Must-see attractions in Qinghai

  • Top Choice
    Guide National Geological Park

    In the stunning multicoloured clay scenery of Danxia Canyon (丹霞峡谷, Dānxiá Xiágǔ), this geopark offers walking trails in among red and orange hills that…

  • Top Choice
    Kanbula National Forest Park

    The desert scenery outside of Tongren comes to a pinnacle in this national park where flaming-red mountains meet the turquoise waters of a reservoir…

  • Top Choice
    Tibetan Culture & Medicine Museum

    Exhibitions in the north hall focus on Tibetan medicine, astronomy and science. Many visitors come for the 618m-long thangka scroll in the south hall –…

  • Top Choice
    China Fortune Wheel

    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…

  • Top Choice
    Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery

    First built in 1398, the Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery suffered heavy damage from the 2010 earthquake (the main prayer hall was completely destroyed and…

  • Top Choice
    Yushu Museum

    This huge and excellent museum is a must-see to put some of the region's history and culture into perspective, including informative and well-presented…

  • Top Choice
    Nanguan Mosque

    This beautiful and recently constructed mosque is really quite an astonishing sight. Built from marble and a variety of other stones and carved tilework,…

  • Chaka Salt Lake

    Located 25km west of Qinghai Lake past Heimahe, this salt lake is a popular side trip for a stunning optical illusion that occurs between noon and 4pm…

  • Mt Amnye Machen

    The 6282m peak of Machen Kangri, or Mt Amnye Machen, is Amdo’s most sacred mountain – it’s eastern Tibet’s equivalent to Mt Kailash in western Tibet…

  • Erlangjian Scenic Area

    The closest Qinghai Lake tourist spot to Xining, this site 150km west of town consists of a Chinese-style sightseeing village backing on to the shores of…

  • Princess Wencheng Temple

    Dedicated to the Tang dynasty Chinese Princess Wencheng, who was instrumental in converting her husband and Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo, to Buddhism in…

  • Youning Monastery

    Well known throughout the Tibetan world, this 17th-century hillside monastery in the Huzhu Tuzu (互助土族, Hùzhù Tǔzú) Autonomous County is considered one of…

  • Kumbum Monastery

    One of the great monasteries of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Kumbum Monastery was built in 1577 on hallowed ground – the birthplace…

  • Zhaling & Eling Lakes

    Closed to sightseeing at the time of research, these lakes are the widely accepted source of the Yellow River, and most Chinese tourists drive or hire a…

  • Wútún Sì

    This two-monastery complex is the place to head if you’re interested in Tibetan art. The Upper (Yango) Monastery (吾屯上寺, Wútún Shàngsì) is closest to…

  • Seng-ze Gyanak Mani Wall

    Completely rebuilt after suffering extensive damage in the 2010 earthquake, this site is thought to be the world’s largest mani wall (piles of stones with…

  • Bird Island

    This island (a peninsula, in fact) on China’s largest lake is the breeding ground for thousands of wild geese, gulls, cormorants, sandpipers, extremely…

  • Gomar Gompa

    Across the Gu-chu river valley from Wútún Sì is the mysterious 400-year-old Gomar Gompa, a charming monastery that resembles a medieval walled village…

  • Huzhu Beishan Forest National Park

    If you don't have time to explore further into the province, this exhilarating forest park in the foothills of the Qilian Mountains – at an elevation…

  • Dongguan Grand Mosque

    As becomes quickly evident to even the most casual observer, about one-third of Xining’s population is Muslim, and although the city's biggest mosque may…