A Journey Starting from Xining: Exploring the Beauty of Qinghai & Gansu

📍 Orlando · 👁 1 reads · ❤️ 90 likes

I had long wanted to visit Qinghai, but the pandemic in 2020 kept postponing our trip. This year, after discussing with friends, we decided to take a Qinghai road trip during the National Day holiday.

It's easy to imagine that during the National Day holiday, there would be many visitors in Qinghai, and hotels would likely be in high demand. So, in early September, I booked all the hotels. Additionally, I rented a car in advance from a certain car rental platform. Fortunately, I managed to snag their 'rent 7 days, get 2 free' coupon, which saved me quite a bit of money.

In recent years, I've always chosen self-driving trips—on one hand, it offers more flexibility in timing, and on the other, it ensures better privacy.

### Xining's Irresistible Local Delicacies

After landing at Caojiabao Airport, we immediately went to pick up the car. The rental shop was located in the parking lot across from Terminal 2, making it easy to find. Since I had placed the order in advance, the rental process was very quick. We took a test drive, found everything fine, and set off.

For our first meal in Xining, we chose Yixin Yangrou Shouzhua Guan (Yixin Hand-Grabbed Lamb Restaurant). When traveling in the Qinghai-Tibet region, you must try hand-grabbed lamb and beef—the taste is completely different from that of inland areas.

The photo above shows food we ate in Chaka Town: pot-cooked lamb. The lamb at this restaurant was also incredibly delicious. The highlight was the potatoes, which were exceptionally tasty—they seemed to have been fried first and then added to the pot. The lamb portion was generous, making for a very satisfying meal.

The three large bowls were yak yogurt, with an incredibly rich flavor that was simply irresistible.

This is lamb from Dachaidan. After two excellent lamb meals, we couldn't get enough of it. The hand-grabbed lamb was incredibly tender and flavorful. Besides hand-grabbed lamb, we also ordered crispy lamb ribs—plenty of meat, very tender, and extremely satisfying.

On the first day, we rested early. The next day, we drove early to Qinghai Lake. The Qinghai region has many great attractions, but they are far apart, so we spent a lot of time on the road each day. Therefore, it's important to get enough rest.

The water of Qinghai Lake was crystal clear. We got out to enjoy the sights for a while, then drove on to Chaka Salt Lake.

Chaka Salt Lake was my favorite attraction—the so-called 'Mirror of the Sky.' Although we didn't fully experience it that day, the salt lake itself was already beautiful enough.

The costs here were quite high. Inside the scenic area, you can take a small train, but one way costs 50 yuan per person. Chaka Salt Lake is quite large, so we specifically took the train. For four of us, the round trip cost 400 yuan, which was simply unbelievable.

After taking some photos at Chaka Salt Lake, we headed to Delingha.

The room there was also booked in advance. Many people say the accommodation conditions here are poor, so we were extremely careful when booking rooms and finally found an ideal one.

Fortunately, we had brought a drone on this trip. At Emerald Lake, we used the drone to take photos. I strongly recommend bringing a drone when traveling to Qinghai. If you don't want to buy one, you can rent from online platforms, which is also cost-effective.

The photos of Emerald Lake taken by the drone were absolutely stunning—the emerald green lake was exceptionally beautiful.

If time allows, be sure to include Emerald Lake in your itinerary. It seems many people go directly to Qinghai Lake and skip Emerald Lake. The irregular shape of the lake and the saline-alkali land along its shores are especially beautiful.

The best part: Emerald Lake is a completely free attraction, so you can easily spend nothing there.

Another sight at Emerald Lake was the variety of drones flying in the sky, showing that everyone loves taking photos with drones.

I visited Jiuzhaigou in 2017 and really liked its scenery. Emerald Lake shares great similarities with the 'haizi' (alpine lakes) of Jiuzhaigou.

After leaving Emerald Lake, you can go to Nanbaxian. Nanbaxian is a very desolate place. With no vegetation or water sources, it's extremely dry and has strong UV rays. So, we kept applying sunscreen continuously—applying and reapplying.

Many places in Qinghai are very sunny and dry, so be sure to prepare sunscreen and moisturizer before coming.

Dunhuang Mogao Caves is a must-visit attraction and can be considered the highlight of the Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop. We booked tickets for the Mogao Caves in advance; the price was 238 yuan, which is indeed quite expensive.

Upon arriving at the Mogao Caves, we first watched a film that covered the historical background of the caves. I thought it might be boring, but it turned out to be very engaging.

After the film, we entered the Mogao Caves for a tour, with a guide providing explanations. Note: photography is not allowed inside the caves.

During its peak, the Mogao Caves had many murals, but over time, many have deteriorated. Inside the caves, you almost have to rely entirely on imagination to understand the artworks.

After leaving the Mogao Caves, we went to see the three giant sculptures of Guazhou. My favorite was 'Wujie' (Boundless)—though I didn't fully understand it, I found it inexplicably beautiful.

Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Spring are two famous attractions located close to each other. Mingsha Mountain is best visited in the late afternoon; around 3–4 PM, the sand is still scorching hot.

The entrance fee for the scenic area is 110 yuan. You can ride camels here for an additional 100 yuan. While riding camels, someone will take photos for you; if you want the photos, it costs an extra 20 yuan.

Make sure to stay on Mingsha Mountain until dark, so you can overlook Crescent Moon Spring. The view of Crescent Moon Spring from Mingsha Mountain is the most beautiful.

Many people climb Mingsha Mountain on foot, but I didn't; I used a ladder to go up, which made it much easier.

We stayed on Mingsha Mountain until 8 PM. By then, it was quite late, and the photos of Crescent Moon Spring taken at that time were especially beautiful.

The next day, we set off for Jiayuguan. Personally, I didn't find much to see there, so we stayed only briefly before moving on. The Zhangye Danxia Geological Park was the most worthwhile attraction. The landforms were incredibly beautiful—the Danxia landforms under sunlight looked like pieces of streaky pork (五花肉). Absolutely gorgeous.

On our return journey, one of our destinations was the Qilian Prairie, but at this season, the grassland had already withered and didn't look so appealing.

During the trip, we passed through Xianmi National Forest Park, which turned out to be a delightful and unexpected surprise.

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