Qinghai

Xining Railway Station (火车站, Huǒchē Zhàn) is on the high-speed rail line between Lanzhou in Gansu province and Ürümqi in Xinjiang. Regional trains also start/stop at Xining West Railway Station (火车西站, Huǒchē Xīzhàn), about 10km west of the city centre.

Lhasa-bound trains pass through or start/terminate at Xining (hard/soft sleeper ¥540/826, 22 hours) on their way along the now world-famous Qinghai–Tibet Railway. Make sure to have all your Tibet papers in order and get tickets well in advance.

Other destinations from Xining:

Beijing Hard/soft sleeper ¥398/601, 18 to 24 hours

Chengdu Hard/soft sleeper ¥247/377, 14½ to 17 hours

Dunhuang 1st/2nd class ¥425/266, six hours

Jiayuguan South 1st/2nd class ¥251/157, 3½ hours

Golmud Seat/hard sleeper ¥112/208, seven to 10 hours

Lanzhou West 1st/2nd class ¥93/58, two hours

Ürümqi 1st/2nd class ¥789/493, 10 hours

Xi'an North 1st/2nd class ¥325/233, five to six hours

Zhangye West 1st/2nd class ¥147/92, two hours

A beautifully located, welcoming and endlessly rewarding Tibetan town, Yushu is one of the most idyllic places in the entire land. Tragically levelled in an earthquake in 2010, Yushu (玉树, Yùshù; Jyekundo is the name of the town while Yushu is the prefecture) has been entirely rebuilt and has bounced back to regain its popularity as one of Qinghai’s best adventure-travel destinations. Getting here is not such a struggle as it once was: though you can still take the 12-hour bus journey from Xining, you can fly in and out too. Aim to spend as long as you can here to walk the kora above Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery and circumambulate the colossal Seng-ze Gyanak Mani Wall before delving into the surrounding region – the town is a superb high-altitude launching pad for the grasslands, mountain passes, monasteries, rivers and diversity of flora and fauna nearby.

This enormous, gold-plated Tibetan prayer wheel is turned with the aid of rushing water from the Yellow River. The prayer wheel is 27m tall, 10m in diameter and weighs 200 tonnes, earning it a spot in the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest prayer wheel. On a clear day it is quite a beautiful sight, positioned above a recently built rectangular pool of shimmering, sapphire water, with the line of sublime mountains behind and the Yellow River sandwiched between.

The scenic county of Nangchen (囊谦, Nángqiān), a former Tibetan kingdom, is the end of the line for most travellers. The drive from Yushu to the dusty little county capital of Sharda (香达镇, Xiāngdá Zhèn; 3630m), colloquially referred to as Nangchen, takes you past some incredibly diverse landscapes filled with mountains, valleys, monasteries, rushing rivers and a plethora of animals and flora. You'll be tempted to stop the driver to take photos along every bend in the road.

Further south is the Qinghai–Tibet border, with roads to Riwoche and Chamdo, but foreigners aren't allowed access; however, a wonderland of jaw-dropping scenic sights lies scattered in the hills, valleys and rivers around Nangchen, so aim to spend several days exploring.