[2025 Qilian Attraction] Travel Guide for Qilian Mountain Scenic Spot (Updated Jun)

The Qinghai-Gansu Grand Loop is truly a perfect self-drive route, easily manageable in almost any type of vehicle. Along the way, you'll encounter mountains, grasslands, lakes, salt lakes, Gobi Desert, deserts, Yadan landforms, Danxia landforms, snow-capped mountains, historical sites, and delicious food. The journey is incredibly rich and diverse, and even after the trip, the most beautiful scenery feels like it was on the road itself. Every day, the stunning views along the way slowed us down, tempting us to stop for photos and fly our drone. We went at the peak season at the end of July, but there were still some routes where we were completely alone, driving through endless Gobi or grasslands, feeling utterly free. The afterglow is intense, and I highly recommend a self-drive trip. The only downside might be the long hours of driving each day. 📅Itinerary: Xining—Qinghai Lake—Chaka Salt Lake—Dachaidan Emerald Lake—Charhan Salt Lake—Highway 315 U-shaped Road—Water Yadan—Heidu Mountain—Dunhuang—Guazhou—Jiayuguan—Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park—Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon—Zuerken—Menyuan Rape Flower Fields 🚗Self-drive tips: Most roads are suitable for any vehicle, but the Eboliang Mars Highway near Mangya requires a car with higher ground clearance. Since we had a sedan, we chose not to go there. Some less-traveled routes might also have slightly worse road conditions. Always prioritize safety. ⛱️Must-see attractions: You can choose attractions based on your preferences, but the most beautiful scenery is truly on the road. Throughout the trip, we visited three salt lakes and various other attractions, but looking back, the best memories are from driving through the grasslands, along the lakes, and across the Gobi. 🏨Accommodation guide: It's fine during the off-season, but during peak season, it's recommended to plan your route and book accommodations in advance on Trip.com. The guesthouses and accommodations near Lenghu Town and Qinghai Lake might have slightly poorer conditions. There are many more options once you reach Dunhuang. 💗Other tips: We were on a ten-day self-drive tour, following the planned itinerary strictly for the first few days, and then making daily plans as we went. I recommend at least seven days for this trip, otherwise, the driving will wear you out. Even with a ten-day itinerary, we missed out on many things, such as tickets to the Mogao Caves and horseback riding at Shandan Horse Ranch. The rape flowers were also at the end of their season, which was a pity. But these are motivations for another trip around the loop. Also, the lamb in Dunhuang is particularly delicious, especially at a restaurant called Shouzhua Yangrou Yijue (手抓羊肉一觉). The Shazhou Night Market is a bit pricey, but the food is indeed delicious, and it's all concentrated in one place, making it convenient for tourists to try a variety of dishes.

🏔 Sure is Qilian Mountain the Switzerland of China as they call. A blend of mountainous roads leading into this town, grasslands with herds of cattle, and the snow-capped mountains with pine trees is the scenery that brought me to this place.   📌 The day I travelled to this town, which is located in the border of Qinghai and Gansu provinces, it was raining heavily that I could barely see anything. We approached Qilian Mountain in the late afternoon and enjoyed the first evening after the rain. Colorful lightings were lit up all over one of the main hills in town very beautifully, very beautifully.   🏞 The morning after, the sky was clear and that’s when we visited the scenic area. It was fantastic! The fresh alpine air, moo-moo sound from local cattle on the hill, and the breathtaking vista of high mountains make this place very special.     🌲This alpine region is one of the few places in China where I totally could escape from the crowds, also just to be able to immerse myself in the nature. 🗺 #scenicspotguide #urbanexplorer #travelinspiration #unforgettableexperiences#nationalpark#naturalwonders#roadtrip#urbanexplorer

📅 Itinerary Day 1: Haixi Town ~ Amisodong Scenic Area ~ Qilian Day 2: Qilian ~ Lunbuxiaguo Service Center ~ Zhuoer Mountain Scenic Area ~ Arou Temple ~ Gangshika Snow Mountain ~ Menyuan Day 3: [Free exploration] 🏨 Hotel Recommendations: Huayue Hotel (Qilian), Green Superior Hotel (Menyuan) 🍴 Food Recommendation: Hand-grabbed mutton 📌 Travel Tips: Self-driving before May Day offers crowd-free attractions with no entrance fees. Monitor weather and dress warmly. Note: Lunbuxiaguo was inaccessible due to snow, but the nearby hilltop by the service center offers stunning distant views of Amisodong and Zhuoer Mountain.

Qilian Mountain, located at the border of Gansu and Qinghai, is a special place. In the refreshing autumn weather, climb up to Zhuo'er Mountain and walk along the wooden plank road. If you are not in good shape, you don't even need to climb. You can take the mountain elevator for ten yuan to reach the top of the mountain. I took the elevator shortcut. The sky is blue, and the air is fresh. This is the perfect day for a trip. Taking the mountain elevator, I looked at my friends walking slowly on the wooden plank road and thought: Although everyone chooses a different path, they are all working hard to move upward. The top of the mountain is the Xixia Beacon Tower, also known as the Beacon Tower, the earliest information transmission center, and the highest peak of Zhuo'er Mountain. Looking out from the window of the Beacon Tower, each window is a natural viewfinder, and any shot is a landscape painting. Zhuo'er Mountain is beautiful and worth recording again and again. I am willing to be a spreader of beautiful scenery and tell you about the beauty here...

🏔️Qilian Wonderland, a dreamlike journey of snow mountains and grasslands✨ 🚗Driving to Qilian Mountains, the scenery along the way is picturesque, as if stepping into a secluded paradise far from the hustle and bustle. Here, it is a perfect blend of nature and culture, a paradise for travelers! 🏞️Standing on the top of Zhuo'er Mountain, looking at the endless snow mountains in the distance and the lush green grasslands nearby, at that moment, all the fatigue disappears. The majesty of Niu Xin Mountain, the mystery of Glacier Park, every place makes people feel awe and marvel at the craftsmanship of nature. 📸Photography enthusiasts, get your cameras ready! Whether it's the first ray of sunlight in the morning shining on the top of the snow mountain, or the cattle and sheep returning home on the grassland at dusk, they are all rare and beautiful scenes. 🍴Of course, food is also an indispensable part of the Qilian Mountain trip. The deliciousness of hand-grabbed mutton, the aroma of roasted whole lamb, and the rich butter tea, every bite is an ultimate temptation to the taste buds. 💖After experiencing the magnificence and beauty of Qilian Mountains, I can't help but sigh: this is not just a trip, but a baptism of the soul. Here, you can find inner peace and feel the greatness and magic of nature. If you also long for a spontaneous trip, then Qilian Mountains is definitely your best choice!✨ Qilian Mountain Scenic Tourism Area

Zhuo'er Mountain Scenic Area is located on the north bank of Babao River in Qilian County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, covering an area of about 603.1 acres. The average altitude of the mountain top is 2930 meters. Zhuo'er Mountain belongs to the Danxia landform, composed of red sandstone and conglomerate, and is called 'Zongmumayumayu' in Tibetan, meaning the beautiful rosy queen. Standing on the top of Zhuo'er Mountain, the view is extremely open, with no obstructions around. Across the mountain is the Niu Xin Mountain, which offers a view of the four seasons. On the left and right sides are Ladong Gorge and Baiyang Gou Scenic Area respectively, and behind is the rolling Qilian Mountains. The surging Babao River at the foot of the mountain is like a white Hada surrounding the county. The beautiful scenery is everywhere, like a fairyland, which is refreshing. It's very convenient to stay in Qilian County when visiting here.

The real off-the-beaten-path small city and its attractions are right here in Wuwei - Binggou River is definitely worth a visit! This is my first time to the northwest, and Binggou River is the most anticipated part of this trip to Wuwei. When the coach drove out of the suburbs of Wuwei, the barren mountains suddenly became lush with greenery, entering another world with grasslands, forests, and snow-capped mountains. The biggest advantage of Binggou River is that it has not been fully developed, and the natural landscape is very well preserved. There are very few tourists, and the tour experience during the National Day period can be rated 5 stars. In addition, the toilets in Binggou River are the best toilets I have encountered on my trip to Gansu! Entering the bathroom, I was almost moved to tears by the cleanliness! However, because it has not been fully developed, the supporting services are not perfect, so please note: Public transportation only has one trip per day, you can follow 'Wuwei Bus Group' to buy a tourist line, round trip is 50 yuan. There is nothing for sale on the mountain, bring your own food, it is best to bring instant noodles, the visitor center provides hot water for free. Don't take the sightseeing bus, it takes about 3 hours to tour the entire scenic area, so you don't need to buy a full journey sightseeing bus ticket, if you are afraid of being too tired, you can buy a half journey ticket. Tianchi is not open to the public, you need to walk up there, it is about 13 kilometers. Compare several channels when buying tickets, there is a big difference in ticket prices, we followed the driver to buy and got a discount of more than half. Dress warmly, I only wore a sweater, and I was almost frozen silly.

Qinghai Province in summer is the high season because the weather is not hot and the yellow oilseed fields are very beautiful. The contrast with the mountain view behind is the best. Traveling here may be a bit difficult. For us, we rented a car with a driver for a road trip to 2 provinces: Qinghai and Gansu. Each place has the best view. The temperature is about 17 degrees, but the sun may be a bit strong. Don't forget to bring sunglasses. #dreamdestination #Qilian #qinghai

Qilian Mountain is a very beautiful and beautiful mountain range, located at the junction of Gansu Province and northern Qinghai. It is said that it is magical because there are different landscapes. In the summer of Gansu, there may be snow-capped mountains. Maybe one side is like a fire and there is heavy snow. It is said that it is beautiful because there is a patch of prairie and alpine meadows everywhere in the Qilian Mountains. When these grasslands and alpine meadows are covered with flocks and yaks, they will feel here. Such experience with beautiful scenery. Therefore, Qilian Mountain is a very magical and beautiful mountain. And its grassland is more beautiful, and the beauty makes people feel that this is not in China, but in the snowy mountains of European towns. This time, Yamano took everyone to the foreland of the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Region in the Qinghai Province, and saw the snowfall. The summit of the entire grassland was covered with white snow. On the ground is a green grass that suddenly gives people a return to nature, and has a very comfortable and cool feeling.

Qilian County is located in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province. It is named after the hinterland of the middle section of the Qilian Mountains. It is adjacent to the Gansu Hexi Corridor in the north of the ancient Silk Road. Therefore, it is also known as the North Gate of Qinghai. Qilian County usually has a lot of tourists, and the whole small town is extraordinarily quiet, like a paradise. The biggest surprise for the trip to Qilian County was that when the window of the hotel room was opened early in the morning, it turned out to be a "fairy world" in silver. I quickly walked out of the hotel room and wanted to be in such a rare scene. After all, in a place like a paradise, even the snow scene has another kind of indescribable look. All the branches on the outside are covered with hoarfrost, and the Tibetan colored blessing stones are particularly bright in the white snow. Danxia landforms unique red rock with white snow cover, how can you not be surprised to see at a glance? This is the magical work of nature, especially in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of Dashan Dachuan. Looking forward, white, I walked along the Babao River, almost no one passed by, as if you suddenly owned a whole world.