Trip Moments Recommendations
Turquoise Eye of Qinghai Province
Tibetan plateau AKA "Roof of the World" is the highest in the world and Qinghai lake (青海湖) is the largest saltwater lake in China. 🌊Have you noticed that we're speaking in superlatives? It's not a coincidence. Qinghai lake (青海湖) definitely deserves to be be called the sea of the West due to its size, vastness, and the fact that it resembles a sea in certain aspects. It's a saline waters boasts incredible variety of wildlife at an altitude of 3205m. "On the plateau's crest, a jewel so grand, Qinghai Lake's waters stretch across the land. Azure skies embrace its tranquil face, A mirror of nature's serene embrace." 😍
Tips and tricks: If you want to visit Qinghai lake without any tour operators or rental cars you can easily get there from the Xining bus station (西宁汽车客运中心站). Several buses go to Qinghaihu (hu = lake) every day starting from 8AM. 🚌The drop off location is called 青海湖国家重点风景名胜区. That's the closest scenic area to the Xining city. One way ticket costs 60RMB. 💸The bus will wait for the passengers at the scenic area's parking lot for around 3 hours before heading back to the Xining bus station. To make sure you have a seat you can buy round way tickets at the Xining bus station. Total cost will be 120RMB per person. 🙃
#summerbreak #SpinTheWorld #qinghailake #xining #summervacation
Qinghai lake - the biggest in China
Only taking into consideration that it's the biggest, it's worth visiting. Yet I think Scenic area tickets are overpriced. There's not much to do in the area apart from taking pictures, riding a boat (3 types, start from 100yuan) and feeding seagulls.
Still it's worth visiting, though it feels much much better if you drive a car in Qinghai (we took a shared taxi from Xining to Qinghai lake) and overall had pretty much headache with transportation in this province.
Almost all the wild areas around are privately owned and you need to pay to enter (or, say, ride a horse, 200yuan per 3km round-trip to the lake🙄). This numerous fences and herds of tourists made it difficult for me to fully enjoy the beauty of the lake and surrounding landscapes (I just ran into the mountains 😂) . Also it was pretty hard to find a hotel accommodating foreigners (beginning of August).
Only Chinese food (quite pricey)
Still it was a great trip, I'd like to come back driving a car😁
#qinghai #qinghailake
Adventurous Road Trip
We spend 2.5 hours on the road to get to Qinghai Lake via Sun-moon mountain, the largest salt water lake of China. There you may feel that the air is so fresh and the sunshine is so warm it makes you feel as if you are in paradise. You can see groups of sheep, yaks, blue sky and white clouds. We dressed up in traditional Tibetan clothing and enjoyed some of the activities they had. The main scenic area we visited was the Erlangjian Scenic Area. You can enjoy the charming lake, take a boat cruise, horse riding and bike riding which is also available around the lake.
#qinghailake #horseriding #tibetanculture #yak #coffee #freshair #sunshine #blueskies #xining
Qinghai lake: 3260m above sea level
Qinghai Lake, in the northeast part of the province, is the largest inland saltwater lake in China. Both the Mongolian name and the Tibetan name mean 'Blue Lake'. In spring you can see a lot of birds, gulls, swans, and wild ducks. May through October is the best time for bird-watching.
🚌 How to get there?
🚗 Private car - These can be hired from a travel agent for ¥400. If you drive by yourself, it's a little cheaper.
👨👩👧👦 Tour - A number of companies in town offer trips to the lake. Prices start at around ¥100, which doesn't include entrance fees, as the tours usually don't go to free spots.
🚌 Public Bus - Most westbound buses from the Xining long distance bus station pass by the lake. Just buy a ticket and tell the driver you want to get off at the lake.
Remember that the lake is huge and maybe decide, where you wanna go. We didn't do that and just drive around, if you have time it's also a good way.
🏨 Wanna sleep there? Many simple hotels and guesthouses around the lake!
#qinghai #qinghailake
#roadtrip#summervacation#hikingtrails