National 5A Scenic AreaNorthwest China
Qinghai Lake (Kuku Nor)
青海湖 · Qinghai, Haibei/Hainan
China's largest lake, a vast blue highland saltwater lake ringed by grassland and summer rapeseed flowers.
Qinghai Lake is China's largest inland saltwater lake, a huge blue expanse at about 3,200 metres on the Tibetan plateau, ringed by grasslands, grazing sheep and yaks and, in July, brilliant yellow rapeseed fields. The lake is a cycling destination (it hosts an annual lake-cycle race) and a summer escape with monasteries and bird sanctuaries on its shores.
Known in Mongolian as Kuku Nor ('Blue Lake'), Qinghai Lake has long been sacred to Tibetan and Mongolian herders of the plateau. Its waters and wetlands are protected as key habitats for migrating birds (notably at Bird Island), and the lakeshore has been developed sensitively for eco-tourism and the annual cycling festival.
Day-by-day routes you won't find online — now starting with an 8-day, 1,500 km loop through western Sichuan. New regions are added regularly; tell us where you want to drive next.
