Huangyuan Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in May)

Riyue Mountain as frozen Winter Dreamland

Most posts show Qinghai province during summer but also the late winter creates a beautiful countryside. While the lakes are frozen, you can enjoy still the monasteries, temples and mountains partially covered in snow. Riyue Mountain is beautiful during late winter days with a mixture of snow and awakening nature. Almost no tourists will come this way but you can do small hiking tour from top to top of each grass hill. Put your warm clothes on and don’t forget sun protection then you will be ready to spend some good time there without having many other people there. #winter #mountaintop #mountainhike

Sun and Moon Mountain-Nyima Dawa La (Tibetan)

1. Riyue Mountain Address - Huangyuan County, Xining, Qinghai Provinve, China Highlights - Princess Wencheng statue , Temple, Museum Rating - 4star The legendary story behind this geographic travel spot is the relationship between Han-Chinese princess Wencheng and Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo from 7th century. On her way to marry the king, the queen looked into a magic mirror with a sun-moon design to see her future family. But unfortunately, she only sees herself in the mirror. Out of agony, she breaks the mirror and the Daotang River flowing in unusual east to west direction, originates from her tears. #thisischina

If you can't visit Sun Moon Lake, you can go to Sun Moon Mountain

Mingyue Mountain, a peak full of poetry and romance, is located in Yichun City, Jiangxi Province. Its name, just like its scenery, is filled with gentleness and beauty. Once you ascend Mingyue Mountain, you will be stunned by the scenery before you. The lush forests and babbling streams make you feel as though you are in a landscape painting. And the most unforgettable feature is the hot springs that cover the mountain. The springs are crystal clear and steaming, offering a sense of warmth and blessing from nature. At Mingyue Mountain, you can fully enjoy the gifts of nature. Whether you're bathing in the hot springs or strolling along the mountain paths, you will feel relaxed and joyful in both body and mind. At night, when the bright moon hangs high, casting its silver glow, the entire mountain is shrouded in a mysterious and romantic atmosphere. Mingyue Mountain, a peak full of poetry and romance, awaits you to discover its beauty, to feel its gentleness and loveliness.

Captured the photo of a lifetime in the great Northwest|||Took a chartered tour around the great Northwest

|||Took a chartered tour around the great Northwest. D1: Xining-Riyue Mountain-Qinghai Lake-Chaka D2: Chaka Sky No.1-Jade Lake-Qaidam Basin-Dachaidan D3: U-shaped Highway-Dongtaijinoer Lake-Water Yadan-Yadan Devil City-Dachaidan D4: Dachaidan-Silk Road Heritage City-Dunhuang Museum-Dunhuang D5: Dunhuang-Mogao Caves-Mingsha Mountain Crescent Lake (encountered a sandstorm)-Dunhuang D6: Dunhuang-Unbounded-Son of the Earth-Zhangye Danxia Geopark-Zhangye D7: Zhangye-Qilian Mountain Grassland-Distant view of Gangshika Snow Peak -Xining 💚【Off-season Tickets】: 1️⃣Riyue Mountain Princess Wencheng Temple 30 yuan 2️⃣Qinghai Lake 20/90 (including sightseeing car) 3️⃣Chaka Sky Mirror closed during off-season Sky No.1 30, sightseeing car 60. 4️⃣Jade Lake 25, no sightseeing car during off-season 5️⃣Water Yadan free with ID card/sightseeing car 60 6️⃣Silk Road Heritage City 60, sightseeing car 15 7️⃣Mogao Caves 140 8️⃣Crescent Lake 55, sightseeing car 20 9️⃣Zhangye Danxia 93 (including sightseeing car) 💙【A few notes】: 1️⃣Both the salt lake and Qinghai Lake are icy surfaces, not very pretty this season. 2️⃣Encountered a sandstorm on the day going to Mingsha Mountain, missed the sunset. 3️⃣Other: The weather is quite dry, windy, remember to keep warm. Sunglasses, hats, hand warmers, masks, sunscreen, facial masks, hand cream, body lotion, lip balm, thermos. 💜Off-season【hotels and food】are very cheap. 🚙Found a local guide who took us around for the whole trip, had a good experience. 💛Overall, this trip was quite tiring. 😶‍🌫️

Biggest salt water lake in China

Qinghai Lake, nestled in China's Qinghai Province, is the largest saltwater lake in East Asia, covering approximately 4,600 square kilometers. Its beauty lies in its serene, azure waters and the surrounding Tibetan Plateau's majestic landscapes. At an elevation of 3,205 meters, the lake is a vital ecological hotspot, home to diverse avian species and unique aquatic life. The lake holds cultural significance for Tibetans and the local Tibetan-Qiang people. It's a site for various religious ceremonies and festivals. However, environmental concerns, like shrinking water levels due to climate change and pollution, pose significant challenges to its preservation. Conservation efforts are underway to safeguard this remarkable natural treasure. #timetotravel #China #nature

Turquoise Eye of Qinghai Province

Tibetan plateau AKA "Roof of the World" is the highest in the world and Qinghai lake (青海湖) is the largest saltwater lake in China. 🌊Have you noticed that we're speaking in superlatives? It's not a coincidence. Qinghai lake (青海湖) definitely deserves to be be called the sea of the West due to its size, vastness, and the fact that it resembles a sea in certain aspects. It's a saline waters boasts incredible variety of wildlife at an altitude of 3205m. "On the plateau's crest, a jewel so grand, Qinghai Lake's waters stretch across the land. Azure skies embrace its tranquil face, A mirror of nature's serene embrace." 😍 Tips and tricks: If you want to visit Qinghai lake without any tour operators or rental cars you can easily get there from the Xining bus station (西宁汽车客运中心站). Several buses go to Qinghaihu (hu = lake) every day starting from 8AM. 🚌The drop off location is called 青海湖国家重点风景名胜区. That's the closest scenic area to the Xining city. One way ticket costs 60RMB. 💸The bus will wait for the passengers at the scenic area's parking lot for around 3 hours before heading back to the Xining bus station. To make sure you have a seat you can buy round way tickets at the Xining bus station. Total cost will be 120RMB per person. 🙃 #summerbreak #SpinTheWorld #qinghailake #xining #summervacation

Qinghai lake - the biggest in China

Only taking into consideration that it's the biggest, it's worth visiting. Yet I think Scenic area tickets are overpriced. There's not much to do in the area apart from taking pictures, riding a boat (3 types, start from 100yuan) and feeding seagulls. Still it's worth visiting, though it feels much much better if you drive a car in Qinghai (we took a shared taxi from Xining to Qinghai lake) and overall had pretty much headache with transportation in this province. Almost all the wild areas around are privately owned and you need to pay to enter (or, say, ride a horse, 200yuan per 3km round-trip to the lake🙄). This numerous fences and herds of tourists made it difficult for me to fully enjoy the beauty of the lake and surrounding landscapes (I just ran into the mountains 😂) . Also it was pretty hard to find a hotel accommodating foreigners (beginning of August). Only Chinese food (quite pricey) Still it was a great trip, I'd like to come back driving a car😁 #qinghai #qinghailake

The Beautiful Qinghai Lake

We couldn’t believe our eyes when we first saw Qinghai Lake. We were cycling down from the main road, through fields of grass and bright yellow rapeseed flowers when we first caught a glimpse of the blue water. For a split second, we forgot where we were and thought we had somehow made it to the sea! #mytripvlog

Qinghai Small Loop

🚗🚗🚗Travel Route: Day1: Caojiabao Airport→Ta'er Monastery→Riyue Mountain Day2: Qinghai Lake Erlang Sword Scenic Area→Chaka Salt Lake→Gangcha Fan Domain Tibetan City Linka Hotel Day3: Binggou Forest Sea→Zhuoer Mountain Day4: Qilian Grassland→Gangshika Snow Peak→Gangshika Rainbow Icefall→Caojiabao Airport Transportation: 4 days to walk the small loop is enough, we see the scenery during the day, rush the road from 7-11 pm, the road conditions in Qinghai are quite good, but most of them are two-way two-lane, many large vehicles, sometimes need to overtake. After dark, 80% of the road sections have no street lights, all rely on car headlights for lighting. Fortunately, both of our cars have a driving age of over 15 years, and we have some experience in off-road and night driving. It is not recommended for babies with a driving age of less than 10 years. In addition, it is recommended to use turbocharged vehicles in the plateau area, because the oxygen is thin, the naturally aspirated engine will be underpowered, and the performance of climbing and overtaking is not good. Mid-September weather: around 4-15, the daytime temperature is around 12, the temperature is similar to the early winter in Shenzhen, storm jacket, knitwear, and thin down jacket, jeans, storm pants Environment: The average altitude of Qinghai Province is above 3000, and the altitude of the passing points is Ta'er Monastery 2600-Riyue Mountain 3520-Qinghai Lake 3200-Chaka Salt Lake 3061-Zhuoer Mountain 3100-Gangshika Rainbow Ice Glacier Waterfall 4100-Qilian Grassland 3200, you must do what you can when you are active on the plateau, do not do vigorous exercise, do not run and jump, if you have chest tightness, headache, you must speak up in time. Religion: Qinghai is the main settlement of Tibetans, Mongolians, and Hui people. All temples can be photographed outside, but not inside. Some exhibition halls can, pay attention to on-site prompts. Tibetan compatriots can peek at the long heads, do not stare or confront, and the prayer wheels are pushed in a clockwise direction. In short, maintain national unity, full of courtesy, I have the world haha. Travel is the experience of life, not the punch card of sightseeing. Come, let me show you the highlights of each scenic spot. Ta'er Monastery: One person, three unique, eight towers One person (the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism), three unique (butter flowers, murals, pile embroidery), eight towers (record the important events of Buddha's life). Riyue Mountain: Princess, mirror, dividing line Princess (the last stop of Princess Wencheng's marriage to Tibet in the Tang Dynasty), mirror (the origin of Riyue Mountain, the mirror in Princess Wencheng's arms was broken into two pieces), dividing line (it is the dividing line between the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the dividing line between farming and nomadic). Qinghai Lake: Saltwater lake, Huang fish, Cangyang Gyatso Saltwater lake (the largest inland saltwater lake), Huang fish (the Huang fish of Qinghai Lake from June to October every year, desperately return to the freshwater river to spawn), Cangyang Gyatso (the end point of the sixth Dalai Lama in the world, one version is 23 years old He died of illness by Qinghai Lake, and another version disappeared by Qinghai Lake and died in his hometown at the age of 62). Chaka Salt Lake: The smallest, salt sculpture, mirror of the sky The smallest (Chaka Salt Lake is the smallest of the four major salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin), salt sculpture (there are large outdoor salt sculptures next to the salt lake, which is very shocking), the mirror of the sky (because the white salt is the bottom and the water surface is the mirror, it can perfectly reflect the snow mountain white cloud). Zhuoer Mountain: Queen, lover Queen (because the mountain is a Danxia landform showing bright red, Zhuoer Mountain is also called the Red Queen), lover (the Qilian Mountain Mountain God Ami Dongso-Niu Xinshan across the river from Zhuoer Mountain, it is said to be the original form of the Dragon God Princess of Zhuoer Mountain Lover, because of parental opposition, the princess finally turned into Zhuoer Mountain to wait for her lover). Gangshika Snow Peak: Icefall, Snow Peak Icefall (After snowing, icefalls will form on the slope. Due to the different colors of the gravel on the mountain, different colors will be presented. Unfortunately, it cannot be seen in September, probably after November), Snow Peak (It is said to be one of the filming locations of 'The Climber', at an altitude of 3806 meters. You can clearly see the looming snow cap).

The ice ditch forest sea is very close to where I live. Although it is bright and sunny, the air is cool and pleasant, the original jungle is lush, without any artificial traces. The sliced Qinghai pine and shrub grass surround the Binggou River/ Hh/forest shades the sun, clear springs, if you like quiet, the ice ditch forest is the perfect place to escape the crowd ice gully turbulence, the forest is strange. The ice ditch scenic area is like a piece of emerald, embedded in the mountains.

Qinghai Small Loop

🚗🚗🚗Travel Route: Day1: Caojiabao Airport→Ta'er Monastery→Riyue Mountain Day2: Qinghai Lake Erlang Sword Scenic Area→Chaka Salt Lake→Gangcha Fan Domain Tibetan City Linka Hotel Day3: Binggou Forest Sea→Zhuoer Mountain Day4: Qilian Grassland→Gangshika Snow Peak→Gangshika Rainbow Icefall→Caojiabao Airport Transportation: 4 days to walk the small loop is enough, we see the scenery during the day, rush the road from 7-11 pm, the road conditions in Qinghai are quite good, but most of them are two-way two-lane, many large vehicles, sometimes need to overtake. After dark, 80% of the road sections have no street lights, all rely on car headlights for lighting. Fortunately, both of our cars have a driving age of over 15 years, and we have some experience in off-road and night driving. It is not recommended for babies with a driving age of less than 10 years. In addition, it is recommended to use turbocharged vehicles in the plateau area, because the oxygen is thin, the naturally aspirated engine will be underpowered, and the performance of climbing and overtaking is not good. Mid-September weather: around 4-15, the daytime temperature is around 12, the temperature is similar to the early winter in Shenzhen, storm jacket, knitwear, and thin down jacket, jeans, storm pants Environment: The average altitude of Qinghai Province is above 3000, and the altitude of the passing points is Ta'er Monastery 2600-Riyue Mountain 3520-Qinghai Lake 3200-Chaka Salt Lake 3061-Zhuoer Mountain 3100-Gangshika Rainbow Ice Glacier Waterfall 4100-Qilian Grassland 3200, you must do what you can when you are active on the plateau, do not do vigorous exercise, do not run and jump, if you have chest tightness, headache, you must speak up in time. Religion: Qinghai is the main settlement of Tibetans, Mongolians, and Hui people. All temples can be photographed outside, but not inside. Some exhibition halls can, pay attention to on-site prompts. Tibetan compatriots can peek at the long heads, do not stare or confront, and the prayer wheels are pushed in a clockwise direction. In short, maintain national unity, full of courtesy, I have the world haha. Travel is the experience of life, not the punch card of sightseeing. Come, let me show you the highlights of each scenic spot. Ta'er Monastery: One person, three unique, eight towers One person (the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism), three unique (butter flowers, murals, pile embroidery), eight towers (record the important events of Buddha's life). Riyue Mountain: Princess, mirror, dividing line Princess (the last stop of Princess Wencheng's marriage to Tibet in the Tang Dynasty), mirror (the origin of Riyue Mountain, the mirror in Princess Wencheng's arms was broken into two pieces), dividing line (it is the dividing line between the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the dividing line between farming and nomadic). Qinghai Lake: Saltwater lake, Huang fish, Cangyang Gyatso Saltwater lake (the largest inland saltwater lake), Huang fish (the Huang fish of Qinghai Lake from June to October every year, desperately return to the freshwater river to spawn), Cangyang Gyatso (the end point of the sixth Dalai Lama in the world, one version is 23 years old He died of illness by Qinghai Lake, and another version disappeared by Qinghai Lake and died in his hometown at the age of 62). Chaka Salt Lake: The smallest, salt sculpture, mirror of the sky The smallest (Chaka Salt Lake is the smallest of the four major salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin), salt sculpture (there are large outdoor salt sculptures next to the salt lake, which is very shocking), the mirror of the sky (because the white salt is the bottom and the water surface is the mirror, it can perfectly reflect the snow mountain white cloud). Zhuoer Mountain: Queen, lover Queen (because the mountain is a Danxia landform showing bright red, Zhuoer Mountain is also called the Red Queen), lover (the Qilian Mountain Mountain God Ami Dongso-Niu Xinshan across the river from Zhuoer Mountain, it is said to be the original form of the Dragon God Princess of Zhuoer Mountain Lover, because of parental opposition, the princess finally turned into Zhuoer Mountain to wait for her lover). Gangshika Snow Peak: Icefall, Snow Peak Icefall (After snowing, icefalls will form on the slope. Due to the different colors of the gravel on the mountain, different colors will be presented. Unfortunately, it cannot be seen in September, probably after November), Snow Peak (It is said to be one of the filming locations of 'The Climber', at an altitude of 3806 meters. You can clearly see the looming snow cap).

Dunhuang’s Must Visit Mountain Crescent

#celebratewithtrip When visiting Dunhuang, this scenic area is a must! 🏜 When I went to Gansu, I was about halfway through my Silk Road trip and Dunhuang was definitely one of my favorite places. ❤️ 📍 How to get there: Train to Dunhuang -> DiDi ride from there to the scenic spot is about 20-25 mins. 💲 Entrance fee: 55¥ You can also pay a small fee for a bus tour or other activities such as sand boarding (20¥) 🥤 Drinks and snacks: There’s a Dico and a Burger King near the entrance. You can buy little snacks and drinks near the crescent. 🤩 Attractions: Sand dunes and a stunning crescent lake. #dunhuang #chinatravel #exploring #chinalife

Autumn is the best time for Dunhuang 🍂

#fallingforfall Pictures speak louder than words ✌️ How to get there: we took a private car all the way from Xining & back What’s to see: oasis in the dessert, nature, camels🐪 Time needed: weekend What to look for: go in autumn as the weather is perfect and not burning hot Don’t forget to bring your drone for some of these beautiful aerial shots 🛸 IG: andykoh_m8 #germaninchina #travellifestyle #aroundtheworld

Desert fun

The desert can be harsh, difficult and dangerous. But also incredibly beautiful and exciting. In Gansu province there is a huge desert which is full of life. Not green life but human life. It's become an attraction for fun. Formed around a Cresent Lake, it's become a form of Oasis You can ride ATV quad vehicles across the sand, admire the sweeping awesome beauty of the sand and skyline. You can ride camels, and even check out the camel crossing which is a surreal sight. There are also sky activities such as helicopter and gliding. There is more to the desert than just sand #china #travel #adventure #solotravel

Into the desert we go 🌵🐫

Flying to Dunhuang and visiting the Cresent Spring and Echo Sand Mountains. What a day! The weather was perfect , there were so many activities to do but our time was limited. The main activity was riding a Camel for an hour, which was so cool . Climbing a sand dune, which was tough but luckily for us you could choose between walking up on your own or using some sort of climbing stair. When you get half way down the dune, you can either walk , run or slide down. We ended off with enjoying a VR hot air balloon. What a great experience! The desert was definitely one of the best activities of our trip. #passionpassport #deserts #dunes #camelride