Driving from New Lanzhou town to Qinghai Lake took almost four hours. Lanzhou elevation is approximately 5000 feet. Qinghai Lake is just over 10,000 ft. Drove through Gansu to Qinghai Province mainly through valleys with mountains on both sides of the roads. The road conditions are very good with dual or triple lanes.
We drove past the city of Xining. The biggest city in the remote part of Western China. Viewed from the road, it is pretty impressive and modern with countless high rise buildings. Xining and Lanzhou both have a few thousands years of history. They are both situated along the Northern Silk Road and both city are surrounded by mountains.
Beyond this city, the drive was mainly through barren mountains. The vegetation changes as we came nearer Qinghai Lake. We took a break at a 日月山mountain top, about 10,000 feet to see the hairy mountain cow.
Qinghai Lake is very large, many times the size of Singapore. It is a salt water lake. The area are mainly populated by people of Tibetan and Mongolian ancestry. Buddhism is the primary religion. The lake is also a place of pilgrimage. Its also a popular place for wedding photo shoots.
As the sky was overcast, we didn't see the green or blue colour of the water.
During our time there, I saw at least 5 couples struggling with their gowns and very strong winds on the shores to poised for the best take.
Along the lake are plenty of yellow canola fields open to public for a fee.
After viewing the south side of this lake, we proceeded to a local town call Heimaxiang. The accommodation was basic. We had Mongolian dishes of lamb and local vegetables.
The next morning, we had breakfast on the street side.
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