour, and dairy, which can be bad for digestion. Yogurt, fruit, veggies, and pills (if needed) are necessary to avoid constipation.
To stay away from danger, it is important not to stray away from the main road, especially when visiting a remote place. Don’t get too close to the Tibetan Mastiffs or any kind of dogs, no matter how unthreateningly sweet they might look.
Inform your hotel staff and keep emergency numbers on you while going out mountaineering in an unfamiliar place. Print out some vital information in Chinese and take it with you, it will be handy when you need to ask local people for directions.
Travel Permission
Travelers don’t need travel permits to visit Qinghai, except for Hoh Xil. Mountain climber teams who are going to climb mountains above 4,500 meters shall apply with the government and put on the record. Foreigner travelers on train or overland to Tibet should also apply for Tibet Travel Permit through a travel agency.
Cultural Dos and Don’ts
Tibetan Buddhism and Muslim are the two major religions in Qinghai, coming along with certain taboos. Firstly, travelers should show respect and do not discuss or talk down about their faith. The topic of politics is not welcome, either. It is inappropriate to wear sleeveless tops, open-chest blouses, short pants/skirts, or flip-flops to any religious site.
Keep your voice down when inside a temple or mosque, and don’t step on the doorstep.
The funeral ritual, Sky Burial is a special practice of the Mongols and some Tibetans. The dead will be put out in nature and eaten up by eagles, wolves, or other wildlife. It is not for show. Ask permission from the next of kin if you really want to watch the event.
When visiting a Muslim house, don’t barge into their kitchen or bedroom unless invited. No eating or even talking about alcohol and pork in a Muslim neighborhood or restaurant.