Qinghai province is located in the west of China and borders Xinjiang, Gansu, Sichuan and Tibet. This sparsely populated province is made up of high altitude plateaus, snow capped mountains and grasslands inhabited by nomadic herders.

The province's name is derived from its most outstanding natural feature, Qinghai Lake, which is an inland saltwater lake. The Yangzi River, Yellow River and Mekong River all have their sources in this remote and isolated landscape.

With most of the province above 3,000 meters (9,840ft), Qinghai's climate is typically arid, with bright short summers, long cold winters and extreme temperature differences between day and night.