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Xining Travel Guide
Ta'er Monastery
The capital of Qinghai province, Xining is a city you'll likely come through if traveling over land to Xinjiang or the TIbet Autonomous Region. An ancient highland city bordering the Yellow River, and once an important stop along the Silk Road, Xining's look and feel are influenced by its significant population of Hui people. Add to this a dash of Tibetan culture, hospitable locals and good food and you get a combination that wins Xining consistent praise among travelers.
Travel through Xining comes highly recommended in the summer. Not only is it the best time to view attractions in the area, but the city's cool climate, one of the benefits of being situated at an altitude of 2,200 meters, offers a reprieve from the sticky heat that prevails in so many other big Chinese cities.
Though many simply come through on their way to Kashgar, Lhasa and other well-known western Chinese destinations, Xining features a few good attractions of its own including the large Dongguan Mosque, the Qinghai Provincial Museum and Beishan Temple (great views of the city here).
Qinghai Lake
Xining is also within day-trip range of several important Buddhist sites including the Kumbum Monastery and Youning Si, as well as the inland-sea-sized Qinghai Lake and the Liuwan Museum of Painted Pottery.
Geography of Xining
Xining is located in the eastern part of Qinghai Province and lies on the Huangshui River. It has a total area of 350 km². Xining is located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the upper reaches of the Huangshui River. It is the political, economic, and cultural center of Qinghai Province with an average altitude of about 2,200 meters (7217 feet). Human activity in the region can be traced to 2,100 years ago. During the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, owing to its developing agriculture, Xining was paid noticed due to its economic and military significance. As well as being an important hinge between the Central Plains and the western part of China in ancient times, Xining was an important link in the Silk Road. It continues to be an important rail and road link to the hinterlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Climate of Xining
Dongguan Mosque
Xining has also been dubbed the Summer Resort Capital of China owing to its cool summer, with a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). 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.
Xining's high altitude always necessitates two things: warm clothes and sunscreen. Even during the summer months, days can be cool, nights even get a little nippy, so a combination of breezy t-shirts and thicker long-sleeves would be prudent. If you come without something warm, don't worry, there are plenty of wool jackets and sweaters for purchase in the Tibetan market near the train station.From October to April, winter clothes are a must.
History of Xining
An important Hexi Corridor commercial hub linking China to the Northern Silk Road 2,000 years ago, Xining has, over its long history, traded hands between Chinese dynasties, Tibetan empires, Khanates, Mongol warlords and Communists, which explains the rich stew of cultures there and, to an even greater extent, Qinghai's south and west.
Birds Island
Qinghai started out as a Chinese possession during the Han Dynasty (206 BC—AD 220) where it served as a fortified outpost from which to launch raids and repel invasions. Around 763, the Tibetan Empire, then at the apogee of its power, expanded its territory over much of central Asia, Persia and Northern India, engulfing what is now modern Qinghai.
The area, then known as Amdo, would be recovered by the Song only to have it taken away by the Mongols who, in 1253 appointed Phagspa, a Tibetan priest, to be both priest-king of Tibet, Kham and Amdo (though the Mongol Khan would still be his patron) and Kublai Khan's spiritual advisor. With Buddhism's inreasing socio-political importance came Mongolian leader Altan Khan's decree making Sonam Gyatso the first Dalai Lama in a ceremony near Qinghai Lake.
Fast forward to the 1930's when Xining was ruled by Muslim warlord Ma Bufang on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek's weak central government. His regime would be backwards and brutal, a situation relieved just slightly by the arrival of the Communists in 1949 who oversaw Xining's decline into the kind of backwater dissenters were sent to for rehabilitiation during the Cultural Revolution.
The Chinese economic miracle passed Xining by. As a result, the city finds itself a little less rich, but also quite a bit less polluted. Though city planning is farcically bad and the architecture pretty boring, Xining is one of the few big Chinese cities where residents frequently enjoy brilliant blue skies.
Tourism in Xining
Located in the southwest part of Xining City, the Kumbum Monastery or Ta'er Monastery is one of six famous monasteries in the Gelug (also called Yellow Hat Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism. Having a history of over 600 years, the Dongguan Mosque, located in the Xining City Zone, is one of the most famous mosques in the northwest region of China. It has splendid and diversiform towers, walls and halls in the mosque. Another unique religious structure is the Beishan Si (North Mountain Temple), a Taoist facility.
The Xining region is also replete with natural scenic attractions. One is the Sun and Moon Mountain which divides Qinghai Province into two parts - the stock-raising area and the farming area. Another not-to-be-missed destination is the Qinghai Lake and Bird Island. This alluring body of water is home to hundreds of thousands of birds. About 35 kilometers west of Xining City in Datong County, you can experience the magical power of Laoye Mountain. Every year on the 6th day of the 6th lunar month, the traditional singing festival attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Transportation in Xining
Xining is situated in a fertile mountain basin in the valley of the Huangshui (river), a tributary of the Yellow River, that acts as a river port. The city lies about 200 km west of Lanzhou in Gansu Province, on what was traditionally the main trade route from northern China into Tibet and the Qaidam Basin. These routes are now followed by modern highways.
Railway: Since 1959 Xining has been connected by rail to the main Chinese system at Lanzhou; this railway extends into the Qaidam area via Haiyan near Qinghai Lake to Golmud.
Air: Xining Caojiabu Airport serves the area with regularly scheduled passenger flights to major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Kunming, Xi'an, and Wuhan.
