Qinghai青海·青
A high-altitude plateau of salt lakes, Tibetan grasslands, and the source of three great rivers.
Qinghai sits on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau at an average altitude of 3,000 m. The Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rivers all rise here — the province is essentially .
Travelers come for Qinghai Lake's blue water and mustard-yellow rapeseed shores, the salt lake, and a gentler introduction to without permits.
The province is a where Tibetan monasteries, Hui mosques, and Salar villages coexist along the ancient trade routes.
Top Attractions
Culture & Traditions
Tibetan Amdo Heartland
Most of Qinghai falls in the Tibetan region of Amdo — birthplace of the 14th Dalai Lama. Monasteries here are quieter than Lhasa's but no less spiritually significant.
Multi-Ethnic Mosaic
Han, Tibetan, Hui, Tu, Salar and Mongol communities all share Qinghai. Xining's bazaars sell Tibetan butter, Salar prayer caps and Hui Lanzhou-style noodles within meters of each other.
Rapeseed Flower Tourism
From early July, the Qinghai Lake shore turns into a blanket of mustard-yellow rapeseed flowers stretching to the water — one of the most photographed scenes in Chinese travel.
Yak Milk Heritage
Yak butter tea, yak cheese, yak yoghurt — Qinghai's pastoral economy still runs on yak products. A standard Tibetan welcome involves three bowls of butter tea and a slab of yak jerky.
Source-of-Rivers Identity
The Yangtze, Yellow and Mekong rivers all begin in Qinghai. Many Chinese consider it the spiritual headwaters of the country — Maduo county hosts an annual ritual at the Yellow River source.
Cities
10 prefecture-level · sorted by tourist popularity- 1
Xining
西宁CapitalThe provincial capital and the gateway to the Tibetan Plateau — Kumbum Monastery, Dongguan Mosque, and the starting point for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
- 2
Haidong
海东Eastern Qinghai — famous for the Qutan Monastery (a Ming-dynasty "mini-Forbidden City") and the Salar Muslim culture of Xunhua.
- 3
Haibei (Gangcha)
海北（刚察）The northern shore of Qinghai Lake — famous for the rapeseed bloom, Bird Island, and the "Atomic City" (China's first nuclear weapons research base).
- 4
Huangnan (Tongren)
黄南（同仁）The center of Regong Tibetan art — Thangka painting, Longwu Monastery, and the annual Shaman Festival.
- 5
Hainan (Gonghe)
海南（共和）The southern shore of Qinghai Lake — Longyangxia Dam on the Yellow River and the vast grasslands of the Gonghe Basin.
- 6
Golog (Maqên)
果洛（玛沁）A remote Tibetan prefecture — home to the sacred Amne Machin mountain (6,282m) and the headwaters of the Yellow River.
- 7
Yushu
玉树The heart of Kham Tibetan culture in Qinghai — rebuilt after the 2010 earthquake, famous for its mani stone wall and horse festival.
- 8
Haixi (Golmud)
海西（格尔木）The vast Qaidam Basin — Chaka Salt Lake, Qarhan Salt Lake, and the major industrial and rail hub of Golmud.
Famous Locals
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