The Qarhan Playa or also misleadingly described as , is a
playa in the
Golmud
Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Pl ...
and
Dulan counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Haixi Prefecture
Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; mn, ᠬᠠᠶᠢᠰᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠲᠥᠪᠡᠳ ᠦᠨᠳᠦᠰᠦᠲᠡᠨ ᠦ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠵᠧᠦ; bo, མཚོ་ནུབ་� ...
,
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
,
China. Formerly a single unitary lake, it is now an expansive
salt flat divided into four greater sections (
Dabusun,
Big
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show
* ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...
/
Small Bieletan,
Suli Suli or Sulli can refer to:
* Souli, region in Epirus, Greece, and home of the Souliotes
* Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli (c. 880 – 946), poet and scholar at the Abbasid court
* Suliformes, proposed order of seabirds
* Suli Lake in China
* ''Sul ...
, and
N./
S. Huoluxun) which contain a number of smaller
salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...
s, the largest of which is Dabusun Lake. The area is heavily exploited for its valuable salt, mineral, and rare earth reserves but parts are also protected as a national park and contribute to regional tourism.
Name
''Qarhan'' is the
GNC romanization of the area's
Mongolian name, originally derived from the word for "white" (Modern mn, , ''tsagaan'', or , ''čaɣan'').
[.] ''Cha'erhan'' is the
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...
romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, an ...
of the
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
pronunciation of , a modification of the original
transcription
Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including:
Genetics
* Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
into
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...
of the same name;
[ it is also sometimes clipped into ''Charhan'' in English sources. The Chinese name, which does not distinguish between actual ]salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...
s and playas, also causes the playa to be called a "lake" or even "the largest salt lake in China" in less careful English sources.
Geography
The Qarhan Playa covers an area of , stretching over east to west and usually between north to south. The southwest lies in Golmud
Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Pl ...
and the northeast in Dulan County
Dulan County ( Mongolian:; ; ) is a county of east-central Qinghai province, China. It is under the administration of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Climate
With an elevation of around , Dulan County has a subalpine semi-arid cl ...
, both in Haixi Prefecture
Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; mn, ᠬᠠᠶᠢᠰᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠲᠥᠪᠡᠳ ᠦᠨᠳᠦᠰᠦᠲᠡᠨ ᠦ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠵᠧᠦ; bo, མཚོ་ནུབ་� ...
, Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
, China. The roughly area of Qarhan inclusive of Taijinar to its west is sometimes known as the Sanhu ("Three Lakes"), after the two Taijinar lakes, Suli Lake
Suli or Senie Lake is a lake in the western Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. It is fed from the west by the Urt Moron River. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin, it ...
, and Dabusun. Qarhan is part of the larger Qaidam Basin
The Qaidam, Tsaidam, or Chaidamu Basin is a hyperarid basin that occupies a large part of Haixi Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China. The basin covers an area of approximately , one-fourth of which is covered by saline lakes and playas. Aroun ...
, lying between the Kunlun Mountains
The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the br ...
to the south, the Altun to the west, and the Qilian to the north. Qarhan's lakes lie between above sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
, with Dabusun and North Hulsan being the lowest and Xiezuo being the highest. The effect of elevation is such that despite lying on the same latitude as Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
, Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, religi ...
, and Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, Qarhan has an mean annual temperature of . The mean air speed is , and the mean relative humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity dep ...
is 27.7%.
In the playa's hyperarid climate, there is generally only of annual rainfall but of annual evaporation. Despite this, meltwater
Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater ca ...
rivers and mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage unde ...
s fill the basins of the salt flat's four main sectionsBieletan, Dabusun, Qarhan, and Huoluxun[with about ten large but shallow lakes usually collectively occupying an area of about : ]Suli Lake
Suli or Senie Lake is a lake in the western Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. It is fed from the west by the Urt Moron River. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin, it ...
in the west, fed from the west by the Urt Moron; the Little and Big Biele Lakes beside it, fed from the south by the Tuolahai and Qingshui Rivers; West Dabusun and Dabusun Lake
Dabusun or alternately known as is a lake beside the town Qarhan, just north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. Fed by the main course of the Golmud River, it is the largest present-day lake in ...
(the largest),[ in the center, fed from the south by the ]Golmud River
The Golmud or Ge'ermu River is a river in Golmud County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. It flows north from the Kunlun Mountains to Dabusun and (occasionally) West Dabusun Lakes in the central Qarhan Playa in the southeastern Qaid ...
; Dongling Lake to their northwest; Xiezuo and Tuanjie Lake
Tuanjie Lake is a lake in the southeastern Qarhan Playa north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. It is fed from the south by the Shougong River. Like the other lakes of the surrounding Qaidam Basin, ...
s to their east, fed respectively by the intermittent Quanji and Shougong Rivers; and North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''no ...
and South Hulsan Lake
South or also known by other names, is a lake northeast of Golmud in Dulan County, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. A part of the Qarhan Playa, it lies east of Tuanjie Lake and south of North Hulsan Lake. Like the other lakes of the ...
s at the east end of the playa, fed from the east by the Qaidam, Nuomuhong, and Suolinguole Rivers. All of these are usually less than deep. There are also some ephemeral lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
s.[ Most of the streams contributing to these lakes flow north into the playa from the Kunlun and its foothills. The Golmud River is the main contributor, providing a mean annual influx of 19.2 trillion L (5.07 trillion gal) of water. There is also contribution of about 1% from ]mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage unde ...
s, especially on the north end of the playa,[ which play an important role in the chemical composition of the sediment.
The local ]flora
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
consists of sparse forb
A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...
s (particularly members of '' Chenopodioideae'') and shrubs, especially members of '' Ephedra'' and ''Tamarix
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Ta ...
''.
Geology
Most of the Qarhan Playa is solid halite
Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, ...
underlain by a layer of brine
Brine is a high-concentration Solution (chemistry), solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of ...
to about under the soil,[.] and it holds enormous reserves of salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...
, with solid layers extending between . The 50 billion metric tons (55 billion short tons) are estimated sufficient to meet present world demand for 1,000 years. The area around Dabusun Lake
Dabusun or alternately known as is a lake beside the town Qarhan, just north of Golmud in the Haixi Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China. Fed by the main course of the Golmud River, it is the largest present-day lake in ...
has halite
Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, ...
to depths of at least , although with alternating layers of mud in places.[ The salinity of the playa's lakes varies between 164.81 and 359.50 g/L (1.3–3 lb/gal); their ]pH value
In chemistry, pH (), historically denoting "potential of hydrogen" (or "power of hydrogen"), is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Acidic solutions (solutions with higher concentrations of ions) are m ...
s are between 5.4 and 7.85.
Other minerals include potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form. , carnallite
Carnallite (also carnalite) is an evaporite mineral, a hydrated potassium magnesium chloride with formula KMgCl3·6(H2O). It is variably colored yellow to white, reddish, and sometimes colorless or blue. It is usually massive to fibrous with rare ...
(potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosp ...
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...
chloride
The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride s ...
), calcium chloride
Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water. It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with calcium hydroxide.
Cal ...
,[ ]magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...
, lithium
Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid ...
, boron, iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , ...
, and sylvite
Sylvite, or sylvine, is potassium chloride (KCl) in natural mineral form. It forms crystals in the isometric system very similar to normal rock salt, halite ( NaCl). The two are, in fact, isomorphous. Sylvite is colorless to white with shades of ...
. The basin is one of China's richest sources for potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosp ...
, with an estimated of potassium oxide
Potassium oxide ( K O) is an ionic compound of potassium and oxygen. It is a base. This pale yellow solid is the simplest oxide of potassium. It is a highly reactive compound that is rarely encountered. Some industrial materials, such as fertili ...
.[.] Its reserves are also important as the world's largest present-day accumulation of potassium-rich salt in the world, which helped scientists better understand the chemical and evaporation pathways involved in the creation of natural potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form. and disprove previous suppositions that it only formed in marine environments. The Bieletan subbasin in the west is the richest source of brine
Brine is a high-concentration Solution (chemistry), solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of ...
lithium
Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid ...
in China, with an estimated reserve of of lithium chloride
Lithium chloride is a chemical compound with the formula Li Cl. The salt is a typical ionic compound (with certain covalent characteristics), although the small size of the Li+ ion gives rise to properties not seen for other alkali metal chlori ...
. The Sanhu as a whole holds 83% of the country's known lithium reserves, with some areas having concentrations of 330 ppm.
History
Paleoclimatologists
Paleoclimatology (British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the study of climates for which direct measurements were not taken. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of Earth's history, the reconstruction of ancient climate is important to ...
believe that the playa's basin was created by tectonic activity during the Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Creta ...
. Between 770,000 and 30,000 years ago the basin constituted an enormous lake, which alternated nine times between being a fresh- and saltwater lake. Pollen studies suggest that the area of the lake bed which now underlies Dabusun was raised around in just the last 500,000 years. Tectonic activity also shifted the lake's tributaries and basins, although it remained with the present-day playa during this period. At around 30,000 years ago, this great freshwater lake spread over at least with a surface above the present levels of its successors,[ making it one of the largest lakes in the world. It was cut off and became saline again around 30,000 years ago and began precipitating salts about 25,000 years ago.][.] It has been shrinking in size by evaporation for most of that time,[.] eventually separating into the current separate lakes.
Until the recent commercial exploitation of the salts and other minerals, the district remained largely unpopulated, as the salt deposits made it difficult for the nomads of northwestern China to use the area for their herds.[
National geological expeditions began investigating Qinghai in the 1950s, shortly after the establishment of the ]People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
. The major expedition to the Qarhan Playa was undertaken in 1955–6,[.] but the area's important carnallite
Carnallite (also carnalite) is an evaporite mineral, a hydrated potassium magnesium chloride with formula KMgCl3·6(H2O). It is variably colored yellow to white, reddish, and sometimes colorless or blue. It is usually massive to fibrous with rare ...
(and thus potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosp ...
) reserves were discovered accidentally by geologists Zheng Mianping Zheng may refer to:
* Zheng (surname), Chinese surname (鄭, 郑, ''Zhèng'')
* Zheng County, former name of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, China
*Guzheng (), a Chinese zither with bridges
* Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), emperor of the Qin Dynas ...
and Liu Dagang during a stroll on 2 October 1957. The next year, an exploratory well discovered the Yanhu Gas Field north of Dabusun Lake. Over the next decade, more detailed surveying and prospecting were undertaken[ while China continued to depend on ]Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
imports for its potash. Commercial exploitation of the basin's own potash began in 1989,[ following the expansion of the PRC's ]Opening Up and Reform Policy
The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and " socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of C ...
. The opening of the Qinghai Potash Fertilizer Factory increased China's production of potassium chloride
Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a sa ...
sixfold, from less than a year at Haixi and Tanggu
Tanggu District () was a district in the Tianjin municipality, now part of the Binhai New Area. It is on the Hai River where it enters the Bohai Sea, and is a port for Tianjin, which is about upriver. The Tianjin Economic-Technological Develo ...
to just under a year.[ As of 2010, production was over a year at the main site, with smaller operations around the playa each producing a further a year.
During a 2016 inspection tour, ]Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
general secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derive ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
praised the importance of the factories and their workers to the entire country but emphasized the need for Qarhan's development to be environmentally responsible
Ecosophy or ecophilosophy (a portmanteau of ecological philosophy) is a philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium. The term was coined by the French post-structuralist philosopher and psychoanalyst Félix Guattari and the Norwegian father ...
. As part of a national program to increase the use of electric cars
An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quiet ...
, automobile companies like BYD have since moved to the area, opened factories, and signed contracts with local mining companies to exploit the area's lithium supplies. Infrastructure has been improved, including an overhaul of Golmud Airport
Golmud Airport () is a dual-use military and civil airport serving Golmud, Qinghai province, China.
Golmud Airport ranked 138 out of China's 166 civil airports by passenger volume in 2009. In that year, it served 38,479 passengers, an 82% increas ...
.
Tourism
The fertilizer factory is now open to the public for free tours, and its parent company maintains a nearby museum covering the geology of the playa and hosting various salt sculptures. The area was designated a national mining park on 1 August 2008.
Transportation
Sections of the G3011 Liuge Expressway
G3, G03, G.III, G.3 or G-3 may refer to:
Politics
* G-3 (Europe), the top three economies in the European Union
* G-3 (Latin America), the grouping of Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela
Military
* AEG G.III, a German World War I heavy bomber
* Al ...
and the Qingzang Railway run over the playa's salt flats.
See also
* List of lakes
This is a list of the top three to five major lakes per region, with links to more detailed region lists of lakes. A "major" lake is defined as that which is the largest by area, depth, volume, or cultural and/or environmental significance.
A ...
and salt lakes in China
There are thousands of lakes in the People's Republic of China, including 945 saltwater lakes and 166 salt lakes. Salt lakes and saltwater lakes are listed down there.
The ''Database of Chinese Lakes'' provided data on China's salt lakes. Changes ...
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
Salt flats
Salt flats of China
Geography of Qinghai
Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture