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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

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Huangnan.

Around Tongren, Regong art takes shape in several materials: painted thangkas, layered textiles and clay sculpture. Village workshops and Guomari’s walls give those forms a setting. Beyond the valley, Heri’s stone inscriptions, Zeku’s pastoral work, Henan County’s Mongolian heritage and Jianzha’s river landscapes lead toward distinct communities and places.

A vertical painting field and the reported Wutun commission of eight miniature images made in about half a month. Original editorial diagram; illustrative, not a photograph or measured site plan.
A vertical painting field and the reported Wutun commission of eight miniature images made in about half a month. Original editorial diagram; illustrative, not a photograph or measured site plan.

Huangnan

The eaves of Wutun Monastery, photographed in May 2026.

Learning to Paint in Wutun

A 2020 report shows Wutun’s thangka practice through a teacher, apprentices and a young learner coloring canvas at the Longshu art courtyard.

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Red ridges and gullies at Kanbula, photographed in May 2026.

Kanbula: Danxia Ridges Above the Yellow River

A 2023 report describes Kanbula’s red Danxia peaks, forest and varied geological features beside the Lijiaxia reservoir on the Yellow River. A 2026 provincial tourism event identifies the park’s location in Jianzha County.

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Photo credits and rights
  1. A vertical painting field and the reported Wutun commission of eight miniature images made in about half a month. Original editorial diagram; illustrative, not a photograph or measured site plan.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  2. Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: A 2008 account reports a 130 × 80 m hillside textile and smaller hanging panels; the shapes are not to scale.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  3. Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: Regong sculpture uses clay, wood, stone and fired brick in distinct forms and settings.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  4. The eaves of Wutun Monastery, photographed in May 2026.Jonashtand · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  5. Original editorial movement schematic based on Awu’s 2016 account: performers crossed a wall rather than using the main door. It is not a village plan or a reenactment of Utug.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  6. Original editorial diagram of the 24 participating villages recorded in the 2017 June Festival report. The ring is a counting device, not their geographic arrangement or a ritual route.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  7. Tongren’s Longwu valley townscape in July 2014; regional setting for the valley’s villages.NoGhost · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  8. Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: The account traces He-ri carving to Qing Jiaqing-period patronage and later generations; the diagram invents no scripture text.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  9. Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: Three panels distinguish incised line, raised relief and rounded sculpture; no Buddha figure is reproduced.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  10. Original editorial diagram, not a photograph or measured plan: Ger assembly joins a wooden lattice frame, ribbed roof, felt covering and fastening bands in sequence.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  11. Original editorial schematic of Zeku’s 2022 monitoring account: grassland, field plots and observation records. It does not depict a particular station or household.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  12. Original editorial timeline for Laiyu: relocation in 2017, tourism construction from 2021, opening in summer 2022, and the 2023 report. The house symbols are not a measured settlement plan.© 2026 IFreeing · Rights information Photo source ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.
  13. Red ridges and gullies at Kanbula, photographed in May 2026.Jonashtand · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo source ↗ Rights information ↗ Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping. No objects were added, removed or reconstructed.