Introduction :
The Qinghai Lake is located in the Qinghai province of China and 100 km west of the provincial capital Xining. It is the largest lake in all of China measuring around 4500 square km in area and stands 3205 m above sea level fed by waters from 23 rivrers and streams around the region. The Qinghai Lake is famed for its pollution free environment and scenic views of the lakes and snow mountains around the area and is a very well known attraction to the Chinese. At the tip of the western side of the lake are the Bird Islands which served as bird sanctuaries and is a natural protection zone in China.
Scenic view towards the lake that would cheer up anyone
The landmark stone of the Qinghai Lake
Tibetan prayer flags around the lake
Image attribution to tianyake @ Flickr
History :
The region around Qinghai was populated as early as 206 BC during the Han Dynasty where the people lived in the Xining valley and the lake was known as the West Sea during that time. During the Qing Dynasty, the Qinghai Lake region was on autonomy rule but towards the 17th century, Mongolic tribes began migrating into the area and plotted a revolt against the Qing dynasty. After putting down the rebellion, the area was directly ruled by the country. The region is currently resided by the Tibetan and the Han ethic population in China.
Snow mountains at the opposite
The skies are really blue at the lake
The island of the birdies
Sunset scenery in the Qinghai Lake
Getting there :
The nearest airport to the Qinghai Lake would be the Xining Caojiabao Airport (XNN) which is served by flights from almost all major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xian. The airport is located 30 km from the provincal capital of Xining from which takes 4-5 hours to reach the Qinghai Lake by bus.