In the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Lake is like a blue precious mirror set between the snowy mountains and grasslands. Whenever the mainland summer heat is unbearable, the climate here is cool and pleasant. The blue lake surface of the smoky waves, flocks of cattle and sheep on the shore of the grasslands dotted, golden yellow rape flowers like a woven carpet, ten thousand birds gathered in the wetlands of Bird Island, the beauty of the Qinghai Lake is amazing.
The lake passes through Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, all of which are high-grade highways in excellent condition (similar to Beijing Chang'an Street). There is no plateau reaction when traveling in the region.
Qinghai Lake is a sacred lake in Tibetan areas, and it is best to follow the clockwise direction around the lake to respect local customs. Along the way, there are basically barbed wire fences erected by the government to block between the highway and the pastures in the lake area, but there are still a lot of places without barbed wire fences or extremely easy to go over them to get close to Qinghai Lake.
After arriving in Xining, you can choose to continue on by train, viewing the scenery of Qinghai Lake along the way, or you can choose to take a bus around the beautiful Qinghai Lake to get a full view of the beautiful Qinghai Lake scenery.
The main townships (villages) and lodging points around the lake are: 151 accounts hotel, Jiangxi ditch, the Heima River, Shi Naihe, Bird Island Township, Shatosi Railway Station, Quanji, Gangcha, Xihai Township, Hudong Sheep Breeding Farms, Qinghai Lake Fishing Farm. Among them, the section from Quanji to Xihai Town passes through the boundary of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where the population is relatively concentrated.
Diet to noodle (ga noodle piece, ramen, etc.) and beef and mutton mainly, Qinghai's special stuffed skin and yogurt can also be eaten, and consumption is low, noodle are within 10 yuan. Qinghai Lake Huangshui is the national ban on fishing fish species, in order to protect the species please do not eat!
Here you can drink boiled tea everywhere. Boiled with Hunan ambrosia tea, color similar to black tea, inside just put salt. If you drink this tea at a herder's house, milk or ghee is added.
The ethnic minorities in the Qinghai Lake area are mainly Tibetans, followed by Hui and Mongolians. The people of the area are simple and hospitable, and the locals can basically communicate with you in Qingpu.
The main attractions around the lake and its surroundings are Riyue Mountain, the Inverted Flowing River, Hulimugou Petroglyphs, Rubber Mountain, Chaka Salt Lake, Chaka Temple, Fo'e Ancient City, Bird Island, Haixin Mountain, Beixiangyang Ancient City, Shebuji Petroglyphs, Gahai Ancient City, Jinyintan Prairie, Atomic City Xihai Town, Sand Island, and the Triangle City of Xihai County.
Qinghai Lake side of the famous rapeseed flowers due to fallow grass has been rarely seen, coupled with the climate reasons for the flowers early, I trip (August 25 to August 30) have no chance to see a piece of golden rapeseed fields, only in the northern part of the Lake of the 105 National Highway Road side to see a small piece.
The best time to travel depends on whether you are bird watching or lake watching. The best time to go to Bird Island for bird watching is from the end of April to the beginning of July, with May being the best month, when temperatures are low and windy. The best time to see the lake is July and August, when the water and grass are abundant and the climate is favorable.
Recommended the best scenery around the lake section
Jiangxi ditch - Heima River - Shi Naihe, Bird Island Town - Shatuo Temple, these two parts can be seen Qinghai Lake, the scenery is mainly the lake area and grassland pastures.
Gangcha--Xihai town, this section of the road away from Qinghai Lake can not see the sea blue, most of the area scenery is flat, but will pass by the most beautiful mountain pastures around the lake, can see the snowy mountains.
Qinghai Lake Township - Hudong sheep farm, you can see the Qinghai Lake, is a sandy section of the lake. The sand dunes stretch along the way and the lake is lined with silver-white and yellow sandy beaches.
Precautions
Be on guard against dogs when approaching herdsmen and wolves when camping at night (according to Tibetans there are wolves in the Hudong area).
Some places around the lake are wetlands and swamps, so don't take risks to get close to the lake.
Don't try to swim in the sacred lake, respect Tibetan beliefs.
Don't leave garbage around the lake.
The plateau temperature is not high but the sunshine is strong, it is recommended to use professional grade PA+++ sunscreen skin care products.
There is a big temperature difference between morning and evening, so add or remove clothes at any time. Check the seasonal weather forecast before traveling.
Detailed itinerary:
I.? Xining -- Heimahe
The buses from Xining bus station (south of the train station) to the direction of Qinghai Lake are available throughout the day, and the buses passing through Heimahe are from 7:30 to 17:30, with a ticket price of 25.3 yuan, and the trip takes about 3 hours.
If you go to Chaka Salt Lake, you can also take a passing shuttle bus in Xining to arrive directly.
Two? Heima River - Chaka Salt Lake
Heima River to Chaka town 80km, there are a number of passing shuttles can be reached, in the roadside directly stop the car. The ticket price is 10 yuan, and the trip takes about 1 hour or so.
There is a small bus station in the west of Chaka town, and the buses to Xining are from 8:30 to 23:30.
The town of Chaka is 4km from Chaka Salt Lake, and there are obvious road signs indicating this. From the town to take the noodle of 5 yuan can be visited to the salt lake factory.
The town of Chaka is developed by relying on the salt lake industry and is more prosperous than the towns around Qinghai Lake. There are hotels, post offices, department stores, bookstores, gas stations, etc. Accommodations are better than in Heimahe.
The Green Salt Guesthouse in Chaka Town, where standard rooms can be cut to 50 yuan each.
Three? Heimahe - Shi Naihe - Buhahe - Bird Island Town - Bird Island
Heimahe to Bird Island***70km, of which Heimahe--Shinehai 41km, Shinehai--Buha River 12km, Buha River--Bird Island Town 1km, Bird Island Town
You can hike the Heima River - Shinehai section (this section of the road is my Tibetan brother drove a motorcycle to send me), and then find a small noodle, 20 yuan to Bird Island Town.
The ancient city is on the way to Tiebuga village in Shinehai township. Shi Naihe not far to the north you can see the Tiebuga 50km road signs, from which the west turn 4km or so will see the site of the grassland climbing ambush. The ancient city has basically weathering damage, most of the buried in the ground, barely see the outline of the city, not to go.
Crossing the bridge over the Buha River is the town of Bird Island. Across the bridge south of the road Bird Island Yuqing restaurant, accommodation triple (due to the off-season on my one person to live) plus public **** shower 20 yuan / bed.
Bird Island opening time 8:30 - 17:30.
Bird Island town north of a bus station, every morning at 8:00 a.m. more than a bus from here through the northern section of the Qinghai Lake and the eastern section of the drive to Xining. Mileage and fares are as follows:
Note: Fares are at the intersection of horizontal and vertical coordinates, and mileage is the number above the corresponding intersection. For example, 40km from Sha Railway Station to Gangcha, the fare is 5.5 RMB; 27km from Quanji to Gangcha, the fare is 4 RMB. It should be noted that the mileage from Torishima as the point of departure to each station should be subtracted from this table by 11km, because this eleven kilometers is the mileage from the point of departure to the Torishima bus station, which should be ignored.
Four, Bird Island Town - Shatosi Railway Station (i.e., the sand railway station in the above table)
From Bird Island Town along the highway to the Shatosi Railway Station is about 21km (the road marking on the west road around the lake is from 55km - 75km), I I walked a little slower with a heavy load, and it took me 6 hours to take photos, look at the lake, and rest along the way.
Shatuo Temple train station every day there are two slow train through, Golmud to Xining car 11:30 to Shatuo Temple, Xining to Golmud car 17:30 to arrive.
V. Shatosi Railway Station--Quanji--Ikeulan--Gangcha--Xihaizhen
Quanji, also known as Cheji, belongs to Xinji Township. It is about 20km from Shatosi to Quanji, and 20km from Quanji to Shaluhe Township in Gangcha County.
This section of the road is a national highway, and it is more convenient to hitchhike along the way. Along the way many people, Quanji to Gangcha County Shaliuhe will pass through two or three small villages, food and shelter are not a problem.
I took the hitchhiking motorcycle from Shatuo Temple, less than an hour to the bus station in Gangcha County, just in time for the 16:00 or so shuttle bus, 1.5 hours from Gangcha to Xihai Town, 12 yuan.
Xihai town is the former atomic city (the first atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb development place), today's capital of Haibei Autonomous Prefecture, a neat and quiet small town. The city is quite large, with clean streets, few pedestrians, government agencies on both sides, and a beautiful central square. All around the town of Xihai is the grassland of the Treasure Beach, where Wang Luobin met the girl Zhuo Ma and wrote "In That Faraway Place". South of Xihai Town is Haiyan County, where there are excavated relics such as the ruins of the ancient city of Xihai County (also known as the "Triangle City") and the Tiger's Rune Stone Pavilion. The main purpose of visiting here is to visit the atomic bomb base, the ancient city of Xihai County and the grassland of Jin Yin Tan.
The best place to stay in Xihai Town is the Haibei Hotel. I stayed at the Xihai Hotel: 70 yuan for a standard room, 20 yuan/bed for an ordinary double room, and 15 yuan/bed for a general triple room with a public **** shower. But you don't expect to have good hot water for bathing, due to the town of Xihai unified for hot water, less than the winter heating time in the middle of the day is very short, the water temperature is half-temperature, every hotel is the same, small inn simply can not take a shower.
The "cross" street in the town of West China Sea has cabs and motorcycles, I chartered a Xiali from here to play first to the Treasure Beach and then go to the east of the lake sheep farm cost 65 yuan.
There are atomic bomb monuments and base pavilions in the town of Xihai. The base pavilion 20 yuan ticket, first watch the video and then visit the pictures and objects, mainly to introduce China's first atomic bomb base construction process and achievements, if you pay attention to the history of the **** and the country to go and take a look.
There is a shuttle bus from the bus station in the town of Xihai, 2 yuan to Haiyan County. Haiyan County 1km northwest of Yintan Township, Xihai County, Triangle City, Tiger Fu Shi Gui in the county cultural center, Haiyan small, these are easy to find. Triangle City has been partially destroyed due to the national highway reconstruction, tiger scarcity is also placed in the overgrown cultural center unattended. Come to see these first to do your homework, understand their history and cultural value, otherwise tasteless and meaningless.
From the town of Xihai to Haiyan County, the surrounding grasslands are all called gold and silver beach. The source of the name of the gold and silver beach one said because the gold beach grassland full of small golden flowers, silver beach grassland full of small white flowers, so the name gold and silver beach. Another theory is that in the sunset on the grassland, yak wool is golden, sheep wool is bright white, the two colors reflect for the grassland twilight added beauty, so the name of the gold and silver beach. Wang Luobin met Zhuo Ma's grassland is 7km northwest of the town of Xihai, this place was originally the Atomic City (also known as the 221 plant), the location of the fifth branch of the plant, is now built into the "account of the hotel" for tourists to live. Here there is a statue of ZhuoMa and "gold and silver beach" three words of stone carving, but due to serious tourism development, a large expanse of exposed loess can not see the beautiful grassland, the ground is actually inserted "protect the lawn" sign, than the grasslands around the Qinghai Lake pastures are far away!
Six, Xihai Town - Qinghai Lake Township - Hudong sheep farm
Xihai Township bus station 7:00 - 17:30 all day car to Xining, after the bus station is closed. This point the bus station is closed. The east road around the lake only every morning 8:20 a bus through, is sent to Hainan Autonomous Prefecture, to go to Hudong sheep farm only take this bus or their own taxi. West sea town to the Qinghai lake township 15km. West sea to the east of the lake sheep farm 43km, shuttle bus fare 5.5 yuan. Here there are also to Huangzhong, Huangyuan and other places of the car.
Hudong Sheep Farm is a town that used to herd sheep, now there are many Hui people living here, due to less communication with the outside world, the locals will be curious about you, but extremely friendly (most of the villages and towns around the Qinghai Lake folk style is so, rare ah!)
If you don't live in a resident's home, then the only place to stay here is the "Sheep Farm Guest House", which is a clean place that looks like an army compound, with a cool green ramp and a doorway that says "Qinghai Lake Sheep Farm" and "Qinghai University Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Farm". "Qinghai University College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry internship base" signboard. Guest House waitress named "Yima", a head of black thick hair, is a lovely Tibetan girl. Here ordinary double room per bed 30 yuan, but in fact there will be few guests, you live alone.
VII.? Hudong sheep farm - 109 national highway - Xining
Passing through the Hudong sheep farm shuttle bus only the town of Xihai to Hainan hair every day, about 9:00 or so to here, come out early on the side of the road and so on.
Hudong sheep farm to 109 national highway 15km, I set off at 9:00 hiking, 12:30 to the 109 national highway. There are very many cars here to Xining, and it's easy to stop them, but the long-distance shuttles don't stop. I took a shuttle bus from Wulan to Xining, and it took me 1 hour and 50 minutes to get to Xining's "Little Bridge" (located northwest of Xining), and the fare was 15 yuan.
Additionally, I had wanted to ride from the 109 National Highway to Huangyuan County car, and then transfer Huangshangzhong straight to the Temple of Tal, which is more time-saving. But after inquiries and check the map found that it does not work - Huangyuan no road to Huangzhong, only Xining to Huangzhong has a highway communication, to go to the Tal Temple only first back to Xining.
To this point, has been around the end of the lake.
The best way to see the sacred lake is to circumnavigate the lake for a week, the travel agency's day trip is simply impossible to experience the essence of Qinghai Lake. You can rent a car from Xining (Xining has a new concept) to drive around the lake, or you can ride a bicycle or hike and hitchhike around the lake. The average Tibetan hikes the entire way around the lake, eating only one dinner a day, which takes about 10 days.
Turning Qinghai Lake is not like other outdoor activities, filled with donkeys competing for equipment and physical strength, we just need a devout heart and obsession with beauty. Along the way you will feel not only the beautiful scenery, pure and simple folk and devout religious beliefs will infect you. The local people are full of kindness and even respect for the people who turn to the lake