Kumbum is located 27km from Xīníng in the town of Huángzhōng. Buses (¥6, 35 minutes) leave every 20 minutes from the Xīníng Main Bus Station starting at 7am. Get off at the last stop and walk up the hill to the monastery. The last bus back is at 7pm.
Hùzhù Běishān Forest National Park
%0972 / Pop 11,149
Hùzhù Běishān Forest National ParkNATIONAL PARK
(互助北山国际森林公园; Hùzhù Běishān Guójiā Sēnlín Gōngyuán ¥82, incl mandatory transport ticket)
Here is proof, should you need it, that Qīnghǎi has incredibly diverse landscapes: an alpine forest located 100km north of Xīníng with an elevation that spans 2200m to 4000m. Within are farming communities, ranging mountain goats, family restaurants, birch forests, waterfalls, lakes and plenty of hiking opportunities. The national park is popular with Xīníng folks seeking a weekend retreat.
Your ticket includes access to a tourist car that zips across several stops and you can hop on and off anywhere within the park. Some of the more interesting sites includes a couple of waterfalls (瀑布; pùbù) where you can soak your feet, and the Sleeping Buddha (睡佛; Shuìfò), a rock that looks like, well, a sleeping Buddha. If you're game, you can hike 7km up to the tiny Heavenly Lake (Tīanchí; 天池) at 3000m elevation. Hiking opportunities abound: join grazing goats and look out for chubby marmots.
You can do homestays with locals (¥100) or stay at the Cáilúnduō Sēnlín Nóngzhuāng, a lodge with dorm beds and private rooms.
oCáilúnduō Sēnlín NóngzhuāngLODGE$$
(才伦多森林农庄 %155 9722 9788; [email protected]; dm/d ¥60/260, family ¥100 per bed; pW#)
This sprawling lodge was built by a local who made good as an interior designer in Wúhàn before settling with his family back here. The eclectic compound houses 19 comfortable rooms, a BBQ patio, riverside pagodas (for 'daydreaming') and a restaurant wing. While short on English, the owners are high on service. Sample the in-house brewed highland barley báijiǔ (clear liquor) and pick local dishes (from ¥15) such as yak and wild mushrooms from an English menu.
Get the tourist car to drop you off at Cáilúnduō (才伦多), 4km from the main gate. There are some good trails behind the lodge that lead up the back mountain for good views.
From Xīníng, there's a daily 9.45am bus (¥28.50, four hours) from the main bus station. It may stop in the town of Hùzhù for 45 minutes so don't panic. Coming back, there's a 4pm bus that returns to Xīníng.
WORTH A TRIP
KANBULA NATIONAL PARK 坎布拉国家森林公园
Kanbula National ParkNATIONAL PARK
(坎布拉国家森林公园; Kǎnbùlā Guójiā Sēnlín Gōngyuán incl bus & boat tour ¥240; h8am-6pm)
The desert scenery outside of Tóngrén comes to a pinnacle in this national park where flaming-red mountains meet the turquoise waters of a reservoir created by the damming of the Yellow River. A nervous-sweat-inducing road snakes up through the park’s peaks, past sleepy Tibetan villages and colourful prayer flags waving high on the wind.
Alas, the park no longer allows private cars unless you're a) coming from Guìdé or b) in a local car. This means you're either shunted on a pricey but decent fixed bus-and-boat tour (roughly three hours) or you can skip the entrance fee and fully experience the park, including plenty of photo stops, by going with a local taxi driver (¥100 if you find at least one other person to share with).
Otherwise, find a private driver to bring you here from Guìdé (¥400 per day). To get here from Xīníng, take the 10.30am bus to Kanbula from the main bus station. You'll be dropped 7km from the park entrance. Taxis will take you there for ¥10. The last bus returns at 4.30pm or so so make sure you get out early otherwise you'll have to stay the night where the bus drops you or hitch back.
Tóngrén 同仁
%0973 / Pop 308,583
Tóngrén (同仁; Rebkong in Tibetan) is set on the slopes of the wide and fertile Gu-chu river valley. For several centuries now, the villages outside the monastery town of Tóngrén have been famous for producing some of the Tibetan world’s best thangkas (scroll paintings) and painted statues, so much so that an entire school of Tibetan art is named after the town. Visiting Wútún Sì monastery not only gives you a chance to meet the artists, but also to purchase a painting or two, fresh off the easel.
The local populace is a mix of Tibetans and Tǔ. Aside from the monasteries, the valley and surrounding hills are easily explored on foot.
1Sights
Wútún SìMONASTERY
(吾屯寺 per monastery ¥30)
This two-monastery complex is the place to head if you’re interested in Tibetan art. The Upper (Yango) Monastery (吾屯上寺; Wútún Shàngsì) is closest to Tóngrén, while the Lower (Mango) Monastery (吾屯下寺; Wútún Xiàsì) is larger and may offer the chance to see monks painting. The monks will show you around and you can usually ask to see a showroom or workshop. The resident artists are no amateurs – commissions for their thangka (scroll paintings) come in all the way from Lhasa.
Artwork is usually of an exceptionally high quality, but expect to pay hundreds of rénmínbì for the smallest painting, thousands for a poster-sized one and tens or even hundreds of thousands for the largest pieces. There are a handful of showrooms outside the Lower Monastery where you can browse and buy.
The Lower Monastery is easily recognisable by eight large chörten (Tibetan stupa) out front and a new triple Buddha statue. While there, check out the 100-year-old Jampa Lhakhang (Jampa Temple) and the newer chapels dedicated to Chenresig and Tsongkhapa.
The Upper Monastery includes a massive modern chörten as well as the old dukhang (assembly hall) and the new chapel dedicated to Maitreya (Shampa in Amdo dialect). The interior murals painted by local artists are superb.
To get here, take a minibus (¥3 per seat) from the intersection just uphill from Tóngrén bus station ticket office or a taxi (¥15). Hail a minibus on its way back to town to avoid a dusty walk back.
Gomar GompaBUDDHIST MONASTERY
(郭麻日寺; Guōmárì Sì ¥10; h8am-6pm)
Across the Gu-chu river valley from Wútún Sì is the mysterious 400-year-old Gomar Gompa, a charming monastery that resembles a medieval walled village. There are 130 monks in residence living in whitewashed mud-walled courtyards and there are a few temples you can visit. The huge chörten (Tibetan stupa) outside the monastery entrance was built in the 1980s and is the biggest in Amdo. You can climb it, but remember to always walk clockwise. There are photos of the 14th Dalai Lama at the top.
To get here, turn left down a side road as you pass the westernmost of the eight chörten outside Wútún Sì’s Lower Monastery. Follow the road 1km across the river and turn right at the end on a main road. Then head up the track towards the giant chörten. Further up the valley is Gasar Gompa, marked by its own distinctive eight chörtens. Note that women may not be allowed into the Gomar Gompa or Gasar Gompa.
Lóngwù SìMONASTERY
(隆务寺; Rongwo Gonchen Gompa Dehelong Nanlu; 德合隆南路 ¥60; h8am-6pm)
Tóngrén’s main monastery is a huge and rambling maze of renovated chapels and monks’ residences, dating from 1301. It’s well worth a wander, and you’ll need one or two hours to see everything. Your ticket includes entry into six main halls, although you may be able to take a peek inside others, too.
4Sleeping
Hēpíng BīnguǎnHOTEL$
(和平宾馆 %0973 872 4188; Maixiu Lu; 麦秀路 d from ¥120)
Offers large clean rooms overlooking a car park. Good value for money, and the cheerful family owners will often offer discounts.
oRebgong Norbang Travel InnHOTEL$$
(热贡诺尔邦旅游客栈; Règòng Nuò'ěrbāng Lǚyóu Kèzhàn %138 9753 5393, 0973 872 6999; www.nuoerbang.com; Xuelian Donglu; 雪莲东路 d ¥188-300; ste ¥400-500; piW)
The Norbang is a surprisingly good choice in Tóngrén and offers fantastic value with its 'almost' boutique-hotel stylings. Forgo th
e generic Western-style rooms, and pay a little extra to bunk in a traditional Tibetan-style room with wooden platform beds and sparkling private bathrooms. Breakfast is ¥10 extra.
5Eating
Restaurants come and go quickly here. There are a variety of options along Jīanzhā Lù (尖扎路) including noodles, hotpot and more. Déhélóng Nánlù (德合隆南路) leading to the Lóngwù Sì is also filled with food and other interesting stores.
Lǐngzhūmā Zàng CāntīngTIBETAN$$
(岭珠妈藏餐厅 %138 939 6688; Tiewu Xiao Qu, Regong Gongyu Yi Lou; 铁吾小区热贡公寓一楼 dishes ¥20-120; h10am-10pm)
There's construction going on next door but this brand-new Tibetan restaurant located across the bridge in the eastern portion of town delivers the goods. Walk past a row of prayer wheels, slide into a booth seat and chose from a range of delicious dishes including momos (Tibetan-style dumplings), yak meat and more. Yes, there's Lhasa beer too. A taxi from town costs ¥5.
8Information
China Construction Bank ATMBANK
(建设银行; Jiànshè Yínháng 47 Zhongshan Lu; 中山路47号 )
Foreign-card friendly.
8Getting There & Around
The scenery on the road from Xīníng is awesome, as it follows a tributary of the Yellow River through steep-sided gorges. There are regular daily buses to Xīníng (¥40, four hours). A freeway is being constructed and when complete should cut driving time by an hour. For Xiàhé (¥28, three hours, 8am) and Línxià (¥45, four hours, 8am) try to buy your ticket one day in advance.
The city is easy to get around on foot but taxis cost ¥5 for most trips if you get lazy.
Guìdé 贵德
%0974 / Pop 101,771
As the Yellow River (黄河; Huáng Hé) flows down from the Tibetan Plateau it makes a series of sharp bends, powering its way past ancient Guìdé (贵德), where the water turns turquoise. The river, popular with Chinese tourists, was to provide a tourism lifeline to the town and the government's plans began with the old town (古城; gǔchéng), still largely enclosed within its crumbling 10m-high mud walls. Buildings were knocked down, and faux new-old ones were built – but the promised tourism boom never quite got there.
Guìdé, stuck in limbo between boom town and old town, is the perfect epitome of modern China. Walk past the slick facade in the old town and you'll find crumbling ruins and residents clinging on to life in packed earthen houses. It's the space between the old and new which makes Guìdé so intriguing. Wandering along the remains of the Qing dynasty walls through the back lanes behind the old town towards the Yellow River offers a glimpse at China that will no longer be here in the next couple of years. So get here while you can.
1Sights
oGuìdé National Geological ParkPARK
(贵德国家地质公园; Guìdé Guójiā Dìzhì Gōngyuán 101 Provincial Rd; 省道101 ¥100; g11)
In the stunning multicoloured clay scenery of Dānxiá Canyon (丹霞峡谷; Dānxiá Xiágǔ), this geopark offers walking trails in among red and orange hills that have eroded into other-worldly shapes. Set against the contrasting blue Qīnghǎi skies and teal waters of the Yellow River, this is a lovely spot to spend an afternoon wandering and taking photos, or exploring the peculiar geology of this part of the Tibetan Plateau.
There's a museum with decent signs and maps in English, and well-kept paths allow for easy access to the geological formations, making this an easy walk rather than a back-country hike. Admission includes a Chinese-speaking guide (which you can politely decline) and you can also save ¥20 by declining the tourist electric car (观光车; Guānguāng Chē). Once inside, there are opportunities to go off-piste and clamber up the dirt mounds between canyons but do take care as you're on your own. The park also has the Tōngtīanxía (通天峡) trail that's under renovation at the time of research but once open will take you to the top of one of the peaks for views of the Yellow River.
The park is located about 20km north of Guìdé. A taxi will cost around ¥40 or you can wait at the exit gate of the bus station and get on a bus heading towards Xīníng and tell the driver you're stopping here. Coming from Xīníng, the bus to Guìdé can also drop you off. Local bus 11 stops here.
China Fortune WheelBUDDHIST SITE
(中华福运轮; Zhōnghúa Fúyùnlún Nanbinhe Lu; 南滨河路 ¥80; h8.30am-6pm)
This enormous, gold-plated Tibetan prayer wheel is turned with the aid of rushing water from the Yellow River (along with some elbow grease). The prayer wheel is 27m tall, 10m in diameter and weighs 200 tonnes, earning it a spot in the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest prayer wheel.
Inside the wheel are 200 copies of the Kangyur text, and the base contains a large prayer hall. Near the wheel is a museum of Tibetan artefacts.
The wheel is located in a dedicated park along the Yellow River, which can be reached on foot by following Huanghe Nanlu behind Yùhuáng Pavilion and turning left at the large suspension bridge (itself a great spot for catching sunset over the river). You can rent bikes in the old town or at the start of Nanbinhe Lu (from ¥15 per hour) to cycle along the Yellow River.
4Sleeping
Qīnghǎi Guìdé Hot Spring HotelHOTEL$$
(温泉宾馆; Wēnquán Bīnguǎn %0974 855 3534; 355 Yingbin Lu; 迎宾路355号 d/ste ¥200/550; aiWs)
While the hotel is starting to show its age, it's a decent choice for foreigners, with clean rooms, a heated pool (¥50 per use), spa and pleasant garden grounds. There are no hot springs on-site; instead the hotel claims to have piped water from the springs into its pool and taps. Located 1km west of the bus station.
Peninsular Holiday InnHOTEL$$$
(半岛假日酒店; Bàndǎo Jiàrì Jiǔdiàn %0974 855 8555; 64 Nan Dajie; 南大街64号 d ¥388; W)
Centrally located on Nan Dajie leading up to the old town, the Peninsular is a brand-new hotel with large rooms, comfy beds (they're not your usual hard Chinese mattresses), sparkling Western-style bathrooms and friendly staff. Discounts bring doubles down to ¥228. Rates include breakfast.
8Information
China Construction Bank ATMBANK
(建设银行; Jiànshè Yínháng 14 Yingbin Xilu; 迎宾西路 )
Accepts foreign cards.
8Getting There & Around
There are regular buses to Xīníng (¥26, two hours) and several other destinations around Qīnghǎi. Bus 11 (¥5) goes to the Guìdé National Geological Park.
The old town is 1.5km from the bus station. Turn left out of the station on Yingbin Xilu, then left again along Nan Dajie and past the old town gate to arrive at Bei Dajie. Taxis and three-wheel motorised rickshaws ply the streets of Guìdé. Most short trips cost ¥5 to ¥10.
Yùshù 玉树
%0976 / Pop 380,000 / Elevation 3681m
Until the spring of 2010, Yùshù (玉树; Jyekundo is the name of the town while Yùshù is the prefecture) and its surrounding areas gained popularity as one of Qīnghǎi’s best adventure-travel destinations. All that changed on 14 April 2010, when a 7.1-magnitutude earthquake struck, killing 2698 people (although some believe the true figure across the whole region to be more like 20,000).
After the earthquake most of Jyekundo’s buildings were pulled down and an army of construction workers arrived to rebuild the city. A shiny new town centre built in Tibetan-style architecture (with a modern Chinese twist) was officially reopened in 2014. Jyekundo is slowly bouncing back: it's a great launching pad for the grasslands, mountain passes, monasteries, rivers and diversity of flora and fauna nearby.
Yùshù still has a long way to go, but with improved infrastructure and support from the government, the future looks bright.
1Sights
Seng-ze Gyanak Mani WallBUDDHIST SITE
(新寨嘉那嘛呢石堆; Xīnzhài Jiānà Mání Shíduī Xīnzhài Village)F
Completely rebuilt after suffering extensive damage in the 2010 earthquake, this site is thought to be the world’s largest mani wall (piles of stones with Buddhist mant
ras carved or painted on them). Founded in 1715, the mani comprises an estimated 2.5 billion mantras, piled one on top of the other over hundreds of square meters. It’s an astonishing sight that (literally) grows as you circumambulate the wall with the pilgrims.
While seemingly touristy, the mani wall is an important religious site for locals, many of whom visit daily. All the mani stones are quarried from the hillside opposite and it's common practice for locals to purchase the locally carved stones to add to the wall. Simple ones cost between ¥1 and ¥10 while massive slabs with prayer chants cost well over ¥10,000. The earthquake unearthed mani stones used by the Chinese for building works: these were repatriated to the pile! A taxi from the town centre costs ¥10 or it's a 2km walk east.
Drogon GompaBUDDHIST MONASTERY
(歇武寺; Xiēwǔ Sì h8am-6pm)
This Sakyapa-school monastery includes the scary gönkhang (protector temple). Set atop a hill, it is adorned with snarling stuffed wolves and tantric masks. Only men may enter the temple.
Jyekundo Dondrubling MonasteryMONASTERY
(结古寺; Jié Gǔsì h8am-6pm)F
First built in 1398, the Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery suffered heavy damage from the 2010 earthquake (the main prayer hall was completely destroyed and a number of resident monks were killed). The monastery has since been rebuilt and it’s dramatically located in a ridge perched above town.
Lonely Planet China Page 188