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Posted: June 6, 2013  By: Admin

Named after Qinghai Lake, the largest inland salt lake in China, Qinghai Province features colorful natural landscapes including snow-covered mountains, deserts, vast pastures and sparkling lakes, and is home to flocks of rare birds and animals. People of Han, Tibetan, Tu, Hui, Salar and Mongolian minority ethnic groups form unique cultures and folk traditions.

Qutan Temple

Established in 1392 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Qutan Temple has a history of over 600 years. Located 17 kilometers (10.56 miles) from Ledu County, Qinghai Province, it features a group of some of the most well-preserved Ming-style buildings in northwest China.

The temple was built after modeling the structure of the Forbidden City in Beijing, so it is referred to by experts as "the imperial palace of the northwest." Its axis runs directly through its mid-section, dividing the temple into two symmetrical parts.

The temple boasts for its magnificent architecture, precious cultural relics and large pieces of frescoes. It has become an important arena venue for religious activities as well as a tourist destination.


Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve

Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, or the Three Rivers Nature Reserve, contains the headwaters of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Mekong River. The reserve, established in 2000, is to protect the headwaters of the three rivers.

Located in the hinterlands of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in southern Qinghai with at an altitude of over 4,000 meters, the reserve covers an area of about 150,000 square kilometers (15 million hectares), larger than the total area of England and Wales of the UK. It is the largest and highest natural wetland in China.

The reserve boasts for its beautiful scenery and rich resources including grasslands, mountains, rivers, snow mountains, wetlands and wild life. It is home to many precious animals such as Tibetan antelopes, Tibetan gazelles, wild yaks and wild asses. It has been described as "Asia's water tower," providing the lower reaches of the three rivers with 60 billion cubic meters of water annually.


Qarhan Salt Lake

Located in southern Qaidam Basin in the northeastern part of Qinghai Province, Qarhan Salt Lake is the largest natural salt lake in China, as well as one of the most well-known inland salt lakes in the world, covering about 5,800 square kilometers (580,000 hectares).

As a natural resource for a number of important minerals, the lake is famous for its deposits of more than 50 billion tons of sodium chloride, or table salt, which canenough to supply 6 billion people for 1,000 years. The briny water of the lake crystallizes into salt under the searing heat, forming a hardened salt bed around the lake.

The most amazing feature of the lake is the 32-kilometer-long salt bridge built across the lake. The bridge, 15-18 meters thick, is made with salt. "Floating" on the lake, the bridge is straight and smooth on the surface, which divides the lake into two parts. Driving on the bridge is an interesting experience.


Mengda Nature Reserve

Located about 110 kilometers (68.35 miles) southeast of Xining in the Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, the Mengda Nature Reserve is a flourishing area of natural beauty. It boasts for its amazing scenery and a wet and mild climate, which may explain how it has won itself a nick name "highland Xishuangbanna." (Xishuangbanna is a fairyland inis the tropical southern region in China's Yunnan Province).

Established in 1980, the reserve is the first reserve focusing on plant protection in Qinghai. Covering a total area of 9,544 hectares, it features primeval primeval forest, a large variety of exotic flowers, waterfalls and many wild animals. Looking from a distance at the Mengda Heavenly Lake in the reserve, the lake is like a pearl on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is a perfect place for hiking and boating.


Dongguan Grand Mosque

Dongguan Grand Mosque, located at the south side of Dongguan Street in Qinghai's capital city Xining, is the largest mosque in the province and one of the largest in northwest China, covering an area of 11,940 square meters (1.194 hectares). It is also the best-protected ancient building in the city.

The style of the mosque combines both traditional Chinese design and Islamic architectural features, with grand appearance and delicate, dazzlingly inside ornaments interior appointments. Its prayer hall can hold up to 3,000 people.

With a history of more than 600 years, the mosque is not only well known for its magnificent architecture but also for its role as a religious education center and an Islamic institute of higher learning. When Islam's important holidays come around, tens of thousands of worshippers come to participate in ceremonies and religious activities.


Golmud Diversifolious Poplar Forest

Located 60 kilometers (37.28 miles) away from Golmud downtown area, the Golmud Diversifolious Poplar Forest is the only forest of the its kind in Qinghai Province, as well as the one with the highest altitude in the world.

The diversifolious poplar is the only type of tree that can grow naturally in deserts and sandy lands. It appeared 60 million years ago. It is a heat-and-cold-resistant plant, whose root can reach 13 meters underground to absorb water in an extremely drought environment.

Facing Kunlun Mountains in the south and Gobi and salt flats in the north, the forest sits in the desertification area, with a seasonal river flowing by. Desert plants including reed, Kalidium and Chionese tamarisk, and wild animals such as pheasants, foxes and wolves, form a special ecological system here.


Huzhu Tu Ethnic Tourist Area

The Huzhu Tu Ethnic Tourist Area is located at the fringe zone of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Loess Plateau, in the northeast part of Qinghai Province. It is the only autonomous county dominated by people of Tu Ethnic group in China.

The Tu people are good at singing and dancing. During some folk festivals held on specific days throughout the year, the "Hua'er Concert" is mostly held as a major activity.

The picturesque Beishan National Forest Park is also located in this area. Covering a total area of 113,000 hectares, the park features amazing natural landscapes including the odd-shaped pines, grotesque rocks, immense forest, fountains and waterfalls. It is also the home to rare birds and animals.


Kanbula National Forest Park

Located in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 131 kilometers (81.4 miles) from Qinghai's capital city Xining, the Kanbula National Forest Park is an ideal place for traveling, sightseeing, vacation, camping and scientific expeditions.

Covering an area of 152 square kilometers (15,200 hectares), the park is famous for its unique landform of red gravel rocks, and features forest vegetation, lofty mountains, soaring peaks crystal water and Tibetan culture. With an altitude of 2,100 to 4,000 meters above sea level, it borders on the Yellow River in the north and is close to Lijiaxia Hydropower Station.

The weather amid the mountains can change very frequently.


Kumbum Lamasery

Located 25 kilometers (15.53 miles) southwest to Xining City, the Kumbum Monastery (also called Ta'er Monastery) is one of six famous monasteries in the Gelugpa Sect (also called Yellow Hat Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism. It is said to be the birthplace of Zongkaba (1357-1419), the founder of the Gelugpa Sect.

Founded in 1379, the lamasery has a history of more than 600 years. It sits on the slopes of a mountain, covering an area of 600 mu (40 hectares). With a combination of Tibetan and Han architectural styles, it is a complex that embraces 9,300 structures, including scripture halls, Buddha halls, lamas' residences, and Buddhist pagodas.

Butter sculptures, mural paintings and embroidery are three spectaculars specialties of the Ta'er Lamasery.


Koko Nor Lake (Qinghai Lake)

Koko Nor Lake, or Qinghai Lake, "a blue sea" in Mongolian and Tibetan, is the largest inland salt lake in China, covering an area of 4,500 square kilometers (450,000 hectares). With an average depth of 20 meters, the lake is known for its vast expanse of misty and wavy blue water.

Around the lake is the an endless stretch of picturesque grasslands, rapes and wheat fields. Countless sheep, cattle and horses are grazinggraze under the white cloud-dotted blue sky.

The most fascinating attraction of Qinghai Lake is the Bird Island, a sanctuary for many kinds of birds, which is one of China's eight key bird nature reserves. Covering an area of 0.11 square kilometers (11 hectares), the island provides habitats for over 100,000 migrating birdsnts from south China and Southeast Asia. Such a density is rare in the world.

The splendid scenery of Qinghai Lake has attractedattracts millions of tourists. May, June, and July are the best months to go and see the birds.

Source: ChinaDOTcom