On the map, Qinghai Province is located in western China, geographically between longitude 89°35′-103°04′ east and latitude 31°9′-39°19′ north.

The province is more than 1,200 kilometers long from east to west and more than 800 kilometers wide from north to south, with a total area of 722,300 square kilometers, accounting for one-thirteenth of the country's total area, and ranking fourth among all the provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in the country in terms of area, after Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Qinghai Province is surrounded by neighboring provinces and regions, the north and east with Gansu Province, the northwest and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the south and southwest and Tibet Autonomous Region adjacent to the southeast and Sichuan Province border.

The province is named after Qinghai Lake, the largest inland saltwater lake in China. Qinghai Province is the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, Lancang River origin, so it is known as the "source of the river", also known as "three rivers", known as "China's water tower" reputation, is the link Tibet Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the mainland. The special geographic advantage makes this place an important source of Chinese civilization; it has formed a multicultural culture with Kunlun culture as the main body and different ethnic cultures.

Topography of Qinghai Province:

The topography of Qinghai Province is generally high in the west and low in the east, high in the south and high in the north and low in the center, with the western part of the province having a high elevation, tilting towards the east and falling in a trapezoidal shape, and the eastern part of the province being a transition zone from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to the Loess Plateau, with a complex and varied topography. The major mountain ranges constitute the basic skeleton of the province's geomorphology.

The province's average elevation of 3,000 meters above sea level, the province's elevation of 3,000 meters below the area of 111,000 square kilometers, accounting for 15.9% of the province's total area; elevation of 3,000 to 5,000 meters area of 532,000 square kilometers, accounting for 76.3% of the province's total area; elevation of 5,000 meters above the area of 54,000 square kilometers, accounting for 7.8% of the province's total area. 7.8%. Qingnan plateau average elevation of more than 4,000 meters, the area accounts for more than half of the province's total area; Huanghe Valley lower elevation, more in 2000 meters or so.

The highest point is located in the Kunlun Mountains, Bukhadasaka Peak for the elevation of 6851 meters, the lowest point is located in the Haidong City and the county of Machangaki Township within the territory of (the easternmost tip of Qinghai Province) and Gansu Province, the border, the elevation of 1644 meters. Qinghai Province, the geomorphology of the surrounding area, northeast and east and the Loess Plateau, the Qinling Mountains in transition, the north and the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, the northwest through the Arjinshan Mountain and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Tarim Basin, the south and the Tibetan plateau in the north, the southeast through the mountains and highland basins connected to the Sichuan Basin.

The plains of the province cover an area of 197,000 square kilometers, accounting for 28.3% of the province's total area; the mountains cover an area of 341,000 square kilometers, accounting for 48.9% of the province's total area; the hills cover an area of 102,000 square kilometers, accounting for 14.6% of the province's total area; and the tablelands cover an area of 57,000 square kilometers, accounting for 8.2% of the province's total area.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Qinghai