Xining

People27s_Republic_of_China

Xining at night Xining (西宁; Xīníng; Tibetan: Sulang) is the capital of Qinghai Province and the capital of Xining City District, a prefecture of Qinghai. It has a population of around 2,200,000.

Xining is one of the major gateways to the Tibetan Plateau. It is an ancient highland city on the Yellow River which offers many scenic spots and historical sites. Although the city has a strong Islamic flavor, as it is home to many Hui people, you will start getting a more Tibetan feel as you move away from the city.

North Mountain Temple Cliff.

  • North Mountain Temple. Taoist Temple in the hills. A lot of it is closed for safety reasons. This includes the walkways between man-made caves in the mountain. There is a pagoda above, on the hill. From here there is a great view over the city. Temple ¥5; pagoda ¥2.
  • Dongguan Mosque, Dongguan Street (东关大街; Dōngguāndàjiē) (Bus 1, 2, 23.
  • Northern Ch'An Monastery. See the Taoist Tulou (Rammed-earth Pavilion)
  • Southern Ch'An Monastery.
  • Dongguan Monastery.
  • Datong Laoye Mountain Forest Zone.
  • Qinghai Provincial Museum. Nice place for those curious about Qinghai's history and ethnic relationships.
  • The Dongguan MosqueTibetan Medicine Museum, No.36 Jing'er Road, Chengbei District. Includes world's longest thangka, at 600m long. ¥60.

North Mountain Temple. Taoist Temple in the hills. A lot of it is closed for safety reasons. This includes the walkways between man-made caves in the mountain. There is a pagoda above, on the hill. From here there is a great view over the city. Temple ¥5; pagoda ¥2.

Dongguan Mosque, Dongguan Street (东关大街; Dōngguāndàjiē) (Bus 1, 2, 23.

Northern Ch'An Monastery. See the Taoist Tulou (Rammed-earth Pavilion)

Southern Ch'An Monastery.

Dongguan Monastery.

Datong Laoye Mountain Forest Zone.

Qinghai Provincial Museum. Nice place for those curious about Qinghai's history and ethnic relationships.

Tibetan Medicine Museum, No.36 Jing'er Road, Chengbei District. Includes world's longest thangka, at 600m long. ¥60.

Handmade Tibetan Handicrafts can be bought at the AmdoCafe (see Drink section)

Xining's main minority groups provide a large portion of the food on offer. The Hui, a broad term for Chinese Muslims, serve up spicy noodles, lamb kababs and flatbread (bing). Tibetan food choices are concentrated around the train station, mostly small places the serve momos and noodles and seat guests on small coaches.

There is a restaurant area right next to the Shuijing Xiang Bazaar, in the center of the city, and throughout the evening and into the night there are many street stalls serving good food around Ximen and on the western side of Jianguo Road.

  • Mojia Market, Mojia Lu (off Dong Dajia. 6AM-whenever. The front end of the market has many small snack stands selling spicy ground meat birds egg pizza-style bing (¥3), spicier Liangpi noodle (¥4.5) and mouth cooling bowl-set yoghurt with a creaming texture and slightly sour/citrus flavour (¥3). Further into the market mounds of dried fruit and nuts from the region can be bought by weight.

Mojia Market, Mojia Lu (off Dong Dajia. 6AM-whenever. The front end of the market has many small snack stands selling spicy ground meat birds egg pizza-style bing (¥3), spicier Liangpi noodle (¥4.5) and mouth cooling bowl-set yoghurt with a creaming texture and slightly sour/citrus flavour (¥3). Further into the market mounds of dried fruit and nuts from the region can be bought by weight.

Western food options are very slim, but not bad for a city so remote.

  • KFC, Near the Wangfujing Shopping Mall, Xi Dajie, +86 971-8227987. 6AM-10PM. There are three KFCs in the city, but this is by far the most centrally located.

KFC, Near the Wangfujing Shopping Mall, Xi Dajie, +86 971-8227987. 6AM-10PM. There are three KFCs in the city, but this is by far the most centrally located.

The city is littered with small coffee shops, especially around the newer apartment complexes that are being developed. See below for some of the better ones.

  • AmdoCafe 安多咖啡, Lenghulu 2, JiesenHuaYuan South Gate 冷湖路2号杰森花园西南门 (West side of Xining, +86 18997231050. 10AM-6PM. This coffee shop, which also offers AmdoCraft Tibetan Handicraft products, provides a relaxed, quiet atmosphere in which to sip and sample real, fresh-brewed coffee, or sup on steaming pastries, cakes, and cookies. The coffee is some of the most inexpensive real coffee in the area. Free Wi-fi. 30 rmb.
  • Cafe Java, 47 Haiyan Road (海晏路47号9-1号铺) (Opposite of Culture Park, +86 971-6314012. 8:30AM-9:30PM. Expat couple from the UK opened this cafe in 2009. Excellent coffee and home-made food at a great price. Favourite dishes include Mexican wraps, chilli, bagels of all kinds, pancakes & waffles with sweet or savoury toppings. Also a great place to meet other foreign residents or expats in Xining. Free Wi-Fi.
  • Green House Cafe, Xiadu Avenue, Near Yangshan Villas, +86 971-8202710. Great little cafe opened up by an American expat in Xining. Relaxed atmosphere, good Wi-Fi, and, some say, the best coffee in the city. They have deserts and sandwiches as well.

AmdoCafe 安多咖啡, Lenghulu 2, JiesenHuaYuan South Gate 冷湖路2号杰森花园西南门 (West side of Xining, +86 18997231050. 10AM-6PM. This coffee shop, which also offers AmdoCraft Tibetan Handicraft products, provides a relaxed, quiet atmosphere in which to sip and sample real, fresh-brewed coffee, or sup on steaming pastries, cakes, and cookies. The coffee is some of the most inexpensive real coffee in the area. Free Wi-fi. 30 rmb.

Cafe Java, 47 Haiyan Road (海晏路47号9-1号铺) (Opposite of Culture Park, +86 971-6314012. 8:30AM-9:30PM. Expat couple from the UK opened this cafe in 2009. Excellent coffee and home-made food at a great price. Favourite dishes include Mexican wraps, chilli, bagels of all kinds, pancakes & waffles with sweet or savoury toppings. Also a great place to meet other foreign residents or expats in Xining. Free Wi-Fi.

Green House Cafe, Xiadu Avenue, Near Yangshan Villas, +86 971-8202710. Great little cafe opened up by an American expat in Xining. Relaxed atmosphere, good Wi-Fi, and, some say, the best coffee in the city. They have deserts and sandwiches as well.

A number of bars are located at the end of the city's main snack street. These tiny places each have only a dozen tables, and all offer extensive drink specials. Beer starts at ¥6 for a Tsingtao, but expensive imported liquor is also available. There is usually no cover charge.

  • Qilin Bay Bar Strip, Intersection of Kunlun West and Huanghe Road. A complex of bars by the riverside, built around an atrium. You can't see them from the road, but just below the bridge you will see a number of cars parked, with steps down into the park. About a half dozen or so small bars.
  • Culture Street Bar Strip, Culture Street (Wenhua Jie). A large complex with about two dozen bars over three different floors with an open center atrium. You can choose between more relaxed lounge bars, live music venues, or one or two bars that have dance floors on the ground floor.

Qilin Bay Bar Strip, Intersection of Kunlun West and Huanghe Road. A complex of bars by the riverside, built around an atrium. You can't see them from the road, but just below the bridge you will see a number of cars parked, with steps down into the park. About a half dozen or so small bars.

Culture Street Bar Strip, Culture Street (Wenhua Jie). A large complex with about two dozen bars over three different floors with an open center atrium. You can choose between more relaxed lounge bars, live music venues, or one or two bars that have dance floors on the ground floor.

  • Soho, 116 Nanguan Street (West Side of Xining Stadium, +86 971-8252991. 9PM-late. Soho is Xining's most popular nightclub, usually busy past 2AM most nights. Lots of tables and a bar, but there is no dancing. Music is mostly live. Soho is a nightclub franchise in China, but this one apparently is an "unofficial club."
  • No. 88 Bar, 7-1 Road, Across from the TCM Hospital (七一路中医院斜对面. Similar to Soho bar, but a larger dance floor. Crowded on the weekends, but a bigger crowd at Soho.

Soho, 116 Nanguan Street (West Side of Xining Stadium, +86 971-8252991. 9PM-late. Soho is Xining's most popular nightclub, usually busy past 2AM most nights. Lots of tables and a bar, but there is no dancing. Music is mostly live. Soho is a nightclub franchise in China, but this one apparently is an "unofficial club."

No. 88 Bar, 7-1 Road, Across from the TCM Hospital (七一路中医院斜对面. Similar to Soho bar, but a larger dance floor. Crowded on the weekends, but a bigger crowd at Soho.

The new train has two useful locations either side - one is the local bus depot, the other the long distance bus station. The long distance bus station has a Tourism Information Desk and is geared up to help tourists - the staff are very helpful. Don't count on anyone speaking English however.

From the long distance bus station next to the train station you can purchase tickets for a direct tourist bus which will take you to Qinghai Lake, Kanbula Forest Park and Kumbum Monastery in one day. This government run service is around ¥100. Site admissions are extra. First bus leaves at 8:30AM with others put on with demand. Centre opens at 6:30AM and closes around 6PM (!)

  • Kumbum Monastery (塔尔寺 Tǎ'ěrsì) - one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist sites in China, in the village of Huangzhong.
  • Tongren
  • Tu Minority Village - located at Weiyuanzhen (威远镇)Old Village, 32 km from Xining
  • Qinghaihu National Park (青海湖 - also called Lake Koko Nor) - this 5,694 km lake is the largest lake in China.
  • Kanbula Forest Park - about a 2-3 hr bus ride from Xining, great for a day trip or overnight. Spectacular mountains and danxia landscapes, and beautiful Lijia Reservoir. ¥240/person entrance fee.
  • Guide (贵德) - Take a bus to this charming, predominantly tibetan village, beyond the southern mountains from the west bus stop.

Note that China Rail has completely reformed it's ticking booking processes. It is now difficult for ticket scalper a to operate, despite what is reported about Xining elsewhere. In the middle of October Festival 2016 tickets were available a few days in advance to almost any destination available.

Trips from Xining travel agencies offer apparently cheap ¥60 day trips to Qinghaihu National Park. This price does not include entry to 丹噶尔 old town (¥50), 赞普林卡 (¥40), 日月山(¥40) or the wharf at Qinghaihu (Much100) [the 'park' itself]. The last of these seems the most overpriced for what it is - but you are expected to pay. There may be a couple of forced shopping stops, including a minimum 30-minute wait at a jade/crystal sales outlet.

  • Xining is also the northeastern terminus for the Qinghai–Tibet railway leading to Golmud and Lhasa.