Reliable Local Tour Guide in Qinghai, Local Pure Play Tour Guide, Private Internet Celebrity Tour Guide, Travel Guide Must-Visit Attractions, Attractions Chapter
Reliable local tour guide in Qinghai, local pure play tour guide, private internet celebrity tour guide, travel guide must-visit attractions, attractions chapter.
Some people say: going on the Northwest Grand Loop once is equivalent to ten trips. Spanning Gansu and Qinghai provinces, 2,600 kilometers (7-day loop), this area is both silent and vibrant. It's a complete route without backtracking, covering the most classic scenery of the Northwest. You might need many trips to see all the views, but here you can encounter them all.
I just came back from Qinghai and Gansu, visiting Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake, Menyuan Rape Flowers, Crescent Moon Spring, Rainbow Danxia, etc. At that time, I found a well-known local travel planner in Qinghai, Brother Da'age, to arrange our trip. We originally planned to do it ourselves, but after reading several guide articles, we got completely dizzy. Just then, a friend said he had contacted Brother Da'age to arrange the itinerary and thought the service and character were good. I also thought this kind of free travel was great, so I contacted Brother Da'age. Unexpectedly, he quickly explained the general distribution of scenic spots in Qinghai and Gansu, how to plan the itinerary, what to bring, etc., in great detail. He was really professional!
The few days in Qinghai and Gansu were extremely enjoyable. Actually, during the trip, the scenic spots are not that important; what matters is who you travel with. The tour guide arranged by Brother Da'age was a very generous guy who told us many local stories. We were like friends. If you go to Qinghai and Gansu, you can find him. His service and character are really excellent. To find a tour guide, search online: Qinghai tour guide Da'age.
Introduction to main tourist attractions on the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop:
Daotang River is located in Daotanghe Town on the west side of Riyue Mountain in Qinghai Province. It is a transportation hub, which has undoubtedly formed the "Daotang River culture" of Han-Tibetan exchange and infiltration. However, "since the princess married for peace, half of the Hu customs became like Han." Perhaps it was a woman's hand that first built the bridge of economy, culture, and even love.
Qinghai Lake, also known as "Tso Ngonpo," which means "green sea" in Tibetan, is located in the Qinghai Lake basin in the northwest of Qinghai Province. It is not only the largest inland lake in China but also the largest saltwater lake. It was formed by fault subsidence between Datong Mountain of the Qilian Mountains, Riyue Mountain, and Qinghai Nanshan.
Qinghai Lake is located on a plateau, with an average daily temperature of only about 15°C in July and August. This is the most beautiful time of Qinghai Lake, with thousands of acres of rapeseed flowers blooming around the lake, golden yellow scattered around the vast blue, colorful wildflowers in the alpine pastures like silk brocade, and countless fat cattle and sheep dotting the landscape.
Soon after leaving Heimahe Township in Gonghe County, Qinghai Province, you can see the rolling Xiangpi Mountain towering ahead like a huge barrier. The slope of Xiangpi Mountain is quite steep, mostly 30-40 degrees or even steeper. At the pass of Xiangpi Mountain, you can see the beautiful alpine pastures and leisurely grazing sheep.
Chaka Salt Lake, also known as Chaka or Dabsun Nur, is a natural crystalline salt lake located in Chaka Town, Wulan County, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is one of the four major salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin. "Chaka" is Tibetan, meaning salt pond, i.e., Qinghai salt; "Dabsun Nur" is Mongolian, also meaning salt lake.
Chaka Salt Lake has a cool climate, dry with little rain, belonging to a plateau continental climate, with an annual average temperature of 4°C and an average annual precipitation of 210.4 mm. The lake surface elevation is 3,100 meters, 15.8 km long, 9.2 km wide, elliptical in shape, with a total area of 105 square kilometers.
Chaka Salt Lake, along with Kumbum Monastery, Qinghai Lake, and Mengda Heavenly Lake, is one of the "Four Great Sceneries of Qinghai." It is called the "Mirror of the Sky" by travelers and was rated by National Geographic Traveler as one of the "55 places you must go in your life."
The Qaidam Basin is one of the three major inland basins in China, a closed huge intermountain fault basin. It is located in the northwest of Qinghai Province, on the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Surrounded by the Kunlun Mountains, Qilian Mountains, and Altun Mountains, it covers an area of about 250,000 square kilometers. "Qaidam" is Mongolian. According to the Qing Dynasty rulers' compilation after pacifying the Western Regions to clear language barriers and consolidate rule in the northwest frontier, the important reference book "Xiyu Tongwen Zhi," personally reviewed by Emperor Qianlong, clearly explains in Volume 16: "Mongolian, Qaidam, meaning broadness. By the riverside, land is spacious, hence the name." So it means "vast." However, due to some subjective and objective historical reasons, there is also an explanation meaning "salt marsh." Actually, there are different opinions in academia. It is suggested that the interpretation of "vast" is more in line with reality.
Dongtai Jinaier Lake, located in Golmud City, within the Qaidam Basin, has the lake basin periphery composed of Quaternary flood, alluvial, aeolian, and lacustrine clay and chemical deposits; the lakeshore is mostly lacustrine and lacustrine chemical deposits, with widespread saline-alkali land; the eastern part is a sandy dry salt flat of about 50.0 square kilometers, 15.0-20.0 m thick, lake bottom sediment salt 2.0-3.0 m thick. Water level 2,681.00 m, length 24.0 km, maximum width 8.7 km, average width 5.05 km, area 121.3 square kilometers.
Uset Yadan Geopark, also known as Water Yadan, is located in the Xitai area of Dachaidan Township, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province. It is 340 km east from the prefecture capital Delingha, 240 km from Dachaidan Township, 350 km south from Golmud City, 350 km west from Mangya Town, and 500 km north from Dunhuang. It is close to National Highway 315 and is an important node on the loop route of Xining-Qinghai Lake-Chaka Salt Lake-Water Yadan-Dunhuang-Jiayuguan-Zhangye.
Nanbaxian is located on the northern edge of the Qaidam Basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is a landform combination of intermittent long earthen mounds and depressions and grooves, called Yadan landform by geologists.
Yumen Pass, commonly known as Xiaofangpan City, is said to be named after the import of Hetian jade into the Central Plains through here. It is located in Dunhuang City at the western end of the Hexi Corridor, about 90 km northwest of Dunhuang City. It was one of the two passes on the western frontier of the Han Dynasty and a necessary gateway for the Silk Road west out of Dunhuang to the northern and middle routes of the Western Regions. Since ancient times, it has been the gateway from the Central Plains to the Western Regions.
About 90 km west of Yumen Pass in Gansu, there is a typical Yadan landform community, about 25 km long from east to west and 1-2 km wide from north to south. When the wind blows, ghostly sounds are heard, and at night, you may get lost and unable to get out, so people call it the Ghost City. It looks like a medieval city overall, this special "castle" has walls, streets, buildings, squares, churches, and sculptures, vivid and lifelike, stunning the world. These masterpieces of nature are truly ingenious and wonderful.
Speaking of Qinghai, you might think of Chaka Salt Lake, but there is a place more dreamy and beautiful than Chaka Salt Lake, and that is Dachaidan Emerald Lake. Dachaidan is called Ike Qaidam in Mongolian, meaning big salt lake. It is the "North Gate" of the Qaidam Basin. It is about 3,148 meters above sea level, with an area of about 240 square kilometers. It is cleaner than the sky and more psychedelic than dreams. The surrounding salt flats and mineral-rich water together form a mirror-like space.
Mogao Caves, commonly known as the Thousand Buddha Caves, are located in Dunhuang at the western end of the Hexi Corridor. It was first built in the Former Qin period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and later underwent construction through the Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Western Xia, Yuan, and other dynasties, forming a huge scale with 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of murals, and 2,415 painted clay sculptures. It is the largest and most richly contented Buddhist art site in the world. Mogao Caves, along with Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, and Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, are known as the three major grottoes in China, later adding Maijishan Grottoes to form the four major grottoes. On August 31, 2019, a large documentary "Dialogue between Mogao Caves and Angkor Wat," co-produced by the Dunhuang Academy and other units, premiered at the Dunhuang International Convention and Exhibition Center. The documentary, themed on dialogue among Asian civilizations, shows the wonderful connections of shared destiny, culture, and art between different civilizations.
Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring Scenic Area is located 5 km south of Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It covers an area of 3.12 square kilometers, including Mingsha Mountain, which is more than 40 km long from east to west and about 20 km wide from north to south, with a main peak elevation of 1,715 meters.
Crescent Moon Spring is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain. Throughout history, it has been renowned for the wonderful landscape of "mountain and spring coexisting, sand and water symbiotic," known as "one of the unique scenery beyond the Great Wall." Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring, along with the Mogao Caves art landscape, are the "two uniques" connected in southern Dunhuang, making it a tourist destination desired by people in China and the world. The main attractions of Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring Scenic Area are Crescent Moon Spring and Mingsha Mountain. Crescent Moon Spring is surrounded by Mingsha Mountain, its shape resembling a crescent moon, hence the name. Mingsha Mountain is 5 km south of Dunhuang City, named for the sound made by moving sand. Mingsha Mountain is formed by shifting sand in five colors: red, yellow, green, white, and black.
Jiayuguan is located in the narrowest valley 5 km west of Jiayuguan City, Gansu Province. The city wall on both sides crosses the desert and Gobi, connecting to the Heishan Hanging Great Wall in the north and the First Pier in the south. It is the westernmost pass of the Ming Great Wall, historically known as the throat of Hexi Corridor. Due to its strategic terrain and magnificent architecture, it is called the First Majestic Pass under Heaven and the Key to the Frontier. Jiayuguan was a transportation fortress on the ancient Silk Road and is known as one of the three great wonders of the Great Wall of China (Shanhaiguan in the east, Zhenbeitai in the middle, and Jiayuguan in the west).
Zhangye Danxia Landform is the only composite area of Danxia landform and colorful hills in China. The scenic area mainly includes Binggou Danxia Scenic Area and Colorful Danxia Scenic Area, about 12 km apart. The Zhangye Danxia Geopark covers an area of about 536 square kilometers, of which the Colorful Danxia area is about 200 square kilometers, and the Binggou Danxia area is about 300 square kilometers. Binggou Danxia is mainly distributed in Kangle Township and Baiyin Township, Sunan County, Zhangye City; the Colorful Danxia area is mainly distributed in Nijiaying Township, Linze County.
The average altitude of the Qilian Mountains is between 4,000 and 5,000 meters. The long and wide glacier landforms formed by alpine snow are magnificent. Areas above 4,000 meters are called the snow line. Above the snow line of the Qilian Mountains, there are often biological wonders. In the shallow snow layers, there are mushroom-like silkworm decorations of snow meadow plants, precious medicinal herbs - alpine snow lotus, and a kind of snow grass growing under wind-eroded rocks.
Gangshika Snow Peak is located in Menyuan Hui Autonomous County, Qinghai Province, with an altitude of 5,254.5 meters. It is the highest peak in the eastern section of the Qilian Mountains, with snow-capped and silver-glittering peaks all year round, like a jade dragon. It is also the highest mountain in Menyuan.
The rape flower sea in Menyuan County stretches for dozens of kilometers. Every July, countless rape flowers bloom here, rolling and undulating, forming a beautiful picture. When you see such a rape flower sea, you will feel deeply shocked. Moreover, the rape flowers growing in the northwest are more beautiful than those in the south.
Sharing of Qinghai travel itinerary arrangement:
Xining + Qinghai Lake + Chaka + Gangcha - Dadong Tree Pass - Qilian + Zhuozhishan + Menyuan + Dabanshan + Heiquan Reservoir 4 days 3 nights tour
D1: Arrive in Xining, stay in Xining at night
Arrive at Xining airport. After leaving the airport, the driver arranged by Brother Da'age was already waiting for us at the airport. Then he sent us to the hotel. We tidied up and went out to eat.
We ate the local famous lamb pit pot and lamb ribs. Also try the old yogurt. Those who don't like sour should add more sugar.
D2: Xining - Qinghai Lake - Chaka
D3: Chaka - Gangcha - Dadong Tree Pass - Qilian
D4: Qilian - Zhuozhishan - Dabanshan - Menyuan - Heiquan Reservoir - Xining
