Named after Qinghai Lake, the largest inland salt - water lake in China, Qinghai Province is located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in western China. Qinghai covers an area of 720,000 square kilometers (about 278,000 square miles), which makes it the fourth largest province in China. Its total population is some 5 million, among which Han, Tibetan, Tu, Hui, Salar and Mongolian minority ethnic groups are represented. Visitors are not only fascinated by the traditional festivities of different minority ethnic groups, but also by their unique cultures and folk traditions. Xining is its capital.
1. Xining
Xining is located on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the upper reaches of Huangshui River.
It is the political, economic, scientific and technological, cultural and traffic center of Qinghai Province with an average altitude of over 2,200 meters (about 7,217 feet). The activities of human beings in this region can be traced to 2,100 years ago. During the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, owing to its developing agriculture, Xining was paid more attention due to its economic and martial significance. As well as being the important hinge between the central plains and the western part of China in ancient time, Xining was the most common passing channel of the famous Silk Road. Until now, it is still the only road by which to enter the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.2. Guoluo
History: Guoluo was inhabited by Dangxiang (an ancient tribe in northwest China), a branch of the Qiang minority, one of the oldest tribes in China. Until 1946 Guoluo was led by the heads of more than two hundred tribes. Guoluo District was established directly under Qinghai Province in 1950. In 1954 the Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was established.
3. Haibei
History: Haibei was the home area of the Qiang, an ancient group who were the forebears of the later Tibetans. In 120BC, the Han (206BC-220AD Troop entered this area and the Qiang people moved to the foot of Qilian Mountains. Administrative bodies began to be established here in the year 4AD. The Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Region was founded in 1953 and renamed as the Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in 1995.
4. Haixi
History: Haixi Prefecture was once inhabited by the Qiang, a minority group from northwestern China. It was ruled by the Tubo Kingdom throughout the Tang Dynasty (618-907), with the Yuan Gvernment (1271-1368) taking partial control of the area during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
5. Yushu
Location: Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is situated in the southwest region of Qinghai Province, neighboring Sichuan in the southeast, Xinjiang in the northwest corner and Tibet in the south and southeast. Within Qinghai, it is bounded on the north by the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and neighbors the Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the east.
Top Cities in Qinghai Province