Xining Day Trips

No 1: Qinghai Lake Day Trip

The largest lake in all of China, Qinghai Lake is regarded as holy by Tibetans and Mongolians. This big lake lies 150km south of Xining with 360km of its perimeter. On this day trip, first, we will drive to Dzongkha Latse via a scenic road. Dzongkha Lhatse scenic spot is located at the highest mountain pass with 3820m above sea level in the west of Xining. Then continue to drive through some nomadic regions, we finally reach the south shore of Qinghai Lake. There are a number of activities you can do if time permits. For example take a leisure walk at the lakeshore, horseback ride, boat ride, bike ride .etc. If you travel to Qinghai Lake in July, August, and September, you will see rape seeds flower fields at the lakeshore which is a great bonus.

Distance: 150km | Driving time: 3 hours | Entrance fee: 100Y per person

No 2: Kanbula National Park and Guide Day Trip

Kanbula National Park also called Khamra in Tibetan. Located in the west of Jianzha county in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which is 130km from the City of Xining. Covering an area of 152 sq km and the park is famous for its unique land formation, red rocks, forest, vegetation, soaring peaks, lake, Yellow River and Tibetan villages and temples. Approximately 80% of the kanbula park is virgin forest, there are 276 species of plants and trees. There are other highlights on this day trip including the Achung Namdzong Nunnery and Meditation Caves and Guide rainbow Mountains.

Distance from Xining: 130km | Driving time: 2 hours | Entrance Fee: 260Y / per person

No 3: Qinghai Tibetan Medical and Culture Museum & Kumbum Monastery Day Trip

In the morning, visit Kumbum Monastery, Chinese people called it Taer Si. Kumbum Monastery is located 26km west of Xining. It takes about 40 minutes of driving time. Kumbum Monastery is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is famous for being the birthplace of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The huge complex of the monastery offers a great opportunity to see ancient architecture, buddha statues, wall paintings, murals .etc. The Highlights of the monastery include a large butter sculpture(which renewed annually), monastic debating, and a Chapel of Serdong housing a sandalwood tree said to have grown from the umbilical cord of Tsongkhapa. There are some souvenir shops on both sides of the big gate where you can purchase some souvenirs from Tibet. The sightseeing takes about 2-3 hours.

We will return back to Xining once it’s done. Then we will visit The Tibetan Medical and Cultural Museum. This is the most authentic and largest Tibetan Museum in the world. It has two halls, one is for Tibetan Medicine and another one is for culture and religion on Tibetan Plateau. Both halls take about 3-4 hours. The highlight of the museum is a large rolling traditional painting called Thangka which 618 meters long and 2.5 meters wide. It took 27 years for nearly 400 Tibetan artists.

Distance: 15km | Driving time: 20-30 minutes | Entrance fee: 60Y per person

No 4: Chaka Salt Lake Day Trip

The Chaka Salt Lake, also spelled Tsaka Lake is located in Wulan County, Haixi Mongolian Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Qinghai province. The lake lies at an elevation of 3100m. The best is to take a package tour which includes Qinghai Lake and Chaka Salt Lake for 2 days. But if you only have one day. Then it is 300km one way from Xining which takes about 4 hours. Chaka is Tibetan Language, meaning “salt pond”. Chaka Salt Lake is reopened to the public in June 2016, and got a lot of attention since then. It’s “Qinghai’s top four scenery”, and rated as “one of the 55 places people must go” by Chinese National Geographic.

Distance: 300km | Driving time: 4 hours | Entrance Ticket: 120Y per person

No 5: Rebkong or Tongren County Day Trip

Tongren County or Rebkong in the Tibetan language lies 180km south of Xining at the bank of Rongwo Guchu River. Known as the cradle of Tibetan arts in Amdo region of Tibet, Tongren is a fairly large Tibetan town located downstream of the Yellow River. At Tongren County, there are many things to see but if you are on a day trip to Tongren, the first thing is to visit Rongwu Monastery which is the largest monastery in the area. Then visit Upper and Lower Wutun Si Monastery, Tibetan Traditional Artists villages to see how the traditional Thangka is made. Lastly, if you are up to, visit Lo Dorje Drak Meditation Caves on the way back to Xining.

Distance: 180km | Driving time: 3 hours | Entrance Ticket: Rongwu Monastery 60Y per person, Upper Wutun Si 30Y per person, Lower Wutun Si 30Y per person.