Xining Brief
Xining is the capital of Qinghai Province, with mountains lying sharply to the north of the city, and desolate plains stretching before it. It remained an important trading post in the area, was the most common passing channel of the famous Silk Road, until now, it is still the only road by which to enter the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is called the Summer Resort Capital of China for its cool summer, so summer in Xining is an ideal season for tourists who can enjoy fresh and crisp weather.

Top Attractions

Qinghai Lake: located in the northeast of the 4,500 meter high Qinghai-Tibet plateau, measuring 4,400 square kilometers, Qinghai Lake is the largest inland saltwater lake in China. Numerous birds gathered each spring to the island, such as the bar-headed goose, fish gulls, cormorants, etc. There have some islands as the paradise for birds, crowded around the cliff nest, eggs are abound. Besides being a sanctuary for winter birds that hatch their young here, Qinghai Lake is the largest natural fish reservoir in all of northwest China.

Ta'er Temple: standing in an imposing manner according to the gradient of the mountain, the Ta'er Temple is a wonderful architectural complex that embraces 9,300 structures, including scripture halls, Buddha halls, lamas' residences and Buddhist pagodas. Built in 1622, in the center of the entire complex, the Great Hall of Gold Tiles is the core structure of the lamasery. There are four important Buddhist meetings held in the Ta'er Temple, respectively in each lunar January, April, June and September.

Chaka Salt Lake: Chaka means "Salt Lake" in Mongolian, the area is about more than 100 kilometers. It is not only famous for producing Qinghai salt, but also for the unique landscapes in the area. There is salt everywhere: on one's feet, on the hills and rocks around the lake, on the beach, everywhere one looks, even the air smells of salt. It is excavated every year, but it will replenish, so the salt cannot be used up. It cannot be depleted even in 600 years, considering the lake's regenerative ability and storage.

Grand Mosque: Dongguan Grand Mosque is the largest and complete ancient building kept in Xining City, which is one of the four major mosques in the Northwest region of China. The mosque is not of particularly Muslim architecture, normally easily differentiated from its Buddhist counterparts, but is more in the typical Chinese folk style. The great hall have the capable of holding 3000 prayers and as an ancient palace-style building, the roof is decorated with shining Tibetan-style gilding treasury bottled.

Qinghai Folk Custom Museum: it started built in the 40's of the 20th century, it is the most best preserved ancient construction with typical regional character in Qinghai Province. People call it "the residence of jade" because most of the buildings were made of jade. The whole museum covers an area of nearly 30000 square meters, and the area of structure is more than 6000 square meters.

Sun and Moon Mountain: it is located at the northeast of the Qinghai Lake and it belongs to the offshoot of the Qilian Mountain chains. It is the boundary of the central agricultural area and the Qinghai-Tibet pastoral area, the landscapes in the east and west sides of the mountain are totally different.

Recommended Tours
The Qinghai-Tibet railway marks a new era for Xining's significant role in tourism. As an important stop along the Qinghai-Tibet track, Xining will be a vital stop for travelers to Tibet. Xining's similarity with Tibet in weather allows Xining an "adapted stop" for visitor who will then gradually adapt themselves to the harsh weather condition in Tibet.
(AMD-001) Beijing-Xining-Lijiaxia-Xunhua-Linxia-Xiahe-Tongren-Maqing- Anemaqen Mountain-Guide-Qinghai Lake-Xining-Beijing (15 Days)
(TE-008) Beijing-Xining-Lijiaxia-Xunhua-Linxia-Xiahe-Tongren-Maqing- Anemaqen Mountain-Guide-Qinghai Lake-Xining-Beijing (15 Days)
(THQ-001) Xining-Chaka-Dulan-Golmud-Tuotuo River-Amdo-Nagqu-Damxung-Lhasa-Gyantse-Shigatse-Shegar-Rongbuk Monastery-Tingri-Zhangmu (17 Days)
(THQ-003) Beijing-Xining-Golmud-train to Lhasa-Tsedang-Gyantse-Shigatse-Lhasa-Shanghai (18 Days)
(CA-004) Shanghai-Suzhou-Hangzhou-Xi'an-Lanzhou+Bingling Temple-Xiahe-Tongren-Xiaqiong-Xining-Beijing (20 Days)
(AMD-002) Beijing-Lanzhou-Linxia-Xiahe-Tongren-Xining-Qinghai Lake-Xining-Zhangye-Jiayuguan-Dunhuang-Beijing (11 Days)

Shopping & Entertainment
Although in the far west, Xining has a number of shopping specialties and the best of these can generally be classified into three categories: handicrafts, traditional medicinal remedies and animal hides. The best places to buy such specialties are in the markets and small shops around the city, such as the Water Well Alley Market, West Gate, Riverside Market and so on.

There are many handicraft products that are sold here that would make good trophies to take home, including Huangzhong Colored Stores, carpets, stone carvings, yak butter sculptures, etc. As one of the few stops en route to remote Tibet, the city also is host to many sellers of Tibetan boots, knives and silverware, etc.

In the summer months, one of the most popular thins to do at night is to eat on one of Xining's renowned "eat streets". The biggest one is on Daxin Street, where touts sell everything from barbecued fish to fried dumplings.