The "visit-all-the-provinces-project": Welcome to Qinghai - a true gem on the Tibetan Plateau

General impressions 
The first thing that struck me about Qinghai was  its diversity! One day you're walking in the muslim part of the capital Xining -  enjoying the smell of freshly baked flat bread and lamb skewers (yangrou chuan)  - and the next day you're at 3800 metres passing through emerald green pastures full of yak and sheep - and visiting ancient (but still active) Tibetan monasteries. 

Quick facts about Qinghai
Mid-Western China
Population: 5,626,722 (most scarcely populated province in China) 
Average elevation: 3000 metres
​Most famous for: Important Tibetan monasteries and China's biggest lake, Qinghai Lake.
Ethnic composition:
Han Chinese  54%
Tibetan 21%
Hui muslim 16%
Tu (Monguor) 4%
Mongol 1.8%
Salar 1.8%
Languages and dialects:
Zhongyuan Mandarin-Chinese, Amdo Tibetan, Monguor, Oirat Mongolian, Salar, and Western Yugur.

What (and where) is The Tibetan Plateau?
The Tibetan Plateau is a vast elevated plateau in Central Asia and East Asia. It stretches approximately 1000 km north to south and 2500 km east to west and covers most of Tibet as well as almost all of Qinghai, and part of the Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces in China - and the Ladakh and Lahaul & Spiti regions of India. 

The average elevation of the Plateau is over 4500 metres and the world's two highest summits, Mount Everest and K2 are both situated on the Tibetan Plateau. 

One weekend in Qinghai
Qinghai offers so much to see and do and one could easily spend a month traveling from place to place - but if you only have a weekend at your disposal, here is what I recommend that you do

It's easy to fly from Beijing to the capital Xining. Have a wander around the lively muslim quarter and see the Dongguan Mosque (one of the biggest in China). Head to Nanchan temple or Tulou temple which both offer a nice view over the city and the mountains in the background. The Tibetan Culture and Medicine Museum is also worth a visit! It boasts, among other things. a 617 metre long thangka scroll (hand painted artwork) which tells the story of Tibet. It took 400 artists 4 years to complete it!

Take a one-day trip (we booked a driver through the hotel)  to Kumbum Monastery - one of the two most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries outside Tibet itself. There are around 600 monks living there.

Drive further west to Qinghai lake. We fell right into a tourist trap and paid 90 RMB just to walk down to the lake shore from a big parking lot/hotel. We were not very lucky with the weather but it was easy to imagine how spectacular the lake must be on a clear day with the snow clad mountains in the background. Apparently, we missed the "must-see" on the lake - namely a vast area with sand dunes.

The city of Tongren is also supposed to be worth a visit! We were, however, discouraged by the 4 hr bus ride (each way) from Xining - even though the landscape during those 4 hours is said to be breathtaking!