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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Qinghai
Qinghai or Tsinghaiboth: chĭng'hī', province (1990 pop. 4,510,000), c.279,000 sq mi (722,797 sq km), W China. Xining is the capital. Qinghai lies in the Tibetan highlands at an average elevation of 9,800 ft (3,000 m) and is mainly a high, desolate plateau. The central region has the vast, swampy Qaidam [Mongolian,=salt marshes] basin, and in the northeast there is the large Qinghai Hu or Koko Nor [Chinese and Mongolian,=blue sea] salt lake for which the province is named; it is the largest lake in China. In the precipitous mountain gorges of the south rise some of E Asia's greatest rivers; the Huang He (Yellow), the Chang, and the Mekong. The chief economic area and the most densely settled part of the province is in the NE around Xining; there coal is mined and grain and potatoes are grown. Extensive irrigation and the use of early-ripening spring wheat increased production in the late 20th cent. Ethnic Chinese (from China proper) and Chinese Muslims predominate in this region. The south is inhabited by Tibetans who live a precarious existence based on stock herding and marginal farming. Stock breeding is also important; Qinghai horses are world famous. The Qaidam basin was once peopled only by a scattered population of Tibetan, Kazakh, and Mongol herders, but from the 1950s to the 1970s there was an influx of Chinese to work in the mineral extraction industries there (oil, iron ore, salt, lithium, boron, zinc, potash, magnesium, and lead). Salt is so abundant that it is used for building blocks and for road pavement. Heavy industry, utilizing the province's store of mineral resources, has increased steadily since the 1950s. Thousands of miles of highways have been constructed to link Xining and the Qaidam basin with adjoining provinces; there are rail links between Xining and Lanzhou, in Gansu prov., and Lhasa, in Tibet. Historically a part of Tibet, the Qinghai region passed to the Mongol overlords of China in the 14th cent., when it became part of Gansu. It came under Chinese (Ch'ing dynasty) control after 1724 and was administered from Xining as the Koko Nor territory. Over the centuries Chinese settlers have proceeded up the Xining and Huang He rivers from Lanzhou, penetrating deeply into ethnic Tibetan territory in the northeast. In 1928, Qinghai became a province of China. The Communist government established autonomous districts for the Tibetan, Chinese Muslim, Kazakh, and Mongol minorities. The noted Kumbum lamasery is SW of Xining.

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Wikipedia search results for: Qinghai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake. It borders Gansu on the northeast, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on the northwest, Sichuan on the southeast, and Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest. Qinghai was only relatively recently made a province of China. A large part of the area, historically called Kokonor/ Koknor in English until the early 20th century, lies outside of China proper and has been an ethnic melting pot for centuries, mixing Tibetan, Han Chinese, Mongol, and Turkic influences. It was a battleground during the Tang and subsequent Chinese dynasties when they fought against successive Tibetan....more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Qinghai
Results 1 - 10  of 14
  • Qinghai Hu

    Qinghai Hu or Koko Nor, salt lake, c.1,625 sq mi (4,210 sq km), in the Tibetan highlands, NE Qinghai prov., China; one of the largest lakes in China. At an altitude of 10,515 ft (3,205 m), it ...

  • Tibetan language

    Tibetan language, member of the Tibeto-Burman subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages (see Sino-Tibetan languages). It is spoken by 5 million people in the Tibet autonomous region an...

  • Xining

    Xining or Sining, city (1994 est. pop. 569,800), capital of Qinghai prov., W China, on the Xining River. For centuries it has been the major commercial hub on the caravan route to Tibet, tradi...

  • Linxia

    Linxia or Linsia, city (1994 est. pop. 88,200), SE Gansu prov., China. The city is a gateway to the Tibetan areas near the Qinghai and Sichuan borders. It trades in hides and wool. The name so...

  • Yalong

    Yalong or Ya-lung, river, c.800 mi (1,290 km) long, rising in the Kunlun Mts., S Qinghai prov., W China, and flowing S across W Sichuan prov. to the Chang River near the Yunnan border. It flow...

  • Kumbum

    Kumbum, large lamasery at Huangchang, NE Qinghai prov., China, c.12 mi (20 km) SW of Xining. Long a renowned pilgrimage center, it stands on the spot where Tsong-kha-pa (b.1417), the great Tib...

  • Kunlun

    Kunlun, great mountain system of central Asia, between the Himalayas and the Tian Shan, extending c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) E from the Pamir Mts., along the Tibet-Xinjiang border in W China and in...

  • Chang

    Chang or Yangtze, Mandarin Chang Jiang, longest river of China and of Asia, c.3,880 mi (6,245 km) long, rising in the Tibetan highlands, SW Qinghai prov., W China, and flowing generally E thro...

  • Huang He

    Huang He, Hwang Ho, or Yellow River, great river of N China, c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) long, rising in the twin lakes Gyaring and Ngoring in the Kunlun Mts., NW Qinghai prov., and flowing generall...

  • Qaidam

    Qaidam or Tsaidam, arid basin, c.350 mi (560 km) long and c.100 mi (160 km) wide, between two branches of the Kunlun range, central Qinghai prov., W China. A salt marsh occupies most of the ar...

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