Qinghai between Salt Lake, Grassland and Monastic Culture

Qinghai brings together striking landscapes, significant cultural sites and vibrant traditions. Qinghai Lake, the grasslands around Hoh Xil, Ta'er Monastery and Regong art represent very different areas of interest. You can therefore shape your trip around nature, architecture, art or history.

Salt Lake, Grassland and Headwaters

Qinghai Lake is China's largest inland salt lake. Along the southern shore runs the Qinghai Lake No. 1 Highway, a 121.3-kilometer scenic corridor road. The lake and the road offer two specific points of reference for the southern shore, without reducing the region's varied landscapes to a single attraction.

The Sanjiangyuan National Park represents a different scale: it protects the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow River and Lancang River and covers 190,700 square kilometers. Its landscapes include glaciers and snow-covered mountains, as well as high-altitude wetlands, desert and Gobi landscapes, and alpine grasslands and meadows. The park thus represents a wide range of highland landscapes, not just one type of terrain.

Grasslands and wildlife are particularly closely connected in the lake basins of Hoh Xil. The alpine grasslands and meadows there are important calving grounds for Tibetan antelopes from across the plateau. At the start of every summer, tens of thousands of female Tibetan antelopes travel hundreds of kilometers from their wintering grounds in the west, north and east to the lake basins to give birth. This seasonal migration is a recurring natural event, not a fixed visit date.

The Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area also brings together nature and education. It is located in Chaka Town, Wulan County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai. The salt lake's strong reflections create a landscape known as China's “Mirror of the Sky.” The area includes a 4,714-square-meter museum that brings together cultural displays, sightseeing, science education and hands-on experiences.

Monasteries, Art and History

Ta'er Monastery is a cultural highlight. It is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and the birthplace of its founder, Tsongkhapa. The palace-like architectural complex combines Tibetan and Han Chinese styles. Its artistic “three treasures” are butter sculptures, murals and applique embroidery. The architecture and artworks each give the monastery a distinct cultural character.

Regong art offers another perspective on art and tradition in Qinghai. It includes thangka painting, murals, applique embroidery and sculpture, and is considered a major school of Tibetan Buddhist art. The Regong June Festival offers a specific date to note: it takes place every year from the 17th to the 25th day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, alternating among 24 Tibetan and Tu villages along the Longwu River. Its history dates back 1,400 years; in 2006 it was added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage. If the festival determines your travel dates, check the dates against the lunar calendar.

Atomic City offers a historical focus. It is located on the Jinyintan Grassland in Xihai Town, Haiyan County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It was the former site of China's first nuclear weapons research base. The Atomic City Memorial Museum provides a comprehensive account of the development of China's atomic energy science and nuclear industry. This makes it quite different from the natural landscapes and monasteries: the focus here is the history of science and the site's former role.

When choosing themes for your trip, you can distinguish between natural highlights such as the salt lake, highlands and wildlife migration; cultural attractions such as monastery architecture and Regong art; and the historical perspective offered by Atomic City. The annual Regong June Festival is relevant if you want to plan around a fixed calendar event; the Tibetan antelope migration, by contrast, is a seasonal natural occurrence. This distinction helps you consider landscape, cultural heritage and events as different reasons to travel to Qinghai.

Discover more destinations: Xining, Haixi, Hainan, Yushu, Haidong, Haibei, Golog, Huangnan

For the main travel overview: China.