“Some projects in Qinghai province like the solar park, new Xining City project and the contract with the government to accept almost 700 international students to Qinghai province are the milestones towards development. There are also many minorities residing in Qinghai province, which was something new to know for me as an international student.”　　

　　

　　“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” -Mark Twain

　　The above quote was all in my mind when we started our journey from Beijing to Qinghai. I eagerly wanted to expand the spectrum of my knowledge about Chinese culture and traditions, so, there is no better option other than traveling to Qinghai where most of China’s cultural and traditional roots are embedded.

　　The Qinghai province is located in the northwestern side of China. Its height above sea level is about 3,000 to 5,000 meters. The province got its name because it has an inland salt water lake called Qinghai Lake which is the largest lake in China. The capital city of Qinghai Province is Xining, which was our first destination. The province is called “water tower of China”, because Qinghai Province is the fountainhead of three greatest rivers in China.

　　They are the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lantsang River. The Qinghai Province has a varied land with towering mountains, numerous rivers and lakes.

　　The last day of July, we started our sixteen-day trip to Qinghai. We were nine students from different disciplines and ctraveling to Qinghai considering my poor Chinese language skills, the varied weather conditions over the places we were going to visit and moreover traveling with a bunch of strangers who became good friends later on. But as Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So we started our journey.

　　The main objective of this trip was to give an exposure of the Tibetan culture to the international students which they cannot experience while living in a metropolitan city like Beijing. This program can help the international students to get the essence of pure Chinese culture.

　　In sixteen days, we visited many places like Qinghai Lake, Sun and Moon Mountain, The Xiazong Temple, several museums, cultural sites, temples, etc. Every morning, we were used to packing our stuff, getting on the bus and starting to explore a new place or a new aspect of Tibetan culture. In all these days, we visited more than 20 places including Xining City, Gonghe County and Maduo County. The climate and landscape changed with each place from hot days in Xining City to cold days and even chilled days at Maduo County. The international students not only got to understand the diverse culture but also got to experience different climatic conditions in western China.

　　I liked all the places, but the places I liked the most are Qinghai Lake, Museum of China Tibetan Medicine Culture, the solar park, the origin of the Yellow River and the snow mountain. I had heard of a lot myths and legends about Qinghai Lake so I was keen to visit it. It was very beautiful and well maintained even though a lot of people visit it every day.

　　The world’s longest Thangka can be seen in the Museum of China Tibetan Medicine Culture. It is quite a masterpiece. I was so amazed to see the different designs and paintings of Buddha. Moreover, not a single flower was repeated by the artists. This Great Thangka is made by 400 artists over different times and is around 600 meters long.

　　The Xiazong Temple is also a Buddha temple between the mountains and around the lush green trees. The whole environment is so peaceful and gives positive energy. I really enjoyed walking on the wooden and rock bridges they made to go till the top ountries selected by the committee at Tsinghua University to travel together to Qinghai Province. I had many fears while of the temple. I always wanted to meet and see some monks and finally because of this program I got to meet some monks and also take some pictures with them.

　　The best part of the trip was the variety of food we tasted while traveling to different places. The Qinghai is mostly a mountainous region so the locals’ diet has a lot of meat. The people there made so delicious food with all the organic and healthy ingredients. The salty tea was the most important appetizer of the meal.

　　Through this program I got to see so many religious places like temples and the people worshipping which I hardly observed in Beijing. So this program also revealed the religious side of China.

　　The Qinghai province is an amazingly beautiful province in China but somehow it is still lagging behind in economic development. However, some projects like the solar park, new Xining City project and the contract with the government to accept almost 700 international students to Qinghai province are the milestones towards development. There are also many minorities residing in Qinghai province, which was something new to know for me as an international student.

　　There is a very famous quote of Anita Desai, “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” This means that wherever you travel and whatever you explore, it becomes a part of your life because you learn many things from the experiences. This trip has become a part of my life. It not only helped me understand the Chinese culture better but also get over all the fears I had when we started our journey. So I definitely second the idea that travelling helps you a lot to eliminate all the prejudices and fears which otherwise will always be there if you confine yourself in a room. Moreover, it makes you think more open-mindedly and liberally.

　　The trip ended but it gave us so many memories that won’t end and will be with all of us for the rest of our lives. I made a lot of friends from different countries, practiced Chinese, climbed mountains, danced at 4610 meters elevation, saw snow in August, ate new food, met new people, saw the developing projects and experienced great Tibetan culture. I really want to thank all the organizers of this trip. It really helped me to understand more about Chinese culture and people.