In July, Menyuan.
Hundred-mile rapeseed flowers bloom, golden seas of flowers extending from foothills to mountaintops, contrasting with blue sky, white clouds, snow mountains, and grasslands. Bees dance among flowers, the air filled with floral fragrance. Standing on the viewing platform, seeing this golden ocean, your heart suddenly opens up.
This is China’s most beautiful rapeseed flower sea.
Qinghai is a place that purifies your soul.
Province Profile#
- Location: Northwest China, northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
- Best Travel Season: June-August (rapeseed flowers), July-August (Qinghai Lake)
- Highlights: Plateau lakes, sky mirror, rapeseed flower seas, source of three rivers
Must-Visit Attractions#
Qinghai Lake: Plateau Sapphire#
Qinghai Lake is China’s largest saltwater lake, 4,500 square kilometers in area, 3,200 meters above sea level.
The lake water is azure blue, like a giant sapphire embedded in the plateau. Erlangjian Scenic Area is Qinghai Lake’s most developed area, where you can get close to the lake water. Heimahe is the best place to watch sunrise—in the early morning, the sun rises from the lake surface, golden light spreading.
Best Experience: Cycle around the lake, taking two days to slowly appreciate Qinghai Lake’s beauty. Or stay overnight by the lake, watch sunrise and sunset.
Chaka Salt Lake: Sky Mirror#
Chaka Salt Lake is China’s “Sky Mirror,” rated by National Geographic as one of “55 places a person must visit in their lifetime.”
The lake surface is like a giant mirror, reflecting blue sky and white clouds. Walking on the lake surface, you feel like walking on clouds. Wearing a red dress, taking a set of reflection photos, is every girl’s dream.
Best Experience: Come at dusk, watch the sunset dye the sky and lake surface golden-red. Or come at night, watch the starry sky reflected on the lake surface.
Menyuan Rapeseed Flowers: Hundred-Mile Flower Sea#
Menyuan’s rapeseed flower fields cover 600,000 mu, China’s largest rapeseed flower base.
Every July, rapeseed flowers bloom, from foothills to mountaintops, a sea of golden yellow. Yuanshan Flower Viewing Platform is the best viewing spot, overlooking the hundred-mile flower sea. Fangfen Bath allows you to walk into the flower sea, feeling the floral fragrance up close.
Best Experience: Come to Menyuan in mid-July, stay overnight, watch the golden flower sea at sunrise.
Kumbum Monastery: Tibetan Buddhist Holy Site#
Kumbum Monastery is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, the birthplace of Tsongkhapa.
Great Golden Tile Hall is Kumbum’s core, with golden roofs shining in the sunlight. Eight Treasure Auspicious Pagoda is Kumbum’s symbol, with eight white pagodas lined up. Butter Flower, Murals, and Pile Embroidery are Kumbum’s “Three Wonders,” exquisite beyond compare.
Best Experience: Hire a guide to understand Tibetan Buddhist culture. Turn a prayer wheel, pray for your family.
Special Experiences#
Emerald Lake#
Emerald Lake is a salt lake in Dachaidan, named because the lake water appears emerald green.
Smaller and more pristine than Chaka Salt Lake. The lake water is clear, reflecting blue sky, white clouds, and distant snow mountains—beautiful as a painting.
Water Yadan#
Water Yadan is the world’s only water Yadan landform.
Yadan earth mounds are scattered in the lake water, in various shapes, like castles. At sunrise and sunset, light and shadow change—dreamlike.
Qilian Mountain Grassland#
Qilian Mountain Grassland is one of China’s most beautiful grasslands, “Under Qilian Mountains, cattle and sheep are fat.”
Grasslands, snow mountains, forests, and rivers form a magnificent picture. Ride horses across the grassland, feel the vastness of the plateau.
Qinghai Cuisine#
Qinghai cuisine is mainly beef, mutton, and noodles. Hand-Grabbed Lamb is tender and delicious, eaten dipped in salt and pepper. Niangpi is a Qinghai specialty, chewy and smooth. Yogurt is rich and mellow, sprinkled with white sugar—sweet and sour. Highland Barley Wine is the Tibetan people’s hospitality drink, not high in alcohol, mellow taste.
Travel Tips#
- Transportation: Xining is Qinghai’s transportation hub, with airport and high-speed rail. For Qinghai Lake and Chaka Salt Lake, recommend chartering a car or self-driving.
- Accommodation: For Qinghai Lake, stay near Heimahe or Erlangjian; for Chaka Salt Lake, stay in Chaka Town; in Xining, stay in the city.
- Note: Qinghai is at high altitude—watch for altitude sickness. Large temperature difference between day and night—even in summer, bring a jacket. Strong UV radiation—watch for sun protection.
Qinghai’s purity purifies the soul.
The blue waves of Qinghai Lake, the reflection of Chaka Salt Lake, the rapeseed flower sea of Menyuan, the grasslands of Qilian Mountains… each place is nature’s gift.
Come to Qinghai and rediscover your inner peace.
Tomorrow, we head to Ningxia to see the desert and Yellow River at Shapotou and the mystery of Western Xia Imperial Tombs.