Lake · China
Qinghai Lake
Qinghai Lake is the largest lake in China. It lies high in the mountains of Qinghai province, about 3 200 m above sea level, and its salty water fills a huge basin with no outlet.
Picture credit: Leeshan Chung (CC BY 3.0) · Hiroki Ogawa (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Qinghai Lake?
Countries on its shores: China.
Largest lake of: China.
Middle of the lake: 37.00° N, 100.13° E
The story behind it
Qinghai Lake lies about 100 km west of the city of Xining. More than twenty rivers and streams flow into it, but most of them carry water only part of the year. No river flows out, so water can only leave by evaporating, and that is why the lake is salty. In winter the lake often stays frozen for three months. Its size changes over time: for most of the 20th century the lake shrank, but since 2004 it has been growing again. The Bird Islands in the lake are safe places for birds that stop here on their long flights across Asia. Near the lake lives the rare Przewalski's gazelle, which is protected. Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims travel all the way around the lake, especially in the Year of the Horse. No other lake in China is as big.
Find it on the globe
Qinghai Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is Qinghai Lake?
Qinghai Lake covers about 4 500 km², but its size changes: in 2004 it measured about 4 190 km², in 2020 about 4 540 km². It is the largest lake in China.
Why is Qinghai Lake salty?
No river flows out of the lake, so its water can only escape by evaporating. The salt stays behind, and so the lake has become a salt lake.
What does the name Qinghai mean?
The Chinese name Qinghai means 'Blue Sea' or 'Blue-Green Sea'. The lake is also known by its Mongolian name, Koko Nor.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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