Xining Travel Information

As the start point of the world famous Qinghai-Tibet Highway, Xining keeps attracting more attraction from foreign tourists. A large number of tourists both at home and abroad would like to spend few days in Xining for acclimation before boarding on the train to Lhasa. As a professional Tibet tour operator, Tibet Tour would like to provide some useful travel information for tourists planning to take Xining as the start city of their Tibet tour.

Xining City is located at northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. With an average altitude of 2261 meters, Xining is one of the highest cities above the sea level. The highest point in Xining is about 4394 meters above the sea level. Noted as an ancient plateau city, Xining has a history of more than 2100 years. Xining has been selected as one of the best summer resorts in China for it enjoys a pretty cool summer.

Xining Travel Information – Transportation

Xining has a complete transportation network composed of the highways, railways and air lines. The direct flight between Xining and Lhasa, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Taiyuan, Shenzhen, Guilin, Xiamen, Dunhuang and some other domestic cities have been opened. In addition to taking the flights, tourists planning to join the Tibet train tours from Xining could also take the train to Xining from Beijing, Guangzhou or some other cities. Xining Caojiabao Airport is about 28 kilometers away from the downtown.

There is long-distance bus to Lhasa at Xining Bus Station. The sleeper bus will head to Lhasa via Golmud at 16:30 every day. Most of the tourists taking Xining as a transition station would like to enter into Tibet by train. It takes only about 24 hours to get to Lhasa from Xining by train. All the trains heading to Tibet will take a stop at Xining and tourists entering into Tibet from Xining will have more choices on the specific departure time.

Xining Travel Information – Sightseeing in Xining

It takes about 3 days to visit the cultural and natural highlights in Xining. It would be an intelligent choice for tourists to acclimate to the plateau environment gradually while sightseeing in Xining. Tibet Tour would like to introduce several must-visit sites in/around Xining for tourists' reference.

Taer Monastery

Taer Monastery is the most famous cultural site in Xining. Noted as one of the six great monasteries of Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Taer Monastery enjoys the same reputation with the Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Ganden Monastery and Tashilhunpo Monastery in Tibet. It takes only about 45 minutes driving to get to Taer Monastery from the downtown of Xining City.

Qinghai Lake and Bird Island

Qinghai Lake is one of the most noted natural sites in Xining. It is about 150 kilometers away from the downtown. The big sized salt water lake and the blue sky always compose a sea-like picture. In summer, visitors could enjoy a fascinating rape flower picture. The Bird Island located at the northwest of Qinghai Lake is also an attractive place. The period between May and June is the best season for sightseeing on the Bird Island as thousands of birds are living on the island during that period.