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 The
south route of Silk Road goes through the northern part of Qinghai,
one of the five major pastoral areas in China. Both the Yangtze and
Yellow River originate in the province. Local ethnic minorities mainly
inlcude the Tibetan, Hui, Mongol, Tu and Salar. Qinghai Lake in the
province is China's largest inland salt lake. Other well-known sites
include Bird Island, Mengda Botanical Nature Reserve, Ta'er Monastery
and the salt-paved highway in the Qaidam Basin. |
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Xining |
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| Xining is
the capital city of Qinghai Province. It has been a military garrison
and trading center since 16th century. It sits in an eroded desolate
valley, but just one hour out of town there are lush green valleys
with thick alpine forests. Nowadays it is a stopover for foreigners
following the Qinghai-Tibet route. |
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