2019 Qinghai Travel Guide, Qinghai Independent Travel Guide – Created by Yue Sheng for Your Perfect Trip

Travel is an important part of a happy life. And when you travel, having a good travel guide for your destination is even more important.Yue Sheng Travel Concierge Card

Yue Sheng Travel Concierge Card

This year, as usual, I browsed Weibo, looking at all the travel photos posted by influencers, feeling quite envious.

By chance, I saw beautiful pictures of Qinghai and the romantic encounters shared by netizens. I was instantly captivated by those stunning images and landscapes, so a Qinghai trip became our family’s travel plan for the year.

With the plan set, we started browsing various travel blogs and guides online.

After researching, we found that Qinghai’s scenic areas are truly vast, with countless small attractions that were almost overwhelming. So we decided to look for a local tour guide online. After some searching and comparison, we ultimately chose Yue Sheng, which has many positive reviews online, to arrange our essential Qinghai tour. Yue Sheng International Travel is a well-known destination travel service company in the industry. They cover everything from accommodation and transportation to meals, and include all the must-see spots – very reassuring.

When traveling to Qinghai, it’s best to hire a local guide. For this trip, we booked a guide from Yue Sheng Travel – Brother Cai, highly recommended by many netizens. As the saying goes, seeing is believing. Brother Cai turned out to be warm, down-to-earth, and very dedicated. (Search for “Yue Sheng Travel” on WeChat to find their mini-program.)

We recommend that anyone planning to visit Qinghai get in touch with Brother Cai. The guides from Yue Sheng are very straightforward – they’ll only promise what they can deliver and will honestly tell you what’s not possible or suitable. If you contact them before your trip, they’ll inform you about the weather and local conditions, helping you adjust your plans for a more enjoyable experience.Yue Sheng Travel Concierge Card

About Our Journey

Our itinerary was a 6-day tour. If you have a bit more time, this route is a great choice. It includes several must-see spots in Qinghai, such as Lanzhou, Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake, Ta’er Monastery, and Ashikule National Geopark, making it the perfect essential Qinghai tour.

The trip emphasizes experience, guided by certified local experts. The itinerary is originally designed by Yue Sheng Travel, and every stop has been personally tested by product managers before being recommended. There’s also an excellent team leader accompanying the group throughout, ensuring you have a more enjoyable trip. The entire journey is thoughtfully arranged, with incredibly entertaining activities.Yue Sheng Travel Concierge Card

For long-distance travel, especially in the northwest region, comfort during transit is very important. Yue Sheng guarantees one guide per vehicle and attentive service throughout. Each traveler has their own assigned seat, and the whole group stays in high-end hotels. In Xining, you’ll even get a free upgrade to a five-star hotel for one night.

Essential Attractions Overview

Qinghai Lake

Also known as “Kuku Nor,” meaning “Blue Sea” in Mongolian, it is located within the Qinghai Lake Basin and is China’s largest inland lake and saltwater lake. Yue Sheng Travel Concierge Card

It was formed by tectonic subsidence between the Datong Mountain of the Qilian Mountains, Riyue Mountain, and the South Qinghai Mountain. The plateau continental climate creates different beautiful sceneries in each season.

On the southern side, the Erlangjian Scenic Area offers boat rides on the lake. The western side is Bird Island, where hundreds of thousands of migratory birds can be seen and photographed from April to June. The eastern side of the lake features sandy beaches and entertainment, including famous sites like Riyue Mountain and the Backflow River. The northern part includes attractions such as Golden and Silver Beach and the Atomic City.

July and August are the best months to visit Qinghai Lake, when rapeseed flowers bloom widely and the annual Qinghai Lake Cycling Race takes place.

Chaka Salt Lake

Chaka Salt Lake is a famous natural crystallized salt lake in the Qaidam Basin, known as China’s “Mirror of the Sky.” Its salt production could supply the entire nation for about 75 years.

The scenic area features numerous salt sculptures to admire, and you can also take a small train to explore deeper into the salt lake.

Visitors can walk barefoot onto the lake surface to view and photograph their reflections. If you’re lucky, you might even see mirages forming over the water during the day.

If there is continuous rainy weather for several days, the salt layer on the lake may dissolve, exposing the muddy ground beneath – making it unsafe to walk on the lake.

There are many small black holes in the salt lake – these are actually traps. Never step on them, as the darker ones are especially dangerous.

Yue Sheng Tra

Kumbum Monastery

Kumbum Monastery is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism in China and the birthplace of Je Tsongkhapa, the world’s second most revered Buddha figure. It got its name because the stupa was built before the temple, and it has a history of over 400 years.

With its grand architecture, abundant treasures, and strong religious atmosphere, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Xining.

The vivid butter sculptures, colorful murals, and splendid appliqué thangkas are hailed as the “Three Treasures of Art” at Kumbum Monastery.

The monastery also houses a large collection of Buddhist scriptures and scholarly works on history, literature, philosophy, medicine, and law.

Kumbum Monastery also reveres three sacred elements: the Sage (Je Tsongkhapa), the Sacred Land (the Golden Hall), and the Sacred Object (the Bodhi Tree).

Ashigong National GeoparkYue Sheng Travel Concierge Card

The Qi Cai Feng Cong (Seven-Colored Peak Cluster) of the Guide National Geopark Ashigong, located in the Qianfo Grand Canyon of Ashigong, Gareng Township, Guide County, is a must-pass destination on the way from Xining (the provincial capital) to Guide, situated 18 kilometers from downtown Guide. The scenic area consists of seven Danxia gorges, each with unique colors and shapes. The natural Danxia landscape is striking and spectacular. Especially in summer, when the weather shifts rapidly between sunshine and rain, the colors become even more vibrant after rainfall. As you drive through the peaks, you can’t help but be awed by nature’s masterpiece and lost in wonder at its mysteries.

Personal Opinion:

Scenic spots in Qinghai are rather scattered, making them less suitable for independent travel. If you’re not the type to trek long distances, don’t want the hassle of figuring out travel plans, and certainly don’t wish to be misled by aggressive touts upon arrival, it’s best to go with Yue Sheng’s all-in-one service covering tickets, accommodation, meals, and guides. They focus on repeat customers—pure travel, no shopping.

Friendly Tip: When traveling to Qinghai, booking a Yue Sheng guide for airport pickup makes your trip worry-free and convenient.Yue Sheng Travel Concierge Card