Golmud

Golmud is located in the south central Qaidam Basin, which is known as a Treasure Basin. The east of Golmud is Qinghai Lake and the city of Xining and the north of Golmud is Dunhuang city. To the south, after crossing the Tanggula Mountain, is Tibet . Golmud is a boom industrial city in the west part of Qinghai province. It is 710 kilometers from Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, about 11 hours’ bus ride. Golmud covers an area of 126,220.5 square kilometers, which is equivalent to that of Fujian Province. The total population of Golmud is 270,000 and the Han population accounts for 90.2 percent. The area code is 0979 and the zip code is 816000.  

It is also an ideal place for enjoying the landscape and wild animals of the Tibetan Plateau and climbing mountains. In Golmud, there are Qarhan Salt Lake (the largest salt lake in China), the Kunlun Mountains (known as the Dragon Mountain of China), and the Kekexili National Nature Reserve (known as the Third Polar of the World).

Golmud is the last biggest city for travelers before entering into Tibet. So many tourists will choose Golmud as the place for rests, purchasing stuffs and adjusting them. In addition, the Sanjiangyuan Natural Reserve ( the Origins of the Three Rivers Natural Reserve; the three rivers refer to the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lanang River) in the Yushu prefecture is also a good place that one should not miss.