Passing Through the World - ALWAYS ON THE WAY
After six years, seeing Xining again.
Xining is a wonderful place, its name meaning "peace in the western frontier." It sits at the gateway to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, at an elevation of 2,261 meters, surrounded by mountains. Six years ago, we road-tripped through the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai and spent two days in Xining, leaving a wonderful impression. This time, we came mainly to fulfill a vow and pray at Kumbum Monastery, so we only arranged a one-day trip. But Xining is truly more than just a transit stop for Northwest China travel — it deserves to be taken out on its own and experienced for a full day. If visiting Xining for the first time, two days would yield even more surprises.
My 12 hours in Xining: the morning flight landed at 10:10, took a taxi straight to Kumbum Monastery, spent about 3 hours touring, then at 14:40 took a taxi to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Park (Xining Wildlife Park, abbreviated as "Xi Ye") to see the F4 (internet-famous snow leopard, lynx, Pallas's cat, and Chinese mountain cat), stayed until closing, then at 18:00 took a taxi to a Dianping "Must-Eat" restaurant "Halal BBQ . Yifude Keng Rou (Provincial Museum Branch)" for dinner, and at 23:00 arrived at Xining Station to take the Z259 green-skin train, sleeping overnight in a sleeper berth, arriving in Dunhuang early the next morning.
Additionally, I highly recommend the Tibetan Culture Museum near Kumbum Monastery. I visited it last time and benefited greatly — it's very helpful for understanding Tibetan culture. Especially the Guinness-certified world's longest thangka in the museum, 618 meters, every inch a miracle.
One Half for Kumbum Monastery and Faith
I must say, returning to the great Northwest felt like returning to a distant homeland — familiar, exciting, and filling me with energy. Arrived at the Kumbum Monastery visitor center at 11:40, bought tickets, stored luggage, and entered the monastery for our tour.
Kumbum Monastery — first there was the stupa, then the monastery, hence the name "Kumbum" (which means "ten thousand buddhas"). It is the birthplace of Master Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The entire monastery covers about 450,000 square meters, consisting of numerous halls, scripture chambers, stupas, and monk quarters. It is a magnificent complex blending Han and Tibetan architectural art, and the center of Tibetan Buddhist activity in Northwest China.
Entering through the main gate, you can visit the Eight Stupas of the Tathagata, Dharma Protector Hall, Kalachakra Stupa, Long Life Prayer Hall, Great Scripture Hall, Shakyamuni Buddha Hall, Golden Roof Hall, Maitreya Hall, Manjushri Hall, the Four Colleges (Exoteric College, Esoteric College, Medical College, Kalachakra College), Butter Sculpture Hall, Scripture Repository, and Tara Hall.
If you don't understand but are interested in Tibetan Buddhism, I recommend hiring a local guide. This time, our family of three shared a group with others, took the classic route, listened to the essential explanations, lit lamps to fulfill our vow, prayed, and had a monk bless our personal items — the guide fee was only 60 RMB, excellent value for money.
Actually, we don't even need to understand Tibetan Buddhism. Just stand under the bodhi tree that, according to legend, grew from where Master Tsongkhapa's umbilical blood fell, listen to the wind sweeping past the bells on the golden roof, and your heart will naturally calm.
Kumbum Monastery has its "Three Artistic Treasures": butter sculptures, murals, and applique embroidery.
Butter sculptures are oil-based artworks made from butter mixed with pigments. In the Butter Sculpture Hall, you can admire many richly shaped, exquisitely crafted large butter sculpture works. These can only be made in winter's low temperatures and are displayed on the 15th day of the first lunar month. The monk artists must repeatedly dip their hands in ice water to shape the butter into various forms, creating the most passionate expressions of faith.
Murals are mostly painted on the walls of various halls, with a rich Indo-Tibetan style. The painting style belongs to the Lamaist religious art tradition. Because mineral pigments are used, the colors last for centuries without fading, but photography is no longer allowed inside.
Applique embroidery is one of the Tibetan art forms unique to Kumbum Monastery. Various colored silks are cut into shapes — buddhas, figures, flowers — stuffed with wool or cotton, then embroidered onto cloth banners. The themes mostly revolve around Buddhist stories and religious life, and they can be seen throughout the halls.
If you want to experience the purest power of faith at Kumbum Monastery, I recommend visiting during one of these four festivals: the grand Buddha Unfolding Festival (once in the first month of the Tibetan calendar and once in the fourth month of the lunar calendar), the radiant Lamp Festival (25th day of the tenth Tibetan month), the lively 15th-day Butter Sculpture Lantern Festival, and the atmospheric Tibetan New Year period.
One Half for "Xi Ye" and Magical Creatures
What I thought would be an ordinary Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Park (also called Xining Wildlife Park) turned out to be the most unforgettable and meaningful place of our Xining trip for our child. If you have 3 hours in Xining and don't know where to go, this zoo with various magical plateau animals will surely amaze you.
The park is not large, and we were pressed for time, so we bought the shuttle bus. We saw Pallas's cats, snow leopards, lynx, Tibetan wild asses, yaks, and more in sequence. The predator area also had a considerable number of wolves, tigers, and lions, though interactions were limited. There's said to be the Chinese mountain cat, a species unique to China, but unfortunately we didn't see it.
We lingered for a long time at the lynx and snow leopard — "King of the Snow Mountains" — enclosures. A lynx named "Teletubbies" showed itself up close right at the glass window. Its rescue story is quite special — after recovering from injuries, it repeatedly failed the release assessment, so it had to stay in the zoo. The park had previously rescued another lynx named "Antenna Baby," which passed the release assessment and successfully returned to the wild.
There were also graceful snow leopards — whether it was Ling Shuang, Ling Xia, or Ling Bufu, each had its own name, personality, and rescue story.
These warm words are written on display boards, telling every visitor that these wild animals are not merely objects to be viewed, but precious lives carefully protected by the staff of the Xining Wildlife Park. In that moment, a sense of mission to protect wild animals arose spontaneously.
The Final Part for Keng Rou and Hand-Grabbed Mutton
If you could only eat one meal in Xining, I would definitely recommend Xining's specialty — Keng Rou (pan-roasted meat). On the taxi ride to the restaurant, the driver said that all Keng Rou is about the same, and you don't necessarily have to go to any particular one. However, this Halal BBQ . Yifude Keng Rou, being a viral internet restaurant, really delivered — the mixed Keng pot was delicious, and the portions were very generous.
Xining Keng Rou requires a special thick-bottomed Keng pot, and the cooking method is somewhat similar to dry pot. When a pot of mixed Keng arrives at the table, deep-fried lamb ribs, beef brisket, potatoes, onions, and glass noodles are stir-fried and braised in the Keng pot with secret spices. The charred aroma of the ingredients and the savory broth blend perfectly. One bite — the meat is charred and tender, the potato slices are crispy, the glass noodles soak up the rich broth — absolutely amazing!
The hand-grabbed mutton (white strips) is also very authentic — rich but not greasy, with no gamey taste at all.
If you have a sweet tooth, the milk egg rice wine (lao zao) is worth a try.
Well-fed and satisfied, night falls. So you see, the correct way to experience Xining is actually quite simple. Though 12 hours is a bit short, we left with blessings and healing, fully content.
If you'd like to spend a day in Xining too, why not try this unhurried route~
Practical Travel Guide
Tickets: Kumbum Monastery 10 RMB for adults, 5 RMB for children. Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Park (Xi Ye) 10 RMB for both adults and children. Transportation: No need to rent a car for a day trip — DiDi ride-hailing is very convenient and available on call. Luggage: Both Kumbum Monastery and the Wildlife Park have self-service luggage lockers at their visitor centers.
