Silk Road - Qilian Mountains 祁连山, Qinghai Lake 青海湖, and Chaka Salt Lake 茶卡盐湖 by Aaron

Qilian Mountains, Qinghai Lake, and Chaka Salt Lake

~Aaron

The Silk Road

Silk Road Day 5:

Zhuoer Mountain, Qinghai Lake, Chaka Salt Lake

Beautiful blue green color of Qinghai Lake after the rain

Zhuoer Mountains

Grass plain beside the mountains

    Along our journey of the Silk Road, we passed through the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (青藏高原). The Qilian Mountains (祁连山脉), Qinghai Lake (青海湖), and Chaka Salt Lake (茶卡盐湖) are very wonderful. On the way to these places, we stopped at the Zhuoer Mountain （卓尔山）. This beautiful mountain has beautiful scenery and a lovely view of the surrounding landscape. The Qilian Mountains just snowed when we passed through, so the snow was very deep. The Qinghai Lake is the largest salt-water lake, and even the largest lake in China! It has been called Green Sea or Blue Lake for its clear water. Qinghai Lake is about 3,205 meters or 10515 feet above sea level. The water is 6 percent salt, nearly twice as much as sea water (3.5 percent salt). The Chaka Salt Lake has a lot of salt.

Entrance of the Zhuoer Mountain

4120 meters above sea level, Qilian Mountains

The Qilian Mountains

Qilian Mountains

     The Qilian Mountains had very thick snow, even though we visited it in summer! At the peak of a mountain, I went off the normal route by a foot. Do you know how deep my legs sank? The bottom of my thigh was covered in snow! We didn’t stick around much longer, because the altitude was 13, 517 feet (4,120 meters) above sea level. My mom’s head started to throb, causing us to have to go away.

Stepped into the deep snow up to my thigh

Naked carp breeding grounds
Tibetan yak (藏牦牛) far away

Stone statue, half river - half fish

半河清水半河鱼

Entrance to the Qinghai Lake

Naked carp fish of Qinghai Lake

Naked carp fish of Qinghai Lake

     At the Qinghai Lake, the saltiness does not bother the naked carp fish (湟鱼)that  find their perfect home. We viewed a lot of struggling fish trying to swim up round “stairs” to get to a lake. These amazing fish are exactly like salmon, except they are black, much smaller, and don’t go as far to reach breeding grounds. They are one of the few organisms living in the Qinghai Lake. A stone rising up in the water reads half the river is water, the other half is fish (in Chinese). A sign says that fishing is prohibited for ten years until 2026 to protect Qinghai Lake's ecosystem.

Chaka Salt Lake, the "mirror” of the sky

Tourist train running at Chaka Salt Lake

Salt

     Chaka Salt Lake is an excellent place for viewing reflections. It is always described as the mirror of the sky. The pieces of salt across the lake are so huge that 4 are the size of my brother’s hand! They have a salt sculpture of Genghis Khan. Can you see our reflections in the pictures? When we finished taking pictures, we sat by the shore, trying the take off all the salt that formed on our legs.

Acting like a mirror lake

Salt sculpture of Genghis Khan

     Qilian Mountains, Qinghai Lake, and Chaka Salt Lake were all very fun. The Qilian Mountains had lots of snow to play in. Qinghai Lake is well-known for its size and fish. The Chaka Salt Lake can make a perfect reflection of the entire landscape, if undisturbed. All these places are very awesome.

Tibetan sheep (藏绵阳)

A person mounted on a horse