Xining

Understand

Xining is one of the major gateways to the Tibetan Plateau. It is an ancient highland city on the Yellow River which offers many scenic spots and historical sites. Although the city has a strong Islamic flavor, as it is home to many Hui people, you will start getting a more Tibetan feel as you move away from the city.

Getting there

By plane 1 Xining Caojiabao Airport (XNN IATA) (15 km south-southeast of the city). Hosts flights from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Golmud, Guangzhou, Lhasa, Shanghai, Shenyang, Urumqi, and Xi'an. International flights are significantly more limited, so most likely you will need to transfer in another Chinese airport. The airport bus makes a run the long distance bus station next to the train station at regular intervals and heads back to the city centre whenever a flight lands. The return bus stand is directly in front of the airport exit door. The 30-min ride to/from the airport ¥21.

By train 2 Xining Railway Station (西宁站), 128 Huzhu Road, Chengdong District (城东区互助路128号) (public bus routes: 1, 5, 7, 9, 11, 16, 20, 27, 28, 31, 40, 103, 104 and 107). The station was renovated and is now fully operational with excellent connections to many destinations throughout Northwest China and the entire country, being connected to both the high-speed and conventional rail network. The station marks the start of the Qinghai–Tibet railway. It is large, clean, and well connected via the city's public bus system and is just a couple 100 meters away from one of the city's main long-distance bus stations (also brand new). Arrive well in advance when buying or picking up tickets because the lines are often very long

By bus The new train has two useful locations either side — one is the local bus depot, the other the long distance bus station. The long distance bus station has a Tourism Information Desk and is geared up to help tourists. Don't count on anyone speaking English however. The long distance bus station is on Jianguo Road, on the other side of the river in view of the train station. From March 2016, buses from Yushu were dropping passengers off at another bus station, in the west of the city. Ask the driver where the bus is terminating, or you may be lost.

Lanzhou - takes about 5 hours Tongren - takes about 2 hours, ¥50, buses all day long (updated 2025) Xunhua - takes about 5 hours Yushu - takes about 14-18 hours Zhangye - takes about 9 hours Dunhuang - takes about 20 hours Jiuquan - takes about 10 hours Kanbula - takes about 2.5 hours Huatugou - There is a direct bus to Huatugou, but the town is only accessible to residents of China. There are also buses for Golmud, Lhasa and Yinchuan at the western end of the square in front of the train station. Nanchuan West Road Bus Terminal 南川西路客运站 If you are headed to any of the regional towns south of Xining, including Guide (贵德) and Guinan (贵南) there are regular buses from the West Bus Station (汽车西站). Book

Getting around

By bus There are plenty of buses that get you around town. The most useful is bus #1 that runs through the centre of town along Dajie to the train/bus station. All fares are ¥1 regardless of distance travelled.

By taxi Taxis run on the meter (¥8 flagfall) but some drivers are open to negotiation, especially late at night.

See

Museums 1 Qinghai Art Museum (青海美术馆), 64 Xiguan Street, Chengxi District (城西区西关大街64号) (just over 100 meters west of the Qinghai Provincial Museum; take bus no. 12, 18, 22, 24, 29, 35, 38, 41, 102, 106, 506 or T2), ☏ +86 971 6167589, [email protected]. 09:30-16:30. Free. (updated Jul 2024) 2 Qinghai Provincial Museum (青海省博物馆), 58 Xiguan Street, Chengxi District (城西区西关大街58号) (the nearest bus stop is Xining Square South (新宁广场南), which is served by bus routes 12, 18, 22, 29, 35, 38, 41, 102 and 506. The museum entrance is on the West side of the building.), ☏ +86 971 6118691. Summer: 09:00-17:00, Winter: 09:30-16:30, no tickets issued in last 30 minutes of operation, closed on Mondays. Nice place to learn about Qinghai's history and ethnic relationships. Covers the history of Silk Road on the Qinghai region. Some English text available. Exhibition nicely arranged from Room 1 to 5, although you need to pay a bit of attention of the flow inside the Hall. Audio guide available for ¥20. Free. (updated Aug 2024) 3 Qinghai Science and Technology Museum (青海省科学技术馆), 74 Wu Si West Road, Chengxi District (城西区五四西路74号) (bus routes 51, 59 and 63), ☏ +86 971 8083724. 09:30-16:30, closed on Mondays. Free. (updated Nov 2019) 4 Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum & Tibetan Medicine Museum of China (青海藏文化博物院, 青海藏医药文化博物馆), No.36 Jing'er Road, Biological Science & Technology Park, Chengbei District (城北区生物科技产业园区经二路36号) (bus routes 46, 65, 72, 538 (Beichuan Route), 651, and Chengbei Tourist Bus 2), ☏ +86 971 5317881, [email protected]. May to September: 09:00-18:00, October to April: 09:00-17:30, no entry in last 30 minutes. This is two museums in one. The Tibetan Medicine Museum occupies the north building and the Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum occupies the south building. Both museums have unique exhibits. The Tibetan Medicine Museum, for example, displays a large collection of medical thangkas while the Qinghai Tibetan Cultural Museum is home to the world's longest thangka, at 600m long, not to mention thousands of other Tibetan cultural artifacts. Both museums also have large gift shops and there is a Tibetan restaurant in between the two museums. Musical performances are sometimes performed at a small concert hall inside the Tibetan Cultural Museum. Entry to the Tibetan Medicine Museum is free; the Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum charges ¥60. (updated Sep 2024) 5 Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Natural History Museum (青藏高原自然博物馆), 21 JIng'er Road, Biological Science & Technology Park, Chengbei District (城北区生物科技产业园区经二路21号) (across the road from the Qinghai Tibetan Culture Museum; bus routes

Do

1 Qinghai Grand Theatre (青海大剧院), Wu Si Road, Chengxi District (城西区五四西路) (A short distance east of the Qinghai Science and Technology Museum. Bus routes 51, 59 and 63), ☏ +86 971 7329988 (ticket enquiries), +86 971 7329992 (show enquiries), [email protected]. Ticket office opening hours: 09:00-17:30 (weekdays), 10:00-16:30 (weekends and public holidays). (updated Nov 2019)

Buy

Xining is home to numerous factories making Tibetan carpets.

1 Amdocraft (安多手工), Lenghulu 2, JiesenHuaYuan South Gate 冷湖路2号杰森花园西南门 (West side of Xining), ☏ +86 18997231050, [email protected]. 10AM-8PM. Handicraft produced by Tibetan nomads and farmers - felt bags, knit scarves, sheepskin gloves, yak milk soap and the like. ¥30. (updated Oct 2020)

Eat

Xining's main minority groups provide a large portion of the food on offer. The Hui, a broad term for Chinese Muslims, serve up spicy noodles, lamb kababs and flatbread (bing). Tibetan food choices are concentrated around the train station, mostly small places the serve momos and noodles and seat guests on small coaches.

Local food There is a restaurant area right next to the Shuijing Xiang Bazaar, in the center of the city, and throughout the evening and into the night there are many street stalls serving good food around Ximen and on the western side of Jianguo Road.

Mojia Market, Mojia Lu (off Dong Dajia). 6AM-whenever. The front end of the market has many small snack stands selling spicy ground meat birds egg pizza-style bing (¥3), spicier Liangpi noodle (¥4.5) and mouth cooling bowl-set yoghurt with a creaming texture and slightly sour/citrus flavour (¥3). Further into the market mounds of dried fruit and nuts from the region can be bought by weight. XiNanGuanJie Market, XinNanGuanJie (Just outside Dongguan Mosque). 6am to whenever. lively street market outside Dongguan Mosque. You can get tea, street food, fruits, bread, and other Muslim (Hui) delicacies here. (updated Aug 2024)

Western food Western food options are very slim, but not bad for a city so remote.

KFC (肯德基), Near the Wangfujing Shopping Mall, Xi Dajie, ☏ +86 971-8227987. 6AM-10PM. There are a few KFCs in the city, but this is by far the most centrally located. (updated Aug 2024)

Drink & nightlife

Coffee The city is littered with small coffee shops, especially around the newer apartment complexes that are being developed. See below for some of the better ones.

Will's Coffee Shop (大杉咖啡店), 11-21 Beiyuejing Alley / 北玉井巷11-21号(玉树办事处家属院沿街商铺) (Central Xining), ☏ +86 139 09733156. 12:00-19:00, closed Wednesdays. Minimalist, hipster cafe serving excellent, freshly brewed coffee. English spoken. ~¥35. (updated Oct 2020) Cafe Java, 47 Haiyan Road (海晏路47号9-1号铺) (Opposite of Culture Park), ☏ +86 971-6314012. 8:30AM-9:30PM. Expat couple from the UK opened this cafe in 2009. Excellent coffee and home-made food at a great price. Favourite dishes include Mexican wraps, chilli, bagels of all kinds, pancakes & waffles with sweet or savoury toppings. Also a great place to meet other foreign residents or expats in Xining. Free Wi-Fi. Green House Cafe, Xiadu Avenue, Near Yangshan Villas, ☏ +86 971-8202710. Great little cafe opened up by an American expat in Xining. Relaxed atmosphere, good Wi-Fi, and, some say, the best coffee in the city. They have desserts and sandwiches as well.

Alcohol A number of bars are located at the end of the city's main snack street. These places each have only a few tables, and all offer extensive drink specials. Beer starts at ¥6 for a Tsingtao, but expensive imported liquor is also available. There is usually no cover charge.

Qilin Bay Bar Strip (Qilin Wan), Intersection of Kunlun West and Huanghe Road. A complex of bars by the riverside, built around an atrium. They cannot be seen from down the road, but just below the bridge you should see a number of cars parked, with steps down into the park. You will see several small bars. Culture Street Bar Strip (文化街酒吧), Culture Street (Wenhua Jie). A large complex with about two dozen bars over three different floors with an open center atrium. You can choose between more relaxed lounge bars, live music venues, or one or two bars that have dance floors on the ground floor.

Night clubs Soho (苏荷酒吧), 116 Nanguan Street (West Side of Xining Stadium), ☏ +86 971-8252991. 9PM-late. Soho is Xining's most popular nightclub, usually busy past 2AM most nights. Lots of tables and a bar, but there is no dancing. Music is mostly live. Soho is a nightclub franchise in China, but this one apparently is an "unofficial club." No. 88 Bar (88号酒吧), 7-1 Road, Across from the TCM Hospital (七一路中医院斜对面). Similar to Soho bar, but a larger dance floor. Crowded on the weekends, but a bigger crowd at Soho.

Sleep

Budget There are dozens of small guesthouses near the train and long distance bus station. Look for the characters "招待所," which in this part of town are on every other building. Most places seem aimable to taking foreigners, and prices range from ¥10 in a grimy four-room bunk (expect the other occupants to smoke frequently) to ¥100 for a deluxe double. More guesthouses can be found around the town's West Gate, or Ximen.

1 Lete Youth Hostel (理体青年旅舍), 16th Floor, 5# Building, International Village Apartment, ☏ +86 971 8202080, [email protected]. In 2011, the hostel changed management. Its cozy environment sits high on the 15th floor with beautiful views of the city and mountainous backdrop. It's within walking distance to many downtown shopping areas. There is a travel company upstairs that will organise trips in the local province and into the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Single room: ¥100, Double room: from ¥140. (updated Aug 2024) Qinghai Shuili Hotel (青海省水利宾馆; Qīnghǎishěng Shuǐlì Bīnguǎn), 18-8 Kunlun Road, Chengxi District (城西区昆仑路18-8号; Chéngxīqū Kūnlúnlù. Listed rates for doubles from ¥168, discounted from ¥128, no breakfast. Home Inn (Xining Central Square) (如家快捷酒店 (西宁中心广场店); Rújiākuàijiéjiǔdiàn (Xīníngzhōngxīnguǎngchǎngdiàn)), Near west building of Ximen Gym, Chengzhong District (城中区西门体育馆西附楼; Chéngzhōngqū Xīméntǐyùguǎnxīfùlóu). Doubles from ¥199.

Mid-range Jianyin Hotel, 55 West Street, ☏ +86 971 8261561, fax: +86 971 8261515. Xining Tower, 61 Jianguo Road, ☏ +86 971 8419991, fax: +86 971 8419779. Qing Hai Moslem Mansion (Three stars), 65 Qiyi Street, ☏ +86 971 8138011, fax: +86 971 8138900. Good hotel, near the railway station, heated in winter. Good restaurant, good American breakfast. ¥360. Mercure Hotel (以勒美居酒店), 354 7-1 Road. Comfortable rooms, centrally located. From ¥300 for twin room. (updated Oct 2020)

Splurge Yinlong Hotel (青海银龙酒店; Qīnghǎi Yínlóng Jiǔdiàn), 38 Huanghe Road, Chengxi District (城西区黄河路38号; Chéngxīqū Huánghélù), ☏ +86 971 6166666, fax: +86 971 6167428, [email protected]. Five star hotel with rooms with free internet. Business center, beauty salon, ticket office, disco, billiards, fitness, massage and sauna available. Chinese and Western restaurants, coffee shop, bar and room service. Listed rates for doubles from ¥1,480, discounted from ¥1,080, including breakfast. Qinghai Hotel (青海宾馆), No.158 Huanghe Road, ☏ +86 971-6148999. Rooms are spacious and clean. Good facilities and restaurants. A cheaper alternative to the Yinlong Hotel. ¥500-2,000.

Go next

Kumbum Monastery (塔尔寺 Tǎ'ěrsì) - one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist sites in China, in the village of Huangzhong. Tongren (Rebkong) - A smaller town with monasteries famous for their Thangka artists. Tu Minority Village - located at Weiyuanzhen (威远镇) Old Village, 32 km from Xining Guide (贵德) - Take a bus to this charming, predominantly Tibetan village, beyond the southern mountains from the west bus stop. Xining is also the northeastern terminus for the Qinghai–Tibet railway leading to Golmud and Lhasa. From the long distance bus station next to the train station you can purchase tickets for a direct tourist bus which will take you to Qinghai Lake, Kanbula Forest Park and Kumbum Monastery in one day. This government run service is around ¥100. Site admissions are extra. First bus leaves at 8:30AM with others put on with demand. Centre opens at 6:30AM and closes around 6PM.