I have just arrived back in
the USA from my trip to Qinghai China, where I was invited to by the tourism
board. I have spent the last two weeks in China, as I was departing from
Hongkong. Today I proudly present you my full review of my adventurous trip to Qinghai..
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| guo mari |
It was already my second time
in China and I was more than excited to come back to a country that is so
grounded on cultural aspects and influences. One can truly feed the traditional
vibes and roots in China.
As I have already been to
Beijing and Hongkong I was more into the big cities which are more or less
filled with rush and a very urban lifestyle.
Before I can to Qinghai I
wanted to do some research which was a little struggle as Qinghai is a very
untouched province. I guess basically because of that I was even more excited
to come to Qinghai and explore its beautiful landscapes and temples and reveal
all of that in my reviews with you guys.
Departing from Hongkong I had
to do one stop before arriving in Xining, the capital of Qinghai. Xining is
compared to the other parts of Qinghai more structured, from my impression and
a very lively and modern part of Qinghai.
I stayed the first three
nights in Xining and departing from the hotel "the Qinghai hotel" I
traveled around to beautiful temples and explored the culture and history of
Qinghai.
Also the medical museum has
been a really interesting stop on the schedule, as it was showing off some of
the past inventions. Also it included a paining with a total length of 600m,
and it is a one piece.
Around Xining one will find a
lot of small shops and restaurants. However it was difficult for me as a vegan
to find a suitable place as most dishes contain meat or are vegetarian.
Nevertheless China has a lot of tropical fruits, including my favorite dragon
fruit, which was satisfied enough for me.
However the food over here has
been really impressing and at the restaurant normal estates will find a huge
variety of local dishes.
A part that impressed me the
most are the round tables which offer the possibility for sharing and make each
meal big fun. Also eating with chopsticks has been very easy for me.
On the third day we went off
to a smaller town in the mountains named Tongren and saw some more temples. We
stayed overnight in a small hotel and departures early on the next day back to
Xining.
A true highlight has been
China's biggest salt lake for me, which one will find over here in Qinghai. I
truly enjoyed the nature and perfect setting of the landscape. The images were
adorable and the setting has been even more beautiful in real life, compared to
the photos I was taking over here.
We went to the lake with a
bus. The road trip took us about 3 hours but it was worth it and I can highly
recommend the road trip. We stayed at a small hotel near to the lake. The area
around the lake is very touristic and popular, so one will definitely not get
lost. The town is called Dayu Tribe.
Before I arrived at the lake
hotel I made another stop at another point of Qinghai lake. As there was also
the possibility to go on an air balloon, I took the chance and had my first
ride with a balloon ever. It was a twist of shaking legs and incredible fun and
I just loved it.
The size of the lake is just indefinable.
It takes a 360km ride around the lake to circle it one time, pretty impressive!
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| qu tan |
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| qu tan |
Another impressive fact is
also that Qinghai has rich parts, so as the lake, a lot of green spots and
moreover a desert, where I also made a stop.
Early in the morning I
departured back to Xining from Dayu Tribe. Before I went back to Xining I made
a stop in Qilian.
Qilian has been such an
impressive stop, as I was visiting the Yuanyang flower sea, which is a true
gifting of nature. Sadly I arrived out of season and the flower sea wasn't
looking that rich. As I arrived in June the official season is July.
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| kumbum |
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| wu tun |
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| qu tan |
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| qu tan |
Our last night I spent in
Xining with the rest of the travel group. We had a lovely farewell dinner
before all of us departured.
Truly, the trip to Qinghai has
been so special to me. It was incredible much fun and I'm really looking
forward to come back in future, as Qinghai is currently growing and getting
more modern and easier with the English language. I'm excited to follow the
updates and changes in the meanwhile.
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| qu tan |
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| qu tan |