Qilian Mountain Grassland
Located at the food of Qilian Mountain, 120 km away from Ganzhou City, Qilian Mountain Grassland is the first race course in Asia and the second in the world. In the ancient time, the nomadic Hun living in north China used to refer “Qilian” to the "heavenly mountain”, and today this name still remains by the descendents of the Hun.
In the Tibetan epic KING GESAR, Qilian Mountain grassland gained the name of "Golden Lotus Prairie" due to its distinct climate and good weather, and the Uygurs and the Mongols also call Qilian Mountain the "golden pasture." When the yellow caragana flourishes in the summer, the entire land puts on the color of sunshine, and the Uygur herdsmen rove about in this "golden sea" with their white and black yurts and flocks of cattle.
To the east of this golden pasture is the Damaying Grassland at the foot of Mount Nianzhi. The slopes of the mountain are covered with dense forests and white caragana. Further to the east stretch the Xizhang and Dongzhang grasslands in the Sunan Uygur Autonomous County. When the yellow caragana flourishes in summer, the entire land puts on the color of sunshine, and the Uygur herdsmen rove about in this "golden sea" with their white and black yurts and their flocks of cattle.
The golden rape flowers and snow capped on Qilian add radiance to each other. Groups of cattle and sheep stroll beneath the blue sky, showing you a natural and harmonious picture. It would be the most enjoyable thing to visit the grassland during July and August each year.
Admission fee: Free
Opening hours: The whole day
Transportation
Taking a coach at the Xining coach station to Qilian will cost you RMB 36. The coach station is located in north of Jianguo Road, 600m to the south of the railway station.