Kǎobǐng (烤饼) These thick bread buns are baked and then further roasted over coal fire and lightly dusted with spicy chilli powder, garlic salt and spices. Order in Muslim restaurants or procure from street vendors, who roast them over coal after dark.
Mómo (馍馍) Tibetan-style dumplings similar to Chinese bāozi (steamed meat buns), typically filled with savoury lamb mince and served with spiced chilli oil. An alternate version is served in hot broth.
Yak milk yoghurt (牦牛酸奶, máoniú suānnǎi) Whether love or hate, visitors usually have a strong reaction to this Tibetan-style yoghurt made from yak’s milk. Shops and vendors all over Qīnghǎi sell small portions in plastic cups or bowls, usually served with a sprinkling of rock sugar to balance the tartness. It’s a wonderfully fresh dessert or snack. Locals also claim it helps combat altitude sickness.
6Drinking & Nightlife
Open-air beer gardens line both sides of the Nánchuān River between Kunlun Zhonglu and Xiguan Jie, most of which are open from the afternoon till early evening serving big bottles of local beer and snacks.
For a more mellow evening, there's a growing set of cafes, music bars and pubs along Xiadu Dajie between Nanxiao Jie and Huayuan Nanjie near Greenhouse.
o1/2 SugarBAR
(Bàn Táng Qù; 半糖趣 MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Qiyi Lu, Xindadi Huayuan; 七一路 新大地花园 beer from ¥30, coffee from ¥26; h1pm-1am; W)
Xīníng just upped its hipster game with an unlikely (but cool) craft brewery and cafe. Sitting in a purpose-built complex off a small alley behind Qiyi Jie, knowledgeable staff can recommend and let you sample draft beer from all over China, including their in-house IPA. A large international craft-beer selection is available at reasonable prices.
An ever-expanding menu of Western faves such as burgers and pizza is worth a look at and there's great coffee if beer isn't your thing.
To find the place, walk 200m west from Xīníng Bīnguǎn (西宁宾馆) and turn right into the first unmarked alley and right again into an open compound. The bar is in a grey-bricked complex on the left.
GreenhouseCAFE
(古林坊咖啡; Gǔlínfáng Kāfēi MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0971 820 2710; 222-22 Xiadu Dajie; 夏都大街222-22号 coffee from ¥25, food ¥33-80; h8:30am-midnight; W)
Rustic split-level wood interior with smoothies and some of the best coffee in town. You can also munch on pizzas, burgers and sandwiches to a mellow music selection. The building facade was under construction at the time of research.
Lìméng Business Pedestrian StreetBAR STREET
(Lìméng Shāngyèxiàng Bùxíngjiē; 力盟商业巷步行街 off Wusi Dajie)
There's a cluster of decent bars (some with live music) at a 'new' pedestrian street in 3.5km west of town. You'll also find Western cafes such as Starbucks, a couple of malls and a range of modern chain restaurants. It's a ¥10 taxi ride from town and sits between Wusi Dajie and Xiguan Dajie .
7Shopping
Xīníng Tibetan MarketMARKET
(西藏市场; Xīzàng Shìchǎng MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Xiǎoshāngpǐn Shìchǎng, Huzhu Lu; 互助路小商品市场 h9am-5pm)
The four floors of this market are chock-full of Tibetan goods and you’ll see groups of monks stopping in to stock up on various Buddhist knick-knacks and attire. A few shops specialise in Tibetan Buddhist music (and instruments), and there are numerous places to score a statue of a Buddha or Bodhisattva or a string of prayer flags.
8Information
Free wi-fi is available in plenty of places. Tiāntángniǎo Internet (天堂鸟网络, Tiāntángniǎo wǎngluò GOOGLE MAP ; Dong Dajie; per hr ¥2-3.50; h24hr) is a basic internet cafe popular with the local gamers.
Bank of ChinaBANK
(中国银行; Zhōngguó Yínháng GOOGLE MAP ; 22 Dong Dajie; 东大街22号 h9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun)
Has a number of large branches around town that exchange cash and have foreign-friendly ATMs.
ICBC ATMATM
(工商银行; Gōngshāng Yínháng GOOGLE MAP ; 55 Nanxiaojie; 南小街55号 )
Has ATMs that accept foreign cards.
Mystic Tibet ToursTRAVEL AGENCY
(%182 0971 5464; http://mystictibettours.com; Suite 2082, 24 Bayi Rd; 24号八一路2082室 )
Excellent agency run by English-speaking Tibetan guide Gonkho. Organises tours around Amdo including Amnye Machen. Located 10km east of town. Your best bet is to email or call Gonkho in advance.
Post OfficePOST
(中国邮政; Zhōngguó Yóuzhèng GOOGLE MAP ; cnr Xi Dajie & Bei Dajie; 西大街北大街的路口 h8.30am-6pm)
Public Security BureauPOLICE
(PSB, 公安局, Gōng’ānjú GOOGLE MAP ; 35 Bei Dajie; 北大街35号 h8.30-11.30am & 2.30-5.30pm Mon-Fri)
Can extend visas.
Qīnghǎi Red Cross HospitalHOSPITAL
(青海红十字医院; Qīnghǎi Hóngshízì Yīyuàn GOOGLE MAP ; %0971 824 7545; Nan Dajie)
English-speaking doctors available. Outpatients (门诊部; ménzhěn bù) has a 24-hour pharmacy (药店; yàodiàn).
Snow Lion ToursTRAVEL AGENCY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0971 816 3350; www.snowliontours.com; Office 408, Xiadu Dasha Bldg, Xiadu Dajie; 夏都大厦，夏都大街 h9am-6pm)
Run by a knowledgeable English-speaking Tibetan, Wangden; arranges treks, camping with nomads and Tibet permits.
Tibetan ConnectionsTRAVEL AGENCY
( GOOGLE MAP ; %189 9720 0974; www.tibetanconnections.com; 12th fl, Bldg 5, International Village Apartments, 2-32 Jiancai Xiang, Guoji Cun Gong Yu; 建材巷国际村公寓5号楼12楼1209室 )
This Tibetan-run tour company focuses on remoter parts of Amdo and Kham but can arrange trips into Tibet. Prices may be a little higher than local travel agencies but staff speak English and are good to deal with.
The agency is located below the Lete Youth Hostel (理体青年旅舍; Lǐtǐ Qīngnián Lǚshè MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0971 820 2080; [email protected]; 15th fl, Bldg 5, International Village Apartments, 2-32 Jiancai Xiang; 建材巷国际村公寓5号楼15层 dm ¥40-55, d with/without bathroom ¥140/70; iW) on the 12th floor.
8Getting There & Away
Air
The airport is 27km east of the city. There are daily flights to Běijīng (¥1250), Chéngdū (¥990), Shànghǎi (¥1800), Yùshù (¥1500), Golmud (¥1350), Tīanjīn (¥950) and Xī’ān (¥650). There are now daily direct flights to Lhasa (¥1330).
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; 中国民航; Zhōngguó Mínháng %0971 813 3333; 32 Bayi Xilu; h8.30am-5.30pm) has a booking office on Bayi Lu near the Bayi Road bus station. Shuttle buses (¥21, 35 minutes) leave hourly from there, the main bus station and from outside the Qīnghǎi Bīnguǎn (青海宾馆), just west of town across the river (¥10 taxi ride from town).
Bus
Xīníng has way too many bus stations for a city of its size. Most leave from the Xīníng Main Bus Station (西宁客运车站; Xīníng Kèyùn Chēzhàn GOOGLE MAP ; 200m east of the main train station) beside the main railway station, but some buses leave from from one of the other three (!) stations.
From Xining Main Bus Station, there are buses to the following:
ABird Island ¥66, 4½ hours, 7.45am
AChákǎ ¥60, five hours, five daily (8am, 9.45am, 11am, 12.35pm, 3.30pm)
AGolmud ¥165, 15 hours, four daily (2pm, 5pm, 5.30pm, 6pm)
AHēimǎhé ¥44, four hours, two daily (8.30am, 9.30am)
AHùzhù Běishān National Forest Park ¥30, four hours, two daily (noon, 2pm)
AKanbula National Park ¥23, 2½ hours, 10.30am and every 30 minutes from noon to 5pm
AKumbum Monastery ¥6, 45 minutes, every 20 minutes from 7am to 6.30pm
ALánzhōu ¥65, three hours, hourly from 7.20am to 6.30pm
ALínxià ¥61, five hours, hourly from 7.15am to 10.15am
AQīnghǎi Lake ¥34, three hours, hourly from 8am to 6pm
ATóngrén ¥31, four hours, every 40 minutes from 7.30am to 5.30pm
AXīhǎi Zhèn ¥
25, 2½ hours, every 25 minutes from 7.30am to 5.30pm
AYùshù Seat/sleeper ¥191/211, 15 hours, hourly from 11am to 6pm
Of the other three stations:
Bayi Road Station (八一路汽车站; Bāyī Lù Qìchē Zhàn cnr Bayi Lu & Huangzhong Lu; 八一路和湟中路路口 ) runs buses to Tóngrén (¥35, four hours, every 30 minutes from 7.30am to 5pm) and Yòuníng Temple (¥12, 70 minutes, 10.30am)
Nanchuan West Road Passenger Transport Terminal (南川西路客运站; Nánchuān Xilù Kèyùn Zhàn 4 Nanchuan Xilu; 南川西路4号 ) has buses to Guìdé (¥26, two hours, every 20 minutes from 7.35am to 5.30pm) and Mǎduō (¥100, eight hours, 8am)
Public Bus Terminal (公脚车站; Gōngjiāo Chēzhàn GOOGLE MAP ) has a bus to Pïngān (¥5, two hours, every five minutes) and also connects with terminal station for local buses.
The Xinning Road Passenger Transport Terminal (新宁路客运站; Xīnníng Lù Kèyùn Zhàn Xinning Lu; 新宁路 ), 2.5km northwest of the city, is the least useful station. There are buses from here to Lèdū (¥21, one hour, every 15 minutes from 7am to 6.45pm).
Train
The Xīníng Railway Station (火车站; Huǒchē Zhàn) reopened in September 2015, with new high-speed rail services passing through here between Lánzhōu in Gānsù province and Ürümqi in Xīnjiāng. Regional trains also start/stop at Xīníng West Railway Station (西火车站; Xī Huǒchē Zhàn), about 10km west of the city centre.
Lhasa-bound trains pass through Xīníng (hard/soft sleeper ¥500/800, 22 hours) on their way towards the now world-famous Qīnghǎi–Tibet Railway stretch of China’s rail network. Make sure to have all your Tibet papers in order and get tickets way in advance.
Other destinations from Xīníng:
ABěijīng Hard/soft sleeper ¥288/500, 18 to 24 hours
AChéngdū Hard/soft sleeper ¥332/478, 25 hours
AGolmud Seat/hard sleeper ¥114/220, eight to 11 hours
ALánzhōu Seat ¥40, 2½ hours
AXī’ān Seat/hard sleeper ¥115/230, 10 to 14 hours
8Getting Around
City buses cost ¥1 per ride. A handy route is bus 1, which runs from Bayi Road Bus Station along Dongguan Dajie before heading north to the nearby Tibetan Culture Museum, a 45-minute ride.
Taxis are easy to flag and cost ¥8 for the first 3km and ¥1.40 per kilometre thereafter. Ignore the touts at stations.
While it's best to catch buses from the stations, some travellers prefer to take a shared taxi/minibus to Guìdé ( GOOGLE MAP ; per person ¥70; hleaves when full.) or Kumbum Monastery ( GOOGLE MAP ; per person ¥10; hleaves when full); for both destinations you can find drivers near or in the parking space under the bridge at the corner of Kunlun Zhonglu and Changjiang Lu.
Around Xīníng
Qīnghǎi Lake 青海湖
China’s largest lake, Qīnghǎi Lake (青海湖; Qīnghǎi Hú; Lake Kokonor; elevation 3600m) is nearly six times the size of Singapore and a huge draw for large tour groups. While it can be maddeningly difficult to get to the actual shoreline, views of the lake backdropped by mountains still make the trek out worthwhile.
Plenty of Chinese tourists come in for whistle-stop one- or two-day guided tours, but the lake is now popular with more adventurous sorts who rent bikes for a more leisurely circuit around the lake. If the latter appeals, head to Xīhǎi Zhèn (西海镇) where you can rent good-quality bikes and gear.
Avoid the lake on the weekends and public holidays when traffic slows to a crawl. Sights are organised by proximity to Xīníng.
Chákǎ Salt LakeLAKE
(茶卡盐湖; Chákǎ Yánhú ¥50)
Located 25km west of the main lake past Heīmǎhé, this salt lake is a popular side trip for a stunning optical illusion that occurs between noon and 4pm daily. On a clear day, you can capture amazing photographs of skies and people mirrored onto the lake's surface.
In order to get the best portraits on the lake, wear something bright (yellow, blue and red are great). Black and grey colours are hipster cool but they don't show up very well in images.
A daily train (¥62.50, five hours, 8.25am) from Xīníng to Chákǎ drops you just at the tourist entrance of the lake. It returns at 5.30pm so you could do the salt lake as a long day trip if you aren't coming from the main lake. Buses from Xīníng (¥60, five hours, 8am, 9.25am and noon) drop you at the Chákǎ town, 2km from the lake, where waiting taxis will take you the rest of the way for ¥30.
From Heīmǎhé, you can flag down a bus to Chákǎ (roughly noon and 1.25pm) or hire a private car (¥320 return).
Bird IslandISLAND
(鸟岛; Niǎo Dǎo ¥115)
This island (now in fact a peninsula) on China’s largest lake is the breeding ground for thousands of wild geese, gulls, cormorants, sandpipers, extremely rare black-necked cranes and other bird species. Perhaps the most interesting are the bar-headed geese that migrate over the Himalaya to spend winter on the Indian plains, and have been spotted flying at altitudes of 10,000m.
The island is located on the western side of the lake, about 300km from Xīníng. The best time to visit is from March to late May, when migratory birds have stopped over to nest.
A daily bus (¥66, five hours, 7.45am) leaves from Xīníng's main bus station. From Heīmǎhé, you can flag down a bus to Bird Island (roughly 11.45am) or hire a private car (¥340 return).
Qīnghǎi Hú Jīshí Guójì Qīngnián LǚshèHOSTEL$
(青海湖奇石国际青年旅舍 %0974 851 9313; dm ¥50-70, d ¥180-220; W)
Handy hostel with clean rooms, located at the eastern end of the main street in Heīmǎhé. It's nothing special but you can find other travellers for shared trips to Bird Island (¥80 per person or ¥340 per car) and Chákǎ Salt Lake (¥80 per person or ¥320 per car). Staff also organise a driver to take you to the shore for sunrise (¥25 per person).
One way to see the sights around Qīnghǎi Lake is by hiring a private car and driver (¥500 to ¥600 per day). Alternately, all-inclusive overnight stays and multiday trips can be organised through travel agencies in Xīníng. Touts abound at every bus station in Xīníng; bargain hard and you could score a great deal on a shared taxi.
Alternatively, you can take a bus from the Xīníng bus station to Xīhǎi Zhèn (西海镇), from where you can rent bikes to tour the lake.
If you want to do the lake via public transport, there's a new daily train service that goes from Xīníng to Chákǎ (¥62.50, 8.25am, five hours). If you take this route, you can work your way back towards Xīníng across two days by taking a bus back and stopping along Heīmǎhé (黑马河), zipping up to Bird Island and then looping back down to Èrlángjiàn Scenic Area and then back to Xīníng.
Xīhǎi Zhèn
%0970 / Pop 12,000
A tidy little town, 43km east of Qīnghǎi Lake, Xīhǎi Zhèn is where travellers come to rent bicycles for a tour round the lake. There's not much to see in town, so plan on getting here early, picking up your bikes, grabbing supplies and then hitting the road.
Xīhǎi Zhèn is small and easy to get around on foot. With more than 20 bicycle-rental stores, you're spoilt for choice.
Bike rental ranges from ¥80 to ¥180, depending on the model. All are solid brand-name bikes and rental includes panniers, helmet, tool kit and spares. The sun gets really harsh so be sure to bring sunscreen, long-sleeved riding gear, sunglasses and a face bandana.
The full circuit round the lake is 360km and takes four days but you can drop your bikes off at various stops along the lake if you don't fancy riding all the way. Ask the store where you drop them off. Stores can also suggest itineraries and offer discounted accommodation with hotel partners around the lake.
Qīnghǎi Hú Zìxíngchē JìbīnguǎnCYCLING
(青海湖自行车骑宾管 %0970 864 2113, 138 9710 9209; www.qhhzxc.cn; Menyuan Lu; bike rental per day ¥80-180; h8am-6pm)
The town's largest bicycle-rental store has the best selection of models (including one they designed themselves) and all the gear you'll need for a to
ur around the lake. Staff are friendly and can help with planning your journey although English is limited.
From the bus station, head east and after 100m make a right at the T-intersection. This store is behind a gate: you can't miss it.
Hǎiběi BīnguǎnHOTEL$$
(海北宾馆 %0970 864 2648; 17 Yintan Lu; d ¥158-258; W)
If you happen to get stuck in town for the night, this is the only hotel that accepts foreigners. The cheaper rooms in the older wing are a little dated but clean, while the pricier rooms feature flat-screen TVs and fresher fittings.
The main bus station is on the east end of Yuanzi Lu (原子路). There are regular buses to Xīníng (¥25, two hours) from 7.30am to 5pm.
Kumbum Monastery 塔尔寺
Kumbum MonasteryMONASTERY
(塔尔寺; Tǎ’ěr Sì ¥80; h8.30am-6pm)
One of the great monasteries of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Kumbum Monastery was built in 1577 on hallowed ground – the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, founder of the sect. It’s of enormous historical significance, and hundreds of monks still live here but, perhaps because it’s such a big tourist draw, the atmosphere can feel a bit overrun. The artwork and architecture, however, remain impressive.
Nine temples are open, each with its own characteristics. The most important is the Grand Hall of Golden Tiles (大金瓦殿; Dàjīnwǎ Diàn), where an 11m-high chörten (Tibetan stupa) marks the spot of Tsongkhapa’s birth. You’ll see pilgrims walking circuits of the building and prostrating outside the entrance. Also worth seeking out is the Yak Butter Scripture Temple (酥油画馆; Sūyóuhuà Guǎn), which houses sculptures of human figures, animals and landscapes carved out of yak butter.
Lonely Planet China Page 187