Travel Guide and Route Recommendations for Golmud, Qinghai

Golmud, Qinghai, belongs to the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is an ideal place for viewing the scenery of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, wildlife activities and mountaineering adventures. It is a great place for tourism and exploration, and is very popular among adventurous travelers. So how do you travel to Golmud, Qinghai?

2-Day Itinerary

D1 Golmud City Tourism Distribution Center – Kunlun Mountain Gate – Kunlun Mountain Grand Canyon – Wuji Dragon and Phoenix Palace – Queen Mother of the West’s Yaochi – Golmud City (Accommodation)

D2 Golmud City Tourism Distribution Center – Chaerhan Dream Salt Lake – Salt Lake Yardang – Taijin’er Wild Luxury Cultural Tourism Town – Golmud City (Accommodation)

3-Day Itinerary

D1 Golmud City Tourism Distribution Center – Kunlun Mountain Gate – Kunlun Mountain Grand Canyon – Kunlun Holy Spring – Wuji Dragon and Phoenix Palace – Yuzhu Peak – Kunlun Mountain Pass – Sonam Dajie Nature Reserve – Golmud City (Accommodation)

D2 Golmud City Tourism Distribution Center – Chaerhan Dream Salt Lake – Salt Lake Yardang – Taijin’er Wild Luxury Cultural Tourism Town – Golmud City (Accommodation)

D3 Golmud City Tourism Distribution Center – General’s Building Park – Populus euphratica Desert Park – Goldfish Lake Ethnic Culture Garden – Changjiangyuan Folk Museum – Kunlun Mountain World Geological Museum – Golmud City (Accommodation)

Kunlun Self-driving Tour

Big Loop (5 days and 5 nights)

D1 Golmud City Tourism Distribution Center – Kunlun Mountain Grand Canyon – Kunlun Holy Spring – Queen Mother of the West’s Yaochi (Accommodation)

D2 Queen Mother of the West’s Yaochi – Death Valley – Wutumeiren Township (Accommodation)

D3 Wutumeiren Township – Nabei Yardang – Taijin’er Wild Luxury Cultural Tourism Town (Accommodation)

D4 Taijin’er Wild Luxury Cultural Tourism Town – Salt Lake Yardang – Chaerhan Dream Salt Lake – Golmud City (Accommodation)

D5 Golmud City – General’s Building Park – Populus euphratica Desert Park – Goldfish Lake Ethnic Culture Garden – Changjiangyuan Folk Museum – Kunlun Mountain World Geological Museum – Golmud City (Accommodation)

Small Loop (3 days and 3 nights)

D1 Golmud City Tourism Distribution Center – Kunlun Mountain Grand Canyon – Kunlun Holy Spring – Queen Mother of the West’s Yaochi (Accommodation)

D2 Queen Mother of the West’s Yaochi – Death Valley – Wutumeiren Township (Accommodation)

D3 Wutumeiren Township – Populus euphratica Desert Park – General’s Building Park – Goldfish Lake Ethnic Culture Garden – Changjiangyuan Folk Museum – Kunlun Mountain World Geological Museum – Golmud City (Accommodation)

Recommended Tourist Attractions

1、Kunlun Mountain Gate

Located 23 kilometers from Golmud City on both sides of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. There are eight gilded characters “Ancestor of Ten Thousand Mountains” and “Majestic Kunlun” engraved on both sides of the gate pillars. Its design implies the meaning of worshipping the “Ancestor of Ten Thousand Mountains” Kunlun Mountain.

2、Kunlun Grand Canyon

“Antelope Canyon” in Arizona, USA, is one of the 20 most bizarre attractions in the world and has been sought after and visited by countless photography enthusiasts. Hidden in the majestic Kunlun Mountains, due to the erosion of the perennial glacial meltwater and the shaping of the plateau gale, there is a similarly strange “Antelope Canyon”. This is the filming location for the movie “Tian Mu”. With the rise of seasonal meltwater, every year from April to August, the bottom of the canyon is covered with clear river water, forming a unique underwater canyon landscape. It is located 75 kilometers from Golmud City.

3、Kunlun Holy Spring

It is located 94 kilometers from Golmud City at an altitude of 3700 meters. It is a spring that does not freeze in all four seasons. The spring water contains a high amount of strontium, so it has the function of preventing cardiovascular diseases and the effect of health care and beauty. It is known as the “Holy Water of the World”.

4、Queen Mother of the West’s Yaochi

Queen Mother of the West’s Yaochi is a natural plateau lake. It is the sacred lake worshipped by Taoist believers. It is located 250 kilometers from Golmud City at an altitude of over 4300 meters. It is about 12000 meters long from east to west and 5000 meters wide from north to south, covering an area of over 60 square kilometers. The deepest point is 107 meters. The lake surface is in the shape of a Ruyi, and the entire lake area is peaceful and mysterious. Many times, birds and beasts gather around Yaochi, the lake water is sparkling, the water grass is lush, and the scenery is magnificent.

5、Yuxu Peak

At an altitude of 5980 meters, Yuxu Peak is said to be the residence of Yuxu Shennv, the sister of the Jade Emperor. It is known as the “Taoist Cave Heaven and Blissful Land” and the “Most Sacred Mountain”. It is also one of the Taoist pilgrimage sites. It is located 190 kilometers from Golmud City.

6、Yuzhu Peak

At an altitude of 6178 meters, it is located 140 kilometers from Golmud City. Today, it has become a tourist destination for domestic and foreign tourists to view mountains, snow, scenery and climb snow mountains, as well as a paradise for alpine adventure tourists.

7、General’s Building Park

The General’s Building is the first two-story building in Golmud City. It was built in October 1956 and is the place where General Mu Shengzhong, the “father of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway”, lived and worked. It is a landmark building in Golmud and has inspired generations of Chaidamu people to take root in the plateau and make selfless contributions to the development and construction of Golmud. In 2018, it was awarded the honor of “National 4A Tourist Attraction” and “Provincial Red Tourism Classic Scenic Spot”. The park is also a patriotic education base in our city.

8、Populus euphratica Desert Park

Located 65 kilometers from Golmud City, it is a passionate journey to ride desert motorcycles and view the world’s highest Populus euphratica. “Living for a thousand years without dying, dead for a thousand years without falling, falling for a thousand years without decay” is the myth of Populus euphratica for three thousand years. Populus euphratica is an ancient relict species in the Central Asian desert and is known as a “living fossil” by scholars.

9、Chaerhan Dream Salt Lake

Located 60 kilometers from Golmud City, with a total area of 5856 square kilometers. Chaerhan Dream Salt Lake Scenic Area is a unique plateau salt lake scenic spot in China and abroad, integrating ecological tourism, industrial tourism and leisure and entertainment. The scenic area has a salt lake museum, a circular economy exhibition center, a central pier scenic area, the world-famous “ten thousand zhang salt bridge” check-in point, the beautiful salt fields of the vicissitudes of the sea, the magical and spectacular salt flower landscape, the vast and magnificent Dabusun Lake, the 100-mile water landscape freshwater wetland, birds flying in groups, wild animals, thriving mining boats, and other natural and cultural landscapes.

10、Salt Lake Yardang

The endless Gobi Desert is extremely desolate, making you feel like you are in an alien world in “Interstellar”. With wind and sand on the left and time on the right, they have combined forces to create mysterious yardangs of various shapes. The “most lonely hotel in the world” is built here. A space base-like reception center writes down human exploration civilization on the primeval land. It is located 80 kilometers from Golmud City.