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Qinghai

Qinghai · Map

At Ta’er Monastery, butter becomes a temporary sculpture. In the Hehuang valleys, painted clay, embroidery and temple murals hold other kinds of time. Northward, Qinghai Lake is crossed by fish and birds; westward, salt works and telescopes bring two different kinds of work to the Qaidam Basin. Farther south, painters, carvers, herders and river patrols bring the headwaters into view through particular places and tasks. Follow the material, the water or the work: each route opens another Qinghai.

Qinghai
Xining Haidong Haibei Huangnan Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Golog Yushu Haixi

Selected waterways · simplified geography

Natural EarthWikidata (CC0)
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From the journal

Two Lakes, Two Waters: Keluke and Tuosu

Adjacent lakes in Delingha differ in salinity and support a varied wetland setting for birds.

1 min readHaixi
Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: Keluke is freshwater and Tuosu saline; 138 bird species were recorded across the reserve, not assigned to either lake.
Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: Keluke is freshwater and Tuosu saline; 138 bird species were recorded across the reserve, not assigned to either lake.

A freshwater lake beside a saline one

A field study of the Keluke Lake–Tuosu Lake reserve identifies Keluke as freshwater and Tuosu as saline. Their proximity can make the pair look like one scene, but water chemistry gives each lake a different ecological character. In the Qaidam Basin’s dry setting, the contrast between fresh and saline water is a defining feature of this wetland landscape.

A survey across the reserve

Researchers sampled the reserve through fixed points and survey transects, returning each month during the 2019–2021 study period. Their paper recorded 138 bird species across the reserve, including waterbirds and species of conservation concern. This method links the two lakes in one research area while preserving the differences between them. The study’s map and observation records turn a scenic pair into a place understood through water type, habitats and repeated fieldwork.

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  1. Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: Keluke is freshwater and Tuosu saline; 138 bird species were recorded across the reserve, not assigned to either lake.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.