Featured Destination: Xunhua County, QInghai (循化县,青海省)

I spent a few hours this week passing through the county (and town) of Xunhua. If you look in the Lonely Planet for Qinghai Province, you will find a small section about Xunhua, so I won't go into too much detail here on how to get there, where to stay, etc. Let me just share a few pictures and my own recommendation of the place.

First, Xunhua sits in a fertile valley along the banks of the Yellow River. It is surrounded by arid mountains of red, brown, and sometimes almost purple coloring, making for an amazing contrast of color between the lush green of the farmland, the deep blue of the river and sky, and the red rock of the mountains.

Second, Xunhua is the home of the Salar (Muslim) ethnic minority. The vast majority of the Muslims you see here are not Hui, but Salar. They speak their own language (similar to Uygher) and at times look more central Asian than Muslim Chinese.

Third, there are also a large number of Tibetans living up in the mountains surrounding the large Xunhua valley. Wendu Monastery is the largest in this immediate region. It is situated just 4 km off the highway stretching from Xunhua to Tongren, and about 25 km from Xunhua Town.

Fourth, Xunhua town is a very quaint and inviting place. It is small, the streets are lined with trees, and there is an abundance of fresh fruit (in summer) and local family owned "tea gardens" where you can eat a meal or just drink Eight Treasure Tea (八宝茶).

Fifth, there are innumerable places to hike in this immediate region. You can take off walking from town to hike along the river or up in the mountains. You can follow the Lonely Planet instructions to get to Mengda Heavenly Lake. Or you can follow my instructions on how to get to Daowei Tibetan Village and/or Dalijia Peak.

Sixth, you can take a dip in the Yellow River. There is a large swimming race every year in the river just outside of town. This year's race was held earlier than usual because of the Olympics coming up next month. Normally it is held in August. The water here is cool but clean.

Xunhua is a great place to visit any time of the year, but especially from Spring through late Summer. I don't think you will be disappointed by taking a few days to explore this region!