Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Name: Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (海北藏族自治州)

Location: Located in the Northest of Qinghai Province, Haibei borders Gansu Province in the north, Haixi Tibbetan Autonomous Prefecture in the west, Hainan Tibbetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south, and Xining and Haibei District in the southeast. It is 103 km. (64 mi.) away from Xining City, the capital of Qinghai.

Population:  259,400 in 2008. People living here are made up of various nationalities, including the Han, Tibetan, Hui, Mongolian, Tu, Salar and so on. The ethnic groups takes up 57.83 ％ of the whole population and the the Tibetan is the majoy group.

Physical Geography:

There are numerous mountains and lakes crisscrossing on this land. The most famous Mt Qilian and its branches stretching themselves on northeast to east range. The climate here belongs to the Continental Plateau Climate, with an average temperature of 0.3 ℃, when it is July and August, it is the hottest season with the most rains.

Cultural heritage:

Haibei is a beautiful and a rich place with many ancient people here long long ago having left many national historical sites and unique culture on this land. Most important ones includes: Ganglonggou Caved Temple of Tang Dynasty, Ketu Ancient Town of Song Dynasty, the ancient triangle city of Song Dynasty. It is said that there once unearthed  Sarcophagus tomb in 1989, with more than 700 objects found.

Tourism Attractions:

Haibei is abundant in its tourism resources with so mant historical sites and natural scenic spots. The most outstanding attractions includes:

1. Heihe Grand Canyon. As the second largest inland river in china and flowing through Qinghai, Gansu and Mongulia, Heihe is regarded as the Mother River of Hexi Corridor. The mountain togther with the Heihe River consist of the beautiful landscape of the Grand Canyon. Moreover, there are peculiar stones, flourish plants and glaciers which makes this land a wonderland for tourism and adventure.

2. Qilian Mountain Grassland: As one of the most beautiful grassland in China, it is regarded as a paradise for tourism and is famous for its natural beauty, blue sky and leisure lifestyle of peopel living here. With the snow mountain Mt Qilian collected, it is a fantastic place for tourists.

3. The Sand sculpture of Sand Island in Qinghai Lake. Every year from July, 8th to 14th, there is a Sand Sculpture Festivial here with many excellent sand sculptures on exhibition. If you are interested in the aretistic works, then you come here to see it in your own eyes.

If you come to Haibei, one important thing you must here is to enjoy the local dance, singing, drama. This place is a convergence of ethnic groups who are good at dancing and singing. Walking on the street, you may hear the commom people singing anytime, which will surely draw your attention. Haibei is a place for tourists and if you are visiting Qinghai, don' t forget to have a look in Haibei.