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Xining
Travel in Qinghai

Xining

Located to the west side of China and Northeast of Qing-Tibet Plateau (qīng zàng gāo yuán 青藏高原), Xining (xī níng 西宁) is an important city to enter Xinjiang (xīn jiāng 新疆)and Tibet (xī zàng 西藏). It is famous for its Qinghai Lake (qīng hǎi hú 青海湖), which is the largest inland plateau lake in China.

Overview
XiningXining is the capital of Qinghai Province, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It is located on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the upper reaches of Huangshui River (huáng shuǐ hé 湟水河). It is the political, economic, and cultural center of Qinghai Province with an average altitude of about 2,200 metres (7,200 ft).

 

Xining is also called the Summer Resort Capital of China for its cool summer. It has a total area of 350 km². The activities of human beings in this region can be traced to 2,100 years ago. During the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, owing to its developing agriculture, Xining was paid more attention due to its economic and martial significance. It used to be the most common passing channel of the famous Silk Road (sī chóu zhī lù 丝绸之路). Until now, it is still the only road by which to enter the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.


History
Xining HistoryXining has a history of over 2,100 years and was a chief commercial hub on the Hexi Corridor (hé xī zǒu láng 河西走廊) caravan route to Tibet, handling especially timber, wool and salt in ancient times. The trade along the Hexi Corridor was part of a larger trade corridor along the Northern Silk Road, whose use was intensified in the 1st century BC after efforts by the Han Dynasty to control this route.

Under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) a county there called Linqiang controlled the local Qiang tribesmen (qiāng zú bù luò 羌族部落). It was again a frontier county under the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties; during the 7th and early 8th centuries it was a center of constant warfare with the Tuyuhun (tǔ yù hún 吐谷浑) and (later) the Tibetan peoples. In 763, it was overrun by the Tibetans and while under Tibetan control was known to the Chinese as Qingtangcheng (qīng táng chéng 青唐城). Recovered by the Song dynasty in 1104, it received the name Xining (meaning "peace in the west") and has been the seat of a prefecture or superior prefecture under that name since that time. With the rise of Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism), which began in the 7th century, Xining became an important religious center; Qinghai's largest lamasery, a holy place to the Yellow Hat sect of Buddhists, was located at Kunbum (kān bù sì 堪布寺), some 19 km to the southeast.

A major earthquake occurred May 22, 1927 and measured 8.6 on Richter scale. It was one of the deadliest earthquakes with a total count of 200,000 deaths. It also caused large land fractures.

Xining was the extraterritorial capital of the Koko Nor (qīng hǎi 青海) territory and remained in Gansu (gān sù 甘肃) until 1928, when it became the provincial capital of the newly established independent province of Qinghai. Xining was given municipal status in 1945.

Under Governor 1928's reign, Xining, like the rest of Qinghai, underwent industrialization and modernization. In 1947 the USA sold Ma Bufang (mǎ bù fāng 马步芳) a piped water (sewage) system which was installed in Xining. Ma Bufang also promoted education. He made businessmen methodically clean up Xining by serving as insect exterminators, killing flies and neatly throwing them away.

Since the late 1950s, when the Liujia Gorge Dam (liú jiā xiá 刘家峡) and hydroelectric project came into operation in neighboring Gansu province, Xining has been linked by a high-tension electrical grid to both Liujia and Lanzhou (lán zhōu 兰州). It also uses local coal from mines at Datongxian (dà tóng xiàn 大同县) to the north. A modern woolen mill was installed at Xining before 1957. The city also has a leather industry and is a market for salt from the Qaidam region. During the late 1950s medium-sized iron and steelworks were built there, supplying metal to Lanzhou.

Construction of a highway to the mineral-rich Qaidam basin and completion in 1959 a link to the Chinese rail network via Lanzhou in Gansu province has spurred industrial development. This effort was part of a plan of the central government to rapidly exploit oil and pasturage in the Xining area beginning in the 1950s.


Climate
Xining has also been dubbed the Summer Resort Capital of China owing to its cool summer, with a cold semi-arid climate. Conditions are influenced by the aridity and high altitude. Lows are cold or cool throughout the year, and highs are often more than 15 °C (27 °F) warmer than lows. Monthly daily averages range from −7.4 °C (18.7 °F) in January to 17.3 °C (63.1 °F) in July; the year averages at 6.1 °C (43.0 °F). Rainfall falls mainly from May to September, and the area is often dry and sunny, with nearly 2680 hours of bright sunshine per year.


Attractions

Qinghai Lake
Qinghai LakeQinghai Lake (qīng hǎi hú 青海湖) , formerly known as Koko Nur or Kukunor, is a saline lake situated in the province of Qinghai  (qīng hǎi shěng 青海省) and is the largest lake in China. The names Qinghai and Koko Nur both mean "Blue/Teal Sea/Lake" in Chinese and Mongolian. It is located about 100 kilometres west of the provincial capital of Xining (xī níng 西宁市) at 3,205 m (10,515 feet) above sea level in a depression of the Tibetan Plateau in the cultural area known to ethnic Tibetans as Amdo. Twenty-three rivers and streams empty into Qinghai Lake, most of them seasonal. Five permanent streams provide 80% of total influx.

Qinghai Lake, also known as "Kokonor Lake”, with the meaning of " blue sea " in Mongolian. It was formed by fault collapse among Datong Mountains of Qilian Mountains (qí lián shān 祁连山) , Riyue Mountains (rì yuè shān 日月山) and Nanshan Mountains (nán shān 南山). Qinghai Lake is located in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has vast territory, broad grasslands, numerous rivers, and lush and quiet environment. The lake is surrounded by four towering alpine: in neighborhood of Towering majestic Riyue Mountains in the east, magnificent Datong Mountains to the north, winding Nanshan Mountains to the South and Rubber mountains in the west.

Location: Between Hainan and Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in northeastern Qinghai
Tel: 0971-4385661
Transportation: Take a sight seeing bus from Xining Railway Station, Qinghai Province at the cost of RMB 35, or by a coach from the Xining Coach Station, 250 m. (0.16 miles) south of the railway station, at the cost of RMB 25.
Opening Hours: The whole day
Admission Fee: CNY270 for packages


Kumbum Monastery
Kumbum MonasteryKumbum Monastery (also known as Ta'er Monastery,  tǎ ěr sì 塔尔寺) is a Buddhist monastery in Qinghai province, China. Kumbum was founded in 1583 in a narrow valley close to the village of Lusar in the Tibetan cultural region of Amdo (ān duō 安多). Its superior monastery is Drepung (zhé bàng sì 哲蚌寺), immediately to the west of Lhasa (lā sà 拉萨). It was ranked in importance as second only to Lhasa.

The "Golden Tiled Temple"

"The "Golden Tiled Temple" is revered throughout Tibet and Mongolia. It is a small building with a roof of pure gold plate. Inside, it is full of wonderful relics, great banners of silk brocade called "katas" (tankas), wonderful lamps of gold and silver, thousands of small vessels burning butter, a colossal figure of Tsong Kapa, said to be made of gold. All is in semi-darkness which adds to the mystical effect, and the gleam from the butter lamps threw into relief some beautifully wrought temple vessels, or the queer blank face of some saintly Buddha image."

Location: On the Beishan of Xining, Qinghai Province
Tel: 0971—6122987
Transportation: Take minibus or Taxi at the cost of CNY 5
Recommended Golden Season: May to September
Opening Hours: 8:00am-17:00pm
Admission Fee: CNY80
Travel Tips: Picture taking is prohibited in this temple.


Riyue Mountain
Riyue MountainRiyue Mountain (also known as Sun-and-Moon Mountain rì yuè shān 日月山), part of the Qilian Mountain Range (qí lián shān 祁连山), is located in the west of Huangyuan County (huáng yuán xiàn 湟源县), Qinghai Province. In the past, it was a vital communications center between Central China and the southwest frontiers as well as the west regions. In 420, the first year of the Shengui reign under Emperor Mingdi in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), the monk Song Yun left Luoyang City (luò yang 洛阳) for India to learn about Buddhism via Riyue Mountain. Later on, Princess Wencheng passed Riyue Mountain when she was going to marry Songtsen Gampo, king of the Tubo tribe (tǔ bō 吐蕃).

Riyue Mountain was called Chiling Range (Russet Ridge) during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) because of its grassless russet mountaintop. Legend has it that when Princess Wencheng (wén chéng gōng zhù 文成公主) left for Tubo for her marriage, she passed the Chiling Range. At the thought that she would enter a remote land, she took out the Sun-and-Moon Treasure Mirror given by her mother at departure, and saw her homeland Chang'an (today's Xi'an City). For the cause of the unity of the two nationalities, she threw the mirror onto the mountain. The mirror turned into the Qinghai Lake, and her tears flowed into a river named Daotang River (dào tǎng hé 倒淌河). To commemorate the princess, the mountain was renamed the Sun-and-Moon Mountain, and the Princess Wencheng Temple was built at the foot of the mountain. 

Location: In the southwest of Huangyuan Country, Qinghai Province
Transportation: Take Bus No. 19 near Municipal Government and get off at Beishan Market
Recommended Golden Season: May to September
Opening Hours: 8:00am—17:00pm
Admission Fee: CNY25


Food

Liangfen
LiangfenLiangfen (liáng fěn  凉粉) is made from pea powder and cut into short strips. Liangfen is served with vinegar, chili and mashed garlic, mustard and salt to enhance the taste the dish. Niangpi is a popular snack made of flour and baking soda. It can be found anywhere in Xining for four-yuan. The most famous version of this snack is called Mazhong Niangpi (mǎ zhōng niàng pí 马忠酿皮) and can be found in the Mojia Jie (mò jiā jiē 莫家街).


Zasui Tang
Zasui TangZasui Tang (zá suì tāng 杂碎汤) is a soup cooked with lamb and oxen entrails. Locals often eat this snack for breakfast. The hot soup helps warm people during the winter.

Muslim Yoghurt
Muslim YoghurtMuslim Yoghurt is a must while in Xining – this breakfast is a kind of substance made by local Muslim families and is served in small bowls for one-yuan.


Mutton Eaten with Fingers

Mutton Eaten with FingersMutton Eaten with Fingers (shǒu zhuā yáng ròu 手抓羊肉) is the most famous snack in Qinghai Province. It is made of fresh mutton and served with a little salt. This snack is the favorite food of the herdsmen of Qinghai Province.