Qinghai
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| 青海省 Qīnghǎi Shěng |
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| Abbreviations: 青 (Pinyin: Qīng) | |
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| Origin of name | From Mongolian Köke Nayur: Köke - green/blue Naγur - Lake "green lake" (Lake Qinghai) In Chinese: 青 qīng - green/blue 海 hǎi - sea "green sea" |
| Administration type | Province |
| Capital (and largest city) |
Xining |
| CPC Ctte Secretary | Qiang Wei |
| Governor | Song Xiuyan |
| Area | 721,000 km² (4th) |
| Population (2004) - Density |
5,390,000 (30th) 7.48/km² (30th) |
| GDP (2004) - per capita |
CNY 46.57 billion (29th) CNY 8640 (19th) |
| HDI (2005) | 0.684 (medium) (27th) |
| Major nationalities | Han - 54% Tibetan - 23% Hui - 16% Tu - 4% Salar - 1.8% Mongol - 1.8% |
| Prefecture-level | 8 divisions |
| County-level | 43 divisions |
| Township-level† | 429 divisions |
| ISO 3166-2 | CN-63 |
| Official website http://www.qhinfo.com/head/ (Simplified Chinese) |
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| Source for population and GDP data:
《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005
Source for nationalities data:
ISBN 7503747382 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China
† As at December 31, 2004ISBN 7105054255 |
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Qinghai (Chinese: 青海; pinyin: Qīnghǎi; Wade-Giles: Ch'ing-hai; Postal map spelling: Tsinghai; Tibetan: མཚོ་སྔོན་; Wylie: mtsho sngon; Mongolian: Köke Naγur; Manchu: Huhu Noor) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after the enormous Qinghai Lake. It borders Gansu on the northeast, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on the northwest, Sichuan on the southeast, and Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest.
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[edit] History
Most of Qinghai is part of the traditional provinces of Kham and Amdo of Tibet. It is the birthplace and home to many influential Tibetan figures in history, including Tsongkapa and many of the Dalai Lamas.
In 1928, it became a province of the then Republic of China.
[edit] Geography
Qinghai is located on the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. The Yellow River (Huang He) originates in the middle of the province, while the Yangtze and Mekong have their sources in the southern part.
The average elevation of Qinghai is about 3000 metres above sea level. Mountain ranges include the Tangula Mountains and Kunlun Mountains. Its average temperature is approximately -5 to 8Celsius, with January temperatures ranging from -18.2 to -7°C and July temperatures ranging from 5 to 21°C. It is also prone to heavy winds as well as sandstorms from February to April.
Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor) is the largest lake in the People's Republic of China.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Qinghai is divided into one prefecture-level city (Xining), one prefecture (Haidong Prefecture), and six autonomous prefectures: Haibei, Hainan, Huangnan, Golog, Gyêgu, and Haixi. All of these are in turn divided into four districts, two county-level cities, thirty counties, and seven autonomous counties.
See List of administrative divisions of Qinghai for a complete list of county-level divisions.
[edit] Economy
Qinghai's economy is amongst the smallest in all of China. Its nominal GDP for 2004 was just 46.57 billion RMB (5.78 billion USD) and contributes to a little over 0.3% of the entire country's economy. Per capita GDP was 7310 RMB (882 USD).
Its heavy industry includes iron and steel productions, located near its capital city of Xining. Oil and natural gas from the Chaidamu Basin have also been an important contributor to the economy.
[edit] Demographics
The population of Qinghai is approximately 5.2 million, among which the Han account for 54.5%. Other groups include the Tibetans 20.87%, Tu, Hui, Salar, and Mongols.
[edit] Culture
Qinghai's culture is heavily influenced by Tibet, given the close proximity as well as a shared history.
Culturally, the Tibetans of Qinghai are either Amdo or Kham Tibetans. The Amdo Tibetans distinguishes themselves from the Kham Tibetan and U-Tsang Tibetan in many aspects. For example, the Amdo Tibetan dialect retains many consonant clusters from Classical Tibetan that have been lost in Lhasa Tibetan dialect: in Lhasa these clusters are retained in spelling only. An analogy can be drawn with Chinese, with Mandarin being Lhasa Tibetan and Cantonese being Amdo Tibetan: like Cantonese, the Amdo dialect retains a pronunciation closer to the ancient tongue.
[edit] Transportation
- See also: Transportation in China
The Lanqing Railway, running between Lanzhou, Gansu and Xining, the province's capital, was completed in 1959 and is the major transportation route in and out of the province. A continuation of the line, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway through Golmud, has become one of the most ambitious projects in PRC history. It was completed in October 2005 and now links Tibet with the rest of China through Qinghai.
Six National Highways run through the province. Xining Caojiabu Airport provides service to Beijing, Lanzhou, Golmud and Delingha.
[edit] Tourism
Many tourist attractions center on Xining, the provincial seat of Qinghai. Xining, a vibrant city of 700,000, is squeezed between a long valley, offering an amazing blend of culture from Tibetan, Hui, and other minorities along with the Han majority.
The city itself has many worthwhile stops, including the Great Mosque of Xining (qīngzhēn dà sì) and North Mountain Temple (bĕishān sì).
Outside Xining lie two notable attractions:
- The Kumbum Monastery (Tibetan: sKu 'bum dKon pa)(tă'ĕr sì), one of the most important Yellow Hat Sect monasteries, lies 30 km outside Xining. It also features the Hall of Yak Butter Sculptures.
- Qinghai Lake (qīnghăi hú) is another tourist attraction, albeit further from Xining than Kumbum. The lake is the largest saltwater lake in China, and is also located on the "Roof of the World," the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. The lake itself lies at 3,600m elevation. The surrounding area is made up of beautiful rolling grasslands and populated by ethnic Tibetans. Most pre-arranged tours stop at Bird Island (niăo dăo). An international bicycle race takes place annually from Xining to Qinghai Lake.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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| Provinces | Anhui · Fujian · Gansu · Guangdong · Guizhou · Hainan · Hebei · Heilongjiang · Henan · Hubei · Hunan · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Jilin · Liaoning · Qinghai · Shaanxi · Shandong · Shanxi · Sichuan · Taiwan1 · Yunnan · Zhejiang |  |
| Autonomous regions | Guangxi · Inner Mongolia · Ningxia · Tibet (Xizang) · Xinjiang | |
| Municipalities | Beijing · Chongqing · Shanghai · Tianjin | |
| Special administrative regions | Hong Kong · Macau | |
| 1 Claimed by the PRC, but currently ruled by the Republic of China ("Taiwan"). See also Political status of Taiwan. | ||
