Lanzhou Xining Tourism

Hey! I’m not familiar with Xining, but I can give you a guide if you go to Xi’an.

But I found a guide for you, see if it helps.

A three-day travel guide to Xining, Qinghai Lake, Huzhu, and Kumbum Monastery

This was actually written after I visited it on May Day last year, but after I visited, I realized that from now on Until the end of September is the most fun time in Qinghai, so the old wine has been replaced with a new bottle, hoping to give some reference to those who plan to visit Qinghai in the near future.

I couldn’t hold it back on May Day and went to Xining for a tour. I stayed in Xining for three days. I arrived late on the 2nd, went to the Huzhu Tu Autonomous Region on the 3rd, went to Kumbum Monastery on the 4th, went to Qinghai Lake on the 5th, and returned to Lanzhou late on the 5th. A total of RMB 500 was spent, of which two hundred was spent on buying Tibetan ornaments with strong ethnic characteristics at Shuijingxiang Market in Xining City. In fact, if the schedule is tight, two days will be enough, and the cost can be lowered. The general route is as follows: Xining - Qinghai Lake - Huzhu - Kumbum Monastery. Now I will report a more reasonable strategy to all travel friends, hoping to provide you with some useful information.

Day 1: Depart from Lanzhou by car and arrive in Xining three or four hours later. Fare: 19 yuan/person for slow train, 33 yuan/person for fast train, 40 yuan/person for bus.

Accommodation: There is a Dikan Guest House on the left side of the main road opposite the train station. A double room is 50 yuan/night and a single room is 58 yuan/night. It basically meets the requirements of travel friends for accommodation: safe, hygienic and cheap. , Convenient for travel (there is a bus stop in front of the guest house, 20 meters to the right is Xining Bus Station, you can take the bus here if you want to go to mutual aid, and 100 meters is the train station), especially convenient for friends who want to go to Qinghai Lake the next day, details Look down.

After arranging accommodation, you have two options:

One is for those who love to play: walk about 50 meters to the right after leaving the residence, which is the Xining Bus Station. There is a transportation company there. The travel agency is one of the top ten travel agencies in Xining in 2003. There is the cheapest one-day tour of Qinghai Lake for individual tourists, which costs 80 yuan per person per day, including tour guide fee, insurance premium, round-trip transportation, and an additional 58 yuan for bird tours. Island tickets (discounted to 38 yuan/person with student ID). Special tip: For self-guided backpackers, it is recommended to join a one-day tour group, unless you plan to walk or bike around the lake. Because Qinghai Lake has a circumference of more than 300 kilometers and various scenic spots are scattered widely. Although there is a shuttle bus to Qinghai Lake from Xining, it does not go directly to the scenic spot. It goes to Gangcha County. To go to Qinghai Lake, you need to transfer to another bus, and it can only be If you get off the bus at one destination and go to another place after visiting one place, there are only the following ways: running, walking, cycling and hitchhiking. The round trip fare, not including the ride, costs at least 60 yuan. Taking a travel agency car is more comfortable. It sets off at 7:30 in the morning and passes through Huangyuan, Riyue Mountain (ticket 20 yuan, self-care, not recommended), Daotang River, Bird Island, Jinyintan Grassland, and Shadao (ticket 20 yuan) , similar to a beach amusement park, the project cost is at your own expense, not recommended), Atomic City, etc., go around the lake and return, stopping at all the places to play, and return to Xining around 8:30 in the evening, which is very convenient. The agency’s phone number: 7112099. It’s best to contact us in advance, as they arrange seats on the bus based on the order in which guests sign up. Friends who suffer from motion sickness should be especially careful.

The second is for those who love to eat: walk ten meters to the left after exiting the train station and take a bus (you can also go in front of the Dikan Guest House) to the foot of the Grand Cross, which is the most prosperous area in Xining. Snacks The night market is quite popular, friends who haven’t had dinner can go there to solve their problems. I recommend everyone to go to Shuijingxiang Snack Street. Grilled lamb intestines, grilled lamb chops, hand-caught mutton, Ma Zhong noodles, sheep intestine noodles, Xinjiang hand-caught, boiled rice... are all good choices, truly delicious. Cheap, delicious and not expensive.

The next day: Of course we went straight to Qinghai Lake. Other equipment is optional, but there are two things you must have: clothing that is slightly thicker than normal temperature and sun protection products. Qinghai Lake is nearly 3,000 meters above sea level and has a large temperature difference between day and night. The daytime temperature is generally 5-10 degrees lower than that of Xining City, and the sunshine is strong. Qinghai Lake is a long way from Xining, and we have to go around the lake, so about two-thirds of the next day will be spent in the car. Therefore, those who get motion sickness should bring relevant medicines in case of emergency.

The third day: Morning: Huzhu Tu Folk Customs Garden. There is no need to join a group. In the morning, go to Xining Bus Station and take the bus to Huzhu (fare is RMB/person). Once you get there, take bus No. 3 and you will be there. We transferred directly from Huzhu to a Tu ethnic village in a nearby township, which is the Qiao Family Courtyard that Comrade Zhizhi introduced in the "Tibetan Oxhide Book". However, we thought we should go to the Tu ethnic customs garden in Huzhu County, especially I am a self-help traveler, because the Qiao Family Courtyard is just a family in a village. In fact, there is not much fun. When there are more people, there are performances and the like. When there are less people, they just go to catch a meal from the Tu ethnic group. Unless you pay extra, it's not interesting to watch without people, and the performer is not interested either. On the other hand, the Fengqing Garden has already formed a large scale. Although the commercial atmosphere is stronger, you can also have the opportunity to see Tu nationality singing and dancing when you go there alone, which is still more interesting. Lunch can be done in the custom garden. You can try the unique snacks of the Tu people, "dog urine cakes" (the name is not good but the taste is really delicious), xuanma cakes, Kun pot, etc., and you can also appreciate the most popular local products of the Tu people. The hand embroidery is very suitable for taking some back to give away.

If you want to return to Lanzhou on the same day, you should arrive at the time to return to Xining from Huzhu before two o'clock, so that you can still go to Kumbum Monastery. Still take bus No. 1 to Xiguanxia. Chartering a Xiali costs only 20 yuan. If you take the bus at the west gate of the stadium, it costs 4 yuan/person and goes directly to the door of Kumbum Monastery. The entrance fee to Kumbum Monastery is 35 yuan. It is recommended to find a tour guide, because this kind of cultural landscape is really the best way for experts to see the bustling scene and for outsiders to see it. Whether or not there is a tour guide to explain is directly related to the quality of your visit. Of course, you have made sufficient preparations in advance. Except them. The tour guide fee is not high, only 60 yuan. You can combine it with other individual tourists, so that the average cost for everyone will be much less.

It takes three hours to get around the entire Kumbum Monastery, so we can definitely rush back to Xining on the same day and take the K378 from Xining to Shanghai at 20:49 that night. In this way, only two days are enough, and the cost is very small. Among the May Day routes organized by many travel agencies in Lanzhou, the lowest price for the two-day tour of Qinghai Lake and Kumbum Monastery, which is said to be specially tailored for students, is 350 yuan. Above, if I follow my itinerary and schedule, even if I visit one more Huzhu Tu Nationality Garden and eat too much at the snack street every night, it will only cost 300 yuan, which is super cheap!

By the way, girls who love yogurt, please note: when you arrive in Xining, don’t forget to try the unique “nest milk” there. It’s served in a small bowl and is as tender as tofu, white yogurt. There is a layer of yellow cream floating on top. It tastes great, fragrant and mellow. It only costs 1.2 yuan/bowl. You will regret it if you don’t eat it!

As for the time, it is best to go to Qinghai Lake in April, May and after the end of June every year, because April and May are the time when migratory birds return to lay eggs on the island, and there are eggs on the bird island at this time. Another name for the island, but the climate at this time is unstable, the temperature is lower, and the wind is stronger. The weather in June is not bad, but the birds have just hatched and eggs are broken everywhere. It has a unique "flavor". I don't recommend others to try it except Chu Liuxiang Chu Daxia. It is recommended to go in July and August. At this time, the eggs have hatched into chicks, and the bird parents are giving flight training lessons to the chicks in preparation for their long journey in the fall. The island is a busy scene, much more lively than Pearl Harbor during the war.

Moreover, the temperature is just right in July and August. If you have time, you can set up camp in the tent hotel on the island. You can fall asleep to the low singing of the lake every night, and wake up to the singing of the birds the next morning. That kind of leisurely and comfortable feeling - I would never change it if I gave it to a god