A Decade of Change: Exploring the Transformed Beauty of Qinghai Lake

This morning, I helped my cousin check out of the room and load the luggage into the car at the San Yu Hotel in Xining. We then set off for Qinghai Lake. As we drove, I couldn’t help but compare the changes I saw now to my visit ten years ago. It’s hard to believe how much things have transformed.

Today, everything feels completely different. The restaurants and hotels are gone, replaced by vast pastures stretching between the road and the lake. Herds of cattle and sheep peacefully graze in the fields, under the backdrop of the blue sky and white clouds – it’s a serene, almost surreal scene. On the other side of the road, there are a few scattered hotels, but they are far away from the main road. It’s clear that the government has put a lot of effort into protecting and managing the environment around Qinghai Lake in recent years.

I remember that back then, as we neared Qinghai Lake, the road was lined with restaurants and hotels. My colleague, who was with me, stopped the car in front of one restaurant and asked if they served huang fish. The owner replied that due to strict regulations from the fishing authorities, they could only serve it after the authorities finished their work for the day. Back then, getting to the lake meant walking through the herds of cattle and sheep grazing in the meadow, not far from the lake. We could wander along the lakeshore, and that was enough to experience Qinghai Lake.

We were heading to the Erlangjian Scenic Area, and the entrance fee was free for anyone over 60. Only my wife had to pay the 90 yuan ticket. The policy is quite friendly to locals. At the lake, you can take a boat to explore. The different boat options offer various experiences at different prices. Since it’s the off-season, there was only one choice today: a 140 yuan ticket for a boat ride to an island in the lake for sightseeing and photos. You could either return by boat or take a sightseeing car. We took the boat to the island, and once we got there, we decided to return directly by boat. This gave us the luxury of having the whole boat to ourselves, with plenty of room to take photos and explore the boat freely.

We managed our time perfectly, finishing the tour of Qinghai Lake and then driving my cousin and her husband to Caojiapu Airport in Xining without any delays.
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