Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is a beautiful and fertile land. Thousands of years ago, ancient ancestors thrived and multiplied here, leaving numerous relics of ancient cultures and architectures. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, archaeologists and local laborers carried out exhaustive excavations and achieved fruitful results. The People’s Government of Qinghai Province has officially designated 36 cultural heritage sites here.

Among them, one site is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level: the ruins of Longyi City, seat of Xihai Jun of the Western Han Dynasty (present-day Sanjiao Town in Haiyan County), designated on January 13, 1988. There are 11 sites under provincial-level protection:

From July to August 1989, a joint archaeological excavation team formed by the Cultural Relics Division of Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and the Qinghai Provincial Institute of Archaeology conducted a comprehensive systematic dig at a stone coffin cemetery within a brick factory in Gangcha County, Haibei Prefecture. More than 40 tombs were cleared, yielding over 700 cultural artifacts including pottery, stone tools, bone needles, bronze knives, bronze arrowheads and sea shells. The site was identified as a Kayao Culture settlement. In recent years, archaeologists have successively discovered ancient rock paintings in Gangcha and the Biandugou Rock Paintings in Qilian County.

Nestled in the basin between the Qilian Mountains and Daban Mountain in Menyuan County, Qinghai Province, the Hundred-Li Rapeseed Flower Sea is accessible via Ningzhang Highway, National Highway 217 and Minmen Highway, 150 kilometers away from Xining. It is a natural scenic tourist zone stretching about 50 km long and 12 km wide, covering 535 square kilometers, and ranks as China’s largest northern small rapeseed cultivation base.

The annual Rapeseed Flower Tourism Festival held every July offers the prime opportunity to admire the blossoms. In July, the Haomenchuan Valley transforms into an ocean of golden flowers as well as a venue filled with songs and dances, showcasing distinctive plateau pastoral scenery. The scenic area has won the Western Development Entrepreneurship Award and serves as an outstanding destination for agro-ecological sightseeing.

Xianmi Forest Park boasts the largest forested area in Qinghai Province, covering three towns in Menyuan County: Dongchuan, Xianmi and Zhugu. It spans 55 km from north to south and 95 km from east to west, with a total land area of 148,000 hectares. It was approved as a provincial forest park in 1996 and upgraded to national forest park status in 2003.

Influenced by the Qilian Mountain Range, the park abounds in surface and underground water resources, acting as the source of multiple rivers feeding the Yellow River water system to the south and inland river systems to the north.

Also known as the Main Peak of Lenglong Ridge, Gangshika Snow Peak stands at an altitude of 5,254.5 meters. Its snow line lies at 4,200 meters on the northern slope and 4,400 meters on the southern slope. The mountain massif is mainly composed of meta-acid quartz amphibolite, gneiss, plagioclase amphibolite and basic volcanic rock, geologically belonging to the Caledonian fold belt of the northern Qilian Mountains.

Integrating spectacular modern glaciers and complete vertical vegetation zones, it is an ideal destination for scientific research, mountaineering expeditions and sightseeing. The summit features million-year-old glaciers blanketed in permanent snow, with rapidly shifting, mysterious weather conditions. Sometimes blue skies frame gleaming silvery snow; at other times violent gales shroud the peak in darkness, and occasional avalanches roar down with swirling snow.

At sunset, glowing twilight shrouds the crystalline snow cap, tinting it crimson, lavender, pale grey and deep blue, resembling a jade dragon wandering amid brocade blossoms. This twilight spectacle named "Sunset over Dragon Ridge" ranks among the Eight Ancient Sights of Menyuan and Top Ten Scenic Spots of Qinghai.