xining is the only large city in qinghai and is the capital of the province.long estabished as a chinaese city,it's been a military garrison and trading centre since the 16th century.
nowdays,it's also a stopover for foreigners following the qinghai-tibet route,perched at an elevation of 2275M on the edge of the tibetan plateau,the city itself has nothing exceptional to see,but is a convent staging postfor visting ta'er monastery and qinghai lake.