9 Days Qinghai Exploration Tour from Xining to Golmud

Today your flight will touch down in Xining, the capital city of Qinghai. When you arrive at Xining you can meet your driver at the Airport, and then your driver will take you to visit Ta'er monastery (Kumbum Monastery), the most populous monks outside of Tibet. You will stay at Thangka Sunning Terrace that is one of a good place to view the monastery and surrounding scenery. Inside the monastery, apart from magnificent Buddha stupas and wall paintings, prayer wheels are also the must-see spot. The whole monastery is surrounded by wheels, walk along the corridor, rotate the wheels and pray for chasing away the troubles.

We will depart early at around 7:00 AM and drive for 3 hours to Qinghai Lake, where you will be amazed by the stunning views along the way. The highland lake offers breathtaking scenery, and you can also see grazing animals such as sheep, goats, yaks, and horses. You'll have the opportunity to ride a bike or go on a cruise around the lake to take in the wonderful landscape. Afterward, we will drive to Chaka for our overnight stay.

Spend the morning exploring Chaka Salt Lake, which is the largest saline in Qinghai Province, Chaka Salt Lake means "the sea of salt"  in Mongolian. It lies in the center of Qaidam Basin, which was nominated by the National Tourist Geography magazine as one of the 55 places to go. Thereafter, we will drive back to Xining for an overnight stay.

In the morning, after a delightful breakfast, we will drive to Xinghai County to visit Saizong Temple, which is located about 60 kilometers southwest of Xinghai County in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The temple is situated at the foot of Saizong Mountain, which is located in the central part of Xinghai County. Saizong mountain is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in the Amdo Tibetan area. From a distance, it looks like a giant elephant drinking water, with its trunk hanging down in the Qimo ditch in front of the temple. The mountain features ravines and caves everywhere, along with an abundance of pines and cypresses, creating a verdant and beautiful landscape.

Depart from the hotel, we will drive to Yushu. Passing by the upper reaches of the Yellow River, enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way, and you may have a chance to visit wild animals. Arrive in Yushu, take you to the hotel, and have a rest.

This morning, our first stop will be the Princess Wencheng Temple, a historical site left by Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) during her journey to Tibet in 641 AD. The temple houses the earliest large-scale relief Buddha groups on a cliff in Qinghai. We will also see the Gyanak (Jiana) Mani Wall, a large pile of praying stones engraved with Buddha sculptures and pictures, which is considered the largest in Tibetan areas. 

Afterward, we will visit the Yushu Earthquake Relief Memorial Hall, located behind the Yushu Earthquake Memorial. This museum commemorates the relief operations following the 2010 earthquake, which claimed the lives of nearly 2700 people. Then, we will head to the Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery, which has been rebuilt and sits dramatically on a ridge above the town. We can take a hike into the hills above the temple and follow the clockwise kora through a large encampment of prayer flags.

Our next destination is Qumalai. On the way, we will have a distant view of the Black-necked Crane Nature Reserve, located over 4,000 meters above sea level. It is the habitat of black-necked cranes, spotted geese, brown-headed gulls, geese, chervil, kinsha, ducks, snow chickens, and more than 10 other bird species. The weather will be cold due to the high altitude.

This morning, we will drive to Golmud and visit the Three Rivers Source (Sanjiangyuan) National Natural Reserve. This reserve is the largest in China and is home to a wide variety of high-altitude wildlife. We will also get to see the Kunlun Mountain Glacier, Kunlun Spring Water, and the Dragon and Phoenix Red Taoist Temple from afar.

Today, we will drive to Dachaidan town, passing by Chaerhan Salt Lake, which is the largest salt lake in China and one of the most famous inland salt lakes in the world. As soon as you enter, you will first see a Salt Lake Museum, which shows the formation history and mining process of the Qarhan Salt Lake. Then, we will visit the Jinai Lake of Dongtai, Water Yadan, where long periods of wind erosion carve the Yardangs into beautiful statues with different postures. Seen from a distance, the Yardangs take on an endless variety of fantastic shapes. Jade Lake, located in the salt lake mining area of the former Dachaidan Chemical Plant in Haixi Mongolian Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, is a better place for photo lovers compared to Chaka Salt Lake. After visiting, we will drive back to the hotel and have a rest.

Today our journey comes to a halt after a good breakfast. You will be transferred to the airport or train station based on your schedule.