23 September 1999

        Spent half the day on another filthy and crowded train. Arrived in Xining, Qinghai by 13:30. Bought a map that grossly misrepresented the Muslim mosque that I wanted to visit. The Great Mosque was much smaller in size than another mosque on the map. I went to the wrong one and realized my error when I double-checked with LP.

        The itinerary for my one day tour the next day included Riyue Mountain, Daotanghe and Qinghai Lake. There are 2 structures that were built in 1987 at Riyue Pass to commemorate Tang princess Wencheng’s marriage to the Tibetan king. The locals I met there seem to be a mixture of Hui and Tibetan. Our next stop was the river that flowed westward, hence the name Reverse Flowing River. The last stop was Qinghai Lake. Since I had arrived in early fall, there weren’t any birds or flora/fauna to see.

        China's answer to the Tour de France is the Qinghai Tour.  The high altitude would probably give the athlete's a decent aerobic workout.