Xining

北禅寺

Beichan Temple, also known as Tulou Temple and Beishan Temple, is located at No. 38 Qilian Road, Chengbei District. It was first built in the Northern Wei Dynasty, about 1,500 years ago. It is a religious place integrating Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. It is now a Taoist activity center. The entire ancient temple is built on the red danxia cliff. The soft rock is recessed to form "nine caves and eighteen caves". There are statues of the Jade Emperor, Guanyin and other gods in the caves. It was once known as the "Xiping Mogao Grottoes" and also known as the "China's second largest hanging temple".

莫家街

Mojia Street is one of the oldest food streets in Xining. It started at the Mo Family Ancestral Hall in the Ming Dynasty and was named after the "Mojia Temple". It has a history of about 600 years. Now it is recognized as the No. 1 local food street in Xining. You can try Hehuang flavors such as stuffed skin, sweet fermented rice, sheep intestine noodles, hand-caught mutton, dog urine cakes, Qinghai old yogurt, etc. in one stop.

东关清真大寺

Dongguan Mosque is located at No. 34 Dongguan Street, Chengdong District. It was built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, more than 600 years ago. It is one of the four major mosques in the northwest and the largest Islamic temple in Qinghai Province. The building combines Chinese-style cornices and brackets, Islamic geometric patterns and Tibetan gilded vases. The worship hall can accommodate thousands of people at the same time, making it a spectacular gathering on Sunday.

藏医药文化博物馆

The museum is located at the same location as the "Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum". It is located at No. 36, Jing'er Road, Biotechnology Industrial Park, Chengbei District, Xining City. It is a hospital with two museums - the south museum is dedicated to Tibetan culture (charges apply), and the north museum is dedicated to Tibetan medicine (free). The treasure of the South Hall is the 618-meter giant Thangka "Painted Grand View", which broke the Guinness record. It was painted by more than 400 painters using natural minerals, gold and silver pigments for more than 20 years, and is known as the "Encyclopedia of Tibetan Culture". There are only a few sets of Pulan Feitian Suit in the Tibetan Costume Hall on the second floor, which is a national intangible cultural heritage. The medical theme of the North Library is free, and displays the stone-engraved version of the "Four Medical Classics", Mantang medical wall charts, Tibetan medicine specimens, etc., which are of high gold content.

塔尔寺

Kumbum Monastery is an important monastery of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism and a living center of learning, rituals and art related to the birthplace of Tsongkhapa. Palaces, pagodas and academies have developed over hundreds of years, while butter flowers, murals and embroidery represent highly professional artistic traditions and are often collectively referred to as the "Three Wonders of Art". This is first and foremost an ongoing religious community rather than a performative heritage, and daily worship of Buddha and Sangha should take priority over sightseeing.

青海省博物馆

The Provincial Museum connects prehistoric archeology, exchanges between the plateau and the Hexi Corridor, regional religious art, material culture and modern Qinghai history. Painted pottery, metalware, textiles and archaeological evidence replace the vague imagination of a "closed plateau" with the fact of long-term flow and contact. This is the perfect place to establish a clear timeline before heading to a monastery, archaeological landscape or pastoral area.

青海藏医药文化博物馆

This thematic museum tells the story of Tibetan medicine through generations of physicians, medical literature, diagnostic systems, pharmaceutical materials and the plateau environment that shaped them. The cultural exhibition hall also covers calligraphy, architecture, textiles and large-scale painted works. Medical exhibitions should be understood as the history and theory of a living knowledge system, rather than personal medical advice; Tibetan culture also goes far beyond a single religion or visual symbol.

西宁东关清真大寺

Dongguan Mosque is an important Muslim worship and community life center in eastern Xining. Its architectural form and changing urban environment reflect the long history of Hui and other Muslim communities living along the trade and migration routes of the Huangshui Valley. Since this is still a functioning mosque, the focus of a visit should be on respecting boundaries and understanding the rhythm of the community, rather than viewing worship as a performance.

西宁野生动物园

The park introduces highland wildlife such as snow leopards, Pallas's cats and black-necked cranes, along with work to protect them. Rescue and veterinary stories add context, but individual animals may be off display for welfare reasons. Focus on habitats and conservation rather than expecting a close-up photograph of a particular animal.

青海湖

Qinghai Lake is a plateau saltwater lake and an important habitat for migratory birds. The vast lakeshore belongs to multiple management areas and is not an open beach that can be driven into at will. Formal roads and viewing points should be used, stay away from the core area of ​​the wetland, and wild animals should not be chased, touched or inappropriately fed.