Qinghai Province lies on the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the Yangtze River and the Yellow River as well as the Lancang River (a total length of 4, 500 kilometres, of which 1, 612 kilometres within the boundaries of the Chinese territory) take their sources. The average altitude is over 3,000 metres. Major mountains include Mount Tanggula, Mount Arjin and Mount Kunlun. Between these mountains are distributed numerous basins, and the Qaidam Basin is one of them. Qinghai Province belongs to continental and plateau climate.

Qinghai's main industries include mining and petrochemical. There are abundant minerals. The reserves of kainite , asbestos, Glauber's salt , silica, and boron top China's other provinces, and the reserves of petrol and natural gas of big quantity. Hence, the Qaidam Basin is claimed as a cornucopia / "treasure house." Qinghai is one of China's important pasturelands, mainly herding sheep, yaks and horses. Agricultural produce includes wheat and highland barley.

The Ta'er Lamasery is one of the six great yellow sect lamaseries, which is regarded as the "holy land" by Tibetan and Mongolian peoples. Qinghai used to be a regular way for passers from China's other places to Tibet ever since ancient times. Princess Wencheng (?-680) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), once entering into Tibet from here, has left behind many relics in this place. Qinghai Lake, China's largest salt-water lake, is a photographers' and artists' paradise of mirrored pastel sunrises, azure beauty in midday and the indigo blues of sunset. The Bird Island on the western tip of the lake with less than one square kilometre hosts hundreds of thousands of migrate birds hovering over the sky or diving into the water of the lake.

To escape the hot and humid weather, one of the best places to go in summer is Northwest China's Qinghai Province. Just over 100 kilometres to the west of Xining lies Qinghai Lake, which is the biggest inland salt lake in China, and is the origin of the name, Qinghai (meaning blue sea) of the province. The birds find the lake a heavenly horne with plentiful fish and grass. One hundred and sixty-four species of birds have been identified at the lake. In spring and summer, the lake is ideal for ornithologists and birdlovers. They may have the luck to admire the precious black-necked crane, a level-one state protected species. In August, most birds have finished breeding and lead their babies on the southward journey. But you can still find the four most common birds of the lake: Cormorant, bar-headed goose, brown-headed gull and great black-headed gull. On the mid-western bank of the lake, the Bird Island provides an ideal hill to observe the entire lake. But do not be misled by the name of the island. The Bird Island is now connected with the main bank as the lake is shrinking at 12 centimetres every year, or 100 metres of water rim in its flat areas. Global warming is the main reason for the shrinking lake. There used to be 109 large and small rivers running into the lake. Nowadays, only about 40 still contribute to the vast lake surface, spanning over 4,300 square kilometres. But the ebbing lake also means a good habitat to the birds. The four small islands in the lake now provide good sandy shores for the birds. Thanks to the effective protection of the reserve and the C<Xlperation of locals and tourists, the bird population is now slowly increasing.

Qinghai is named after the Qinghai Lake covering 4 , 340 square kilometres, China's largest continental lake. Qinghai's widely varying landscape is superb and enticing, offering snow-capped peaks rising 6,000 metres above sea level. Gobi desert dunes of Qaidam, lush ranchland and vast sapphire-like lakes are worth visiting.

Construction of the 1, 118-kilometre-long Qinghai-Tibet Railway will be a cornerstone of Qinghai Province's overall development and concerted efforts are being taken to reduce the environmental impact of the link to a minimum. It started its construction in June 2002 and will be completed in 2007.

Qinghai Lake

Encompassing 4, 340 square kilometres, Qinghai Lake is the largest inland salt-water lake in China, with a storage of over 77.8 billion cubic metres of water. The elevation of the lake surface is 3,193.92 metres, the deepest being 27 metres. The perimeter of the lake totals more than 360 kilometres. However, a lower water level, the deterioration of grassland vegetation and desertification are said to be threatening the lake. The numbers of fish and birds are also dwindling. The decline of water level is mainly because of overevaporation, but efforts have been increased to develop water-saving irrigation systems in the lake. Fish in the lake have been protected since the early 1990s, and bird habitats have been well preserved too. A comprehensive plan to improve the situation has been worked out by the Qinghai Animal Husbandry Bureau, which will cost 400 million yuan (US$ 48.2 million), but the provincial government has been unable to carry it out due to lack of cash. The provincial government is also making the most of the central government's western development strategy to replant grass and trees in Qinghai where farmland is in a poor condition, including the land around Qinghai Lake. According to the central government's policy, all mountainous fields whose slopes have a gradient of more than 25 degrees are not allowed to be cultivated and instead must be replanted with grass or trees. The government gives some food subsidies to farmers who used to plant on these slopes. This will definitely help to revive the endangered environment at Qinghai Lake.

The Birds Islands

More and more birds are flying to settle at Qinghai Lake, one of the highest inland lakes in China, thanks to the protection efforts of local governments. Encompassing 4,340 square kilometres, Qinghai Lake is also China's biggest salt-water lake. Located in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, it is famous for the two islands at its northeast point: Cormorant Island and Egg Island. The two islands have plenty of floating grass and various schools of fish, offering rich food sources for birds. The islands have become a paradise for diversified groups of birds and have been dubbed "Bird Islands." Each March and April, when ice covering the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau starts to melt, over 20 kinds of migrating birds fly to the Bird Islands to breed. During the months, flocks of birds cover the whole sky over the islands and bird eggs can be found everywhere. The visitor can hear the warbles of birds from miles away. These have become a world famous symbol of the plateau. To protect this paradise for birds and support calls for ecological protection, China set up the Qinghai Lake Natural Protection Zone at the end of 1997. Meanwhile, the state has designated the Bird Islands and Spring Bay of the Qinghai Lake as core protection zones. Inspection officials and management employees often patrol the lake, improving local residents' awareness of protection laws and spreading knowledge about animal protection to visitors. They are making considerable efforts to call on people to love and protect the birds. At the same time, they have built special fences and cement slots around the island area, to prevent wolves, foxes, and other flesh eaters from disrupting the birds' nest building, egglaying and breeding. As a result, more birds and more species are coming to the islands for breeding.