Things to do in Qīnghǎi
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A
Amdo Café
Profits from the lovely handmade Tibetan gifts (from Y6) sold here go back to the local craftswomen. There's also decent coffee (from Y8).
reviewed
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Zhènyà Niúròu Miàn
Join the local Muslim population for their noodle fix at this busy place by the Great Mosque. There's no menu, but there are only two dishes: beef noodles (牛肉面; niúròu miàn; Y5) and minced-meat noodles (干拌面; gān bànmiàn; Y6.50). A small peppery soup (酸汤; suān tāng) comes free.
reviewed
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Xiāngsìhǎi Xiǎochǎo
Well-run restaurant across from main gate of Golmud Hotel. Part picture menu.
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Wútún Sì
Sengeshong village, 6km from Tóngrén, is the place to head if you're interested in Tibetan art. There are two monasteries, collectively known as Wútún Sì (吾屯寺), that are divided into an Upper (Yango) Monastery (上寺; Shàng Sì;), closest to town, and a Lower (Mango) Monastery (下寺; Xià Sì). The monks will show you around whatever chapels happen to be open and then take you to a showroom or workshop. The resident artists are no amateurs – commissions for their work come in all the way from Lhasa, and prices aren't cheap. Artwork at the Upper Monastery is of an exceptionally high quality, but expect to pay hundreds of rénmínbì for the smallest thangk…
reviewed
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Tibetan Culture Museum
Previously known as the Tibetan Medicine Museum, this unusual place still focuses on traditional Tibetan medicine and includes old medical instruments, bags, scrolls and, in the astronomy section, a very large sand mandala. The highlight, though, is the incredible 618m-long thangka scroll – the world's longest – which charts pretty much the whole of Tibetan history. Completed in 1997 it's by no means an ancient relic, but it is unfeasibly long. It took 400 artists four years to complete and is ingeniously displayed in a relatively small hall. Bus 34 (Y1) comes here from West Gate. Bus 1 also goes close. A taxi's about Y15 from the centre.
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Sūjī Nímǎ
The main reason to come to this canal-side restaurant is to watch the evening performances of Tibetan dancing (9.30pm to midnight) which are free as long as you buy drinks or a meal. The Tibetan food is also very good. There's no English menu but the kāngbā níupái (康巴牛排; Khampa beef steak; Y58) and zàngxiāng mèntǔjī (藏乡焖土鸡; Tibetan clay pot chicken; Y46) are highly recommended.
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Shuǐjǐng Xiàng Market
Lively market running north–south between Xi Dajie and Nanguan Jie.
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Rongwo Gonchen Gompa
Tóngrén's main monastery (Lóngwù Sì) is a huge and rambling maze of renovated chapels and monks' residences, dating from 1301. It's well worth a wander, and you'll need one or two hours to see everything. Your ticket includes entry into six main halls, although you may be able to take a peek inside others too. There are more than 500 resident monks and every day dozens of them go into the courtyard outside the Hall of Bodhisattva Manjusri to take part in animated, hand-clapping debates. There's a map in English on a wooden board just inside the main gate.
reviewed
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Rebkong Teahouse
There are a few Tibetan teahouses in town but this is hands down the coolest. There's a small range of well-presented Tibetan dishes as well as snacks (from Y3), tea (including yak-butter tea; Y12), fresh coffee (from Y10) and beers (from Y6). Some English is spoken. It's at the far end of Zhongshan Lu from the bridge. First floor.
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Qīnghǎi Tǔ Huǒguō
Unlike its fiery Chóngqìng cousin, Qīnghǎi's chilli-less hotpot, which comes in attractive copper pots, won't burn your head off when you eat it. This place has three different pot sizes, all of which include 10 different ingredients. If you can read Chinese, you can add more from the menu. The Y58 version is plenty for two or three people. Dipping sauces – either chilli (香辣; xiǎnglà) or garlic (蒜泥; suànní) – are Y2 extra.
reviewed
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Qīnghǎi Provincial Museum
Scaled down in recent years, but still has some nice pieces recovered from excavations in Qīnghǎi. The Tibetan carpet exhibition is worth seeing. Bus 1 goes here, or take bus 22 from Dongguan Dajie.
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Greenhouse
Rustic split-level wood interior and easily the best coffee in town. Also serves smoothies (Y20) and snacks (Y4 to Y25).
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Great Mosque
About one-third of Xīníng's population is Muslim and there are more than 80 mosques across the city. But this is the big one. In fact, it's one of the largest mosques in China. Friday lunchtime prayers regularly attract 50,000 worshippers who spill out onto the streets before and afterwards. And during Ramadan as many as 300,000 come here to pray. Non-Muslims can't enter the main prayer hall, but can stroll around the grounds. The mosque was first built during the late 14th century and has since been restored.
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Gomar Gompa
Across the Gu-chu river valley from Wútún Sì is the mysterious 400-year-old Gomar Gompa (Guōmárì Sì), a charming monastery that resembles a medieval walled village. There are 130 monks in residence living in whitewashed mud-walled courtyards and there are a few temples you can visit. The huge chörten outside the monastery entrance was built in the 1980s and is the biggest in Amdo. You can climb it, but remember to always walk clockwise. There are photos of the 14th Dalai Lama at the top.
To get here, turn left down a side road as you pass the last of the eight chörten outside Wútún Sì's Lower Monastery. Follow the road 1km across the river and turn right at the en…
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Golden Stupa Temple
Small temple named after long-destroyed golden chörten (Tibetan stupa). Used as place of study by monks at Kumbum Monastery.
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Dio Coffee
Get your laptop out, order a latte and forget for a moment that you were ever in Qīnghǎi.
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City Wall
One or two isolated sections of Xīníng's old city wall still remain, the most accessible being a short stretch on Kunlun Zhonglu.
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D
Black Tent
Authentic Tibetan nosh, including tsampa (roasted barley; Y17), momo (dumplings; Y25 to Y30) and yak-butter yoghurt (Y12) as well as some tasty Nepalese dishes. Also serves yak-butter tea (per pot Y20) and Qīnghǎi's favourite local tipple, barley wine (青稞酒; qīngkē jiǔ).
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Běichán Sì
The main temple at the foot of this barren hillside is nothing special but halfway up the steep climb to the top you pass cave temples and shrines that are thought to be 1700 years old. A pagoda, and great views of the city await you at the top. Turn left after you pass under the railway line and follow the road round to the temple entrance, or take a Y6 cab.
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E
Ālán Cāntīng
Great noodles (Y5 to Y10). Try gānbàn miàn (干拌面; spaghetti-style noodles with meat sauce; Y6) or niúròu miàn (牛肉面; beef noodles; Y5). Has other dishes in a separate photo menu.
reviewed
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