Qinghai Lake

Qinghai Lake, People's Republic of China

Sunrise light gleaming across the vast blue surface of Qinghai Lake from a grassy shore.

Qinghai Lake is China's largest lake, a high, salty expanse on the Tibetan Plateau that suits travellers who want wide skies, grassland and quiet shores.

The place

Qinghai Lake is China's largest lake, and it gave its name to Qinghai Province in the northwest. It lies in a hollow of the Tibetan Plateau at 3,266 metres, so the air is thin and the sun is fierce even on cool days. The lake has no outlet to the sea. Rivers run in, and the only way out is evaporation. Most of the twenty-three streams feeding it are seasonal, and five permanent channels supply the bulk of the inflow. Because evaporation outpaces that supply, the water is saline, with a salt content of about 1.4 per cent. That is well below the sea but far above fresh water, and the lake is strongly alkaline.

The lake's size has shifted over the last century. It shrank for much of the twentieth century and has grown since the early 2000s, so older maps and photographs may show a different shoreline. Its surface area is about 4,300 square kilometres, and for its extent it is shallow, with an average depth of about 21 metres.

The lake sits about 100 km west of Xining, the provincial capital, and most visitors reach it by road from there. Off the western side, a tip of land ends in two small islands known together as the Bird Islands, where birds gather in season. The shore is open grassland, dotted with the tents of herding families and crossed by dirt tracks. Expect wind, sudden rain and a sky that feels close enough to touch.

Its story

Qinghai Lake's story runs back well beyond the modern province. In the Han dynasty, Han Chinese settled the Xining valley to the east, which brought the lake within reach of the settled world long before it became a destination for pilgrims from further afield. In the seventeenth century, Mongol-speaking Oirat and Khalkha groups moved into the region and came to be called Qinghai Mongols. In 1724 they rose against the Qing court. After the revolt was put down, the Yongzheng Emperor ended the region's autonomy and placed it under direct rule. Manchu and Han settlers were sent in to dilute the Mongol presence.

Tibetans also lived around the lake. The Qing kept an administrative line, drawn from the time of Güshi Khan, that separated the Dalai Lama's western realm from the Tibetan-inhabited eastern areas. Under Nationalist rule, Han people formed the majority in the province, yet Hui Muslim officials held much of the government. A well-recorded ceremony at the lake shows how mixed this world was. Officials, Han and Muslim participants, and Kazakh guests bowed to a portrait of Sun Yat-sen and to the god of the lake, and they made offerings to both.

After the 1949 revolution, refugees from the Anti-Rightist Movement of the 1950s settled west of the lake. The lake's human history is therefore one of shifting authority rather than a single continuous story. Geology adds a longer timeline. The lake was cut off from the Yellow River roughly 150,000 years ago, and the basin has grown saltier ever since.

What to see

Culture

Qinghai Lake is a sacred place for Tibetan Buddhists, and the clearest expression of that is the circuit of the lake made by pilgrims on foot or on horseback. Some pilgrims time their journey for a particular year in the Tibetan calendar, and the trip can take many weeks rather than days. Walkers and riders follow the shore, camping where they can. The island of Mahādeva, the Heart of the Lake, sits at the centre of this religious geography. Its monastery and hermitages drew monks and devotees, who reached it across the ice in winter, when no boat could cross. Tibetan herding families keep tents along the shore, and many welcome visitors, but they expect courtesy in return. Ask before photographing anyone, and when you pass pilgrims or prayer wheels, step aside rather than walking between them and the people turning them.

What to wear

The traditional dress around the lake is the Tibetan chuba, a long robe made from wool or felt and belted at the waist. Herders and pilgrims wear it, and its sleeves can be knotted or left hanging. In cold weather the robe is pulled up over the body like an insulated coat. Sheepskin and felt are common materials for outerwear, and cotton is used for everyday layers. Women may wear brightly coloured aprons and headscarves. Hui Muslim communities in and around Xining often wear white caps and modest long clothing. Today most people dress much as they would elsewhere in China, in jeans, padded jackets, trainers and sun hats. Traditional robes are worn for festivals, markets and daily work on the grassland.

What a visitor should wear: the altitude brings strong sun, cold nights and sudden wind, so dress in layers. A thermal base, a fleece and a windproof outer shell cover most conditions. Bring a warm hat, sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen. Choose sturdy closed shoes for gravel shores and muddy tracks. At monasteries and pilgrimage sites, cover shoulders and knees, and take off hats where you are asked to.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. June to September, when the grassland is green and the shore roads are open. The lake freezes in winter, and nights stay cold even in summer, so pack warm layers whatever the month.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly or take the train to Xining, then catch a westbound bus, as most pass the lake. Ask to be let off at Heimahe on the south shore or Gangcha on the north. The government also runs direct buses, so check current timetables before you travel.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources