Bird Island

Location

Qinghai Lake, Gangcha County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China

Reasons to visit

One of the best places to watch birds in China

Our Ratings

Opening Hours

9:00-16:00

The Bird Island in Qinghai Lake ranks the top among the eight birds natural resorts. It is consisted of two parts. As a result of the mild climate in spring, summer and fall, most of the migratory birds such as bareheaded goose, brown-headed gull, cormorant, sea gull flock from Southeast Asia, India, Burma or South China to Qinghai Lake and breed here in late May.

Every May and June, the best time of bird watching, migratory birds fly from faraway mountains and deserts to breed here. It is quite a spectacle of thousands of birds flying over the sky, with their nests thickly dotted and colorful eggs interspersed all over the island. Besides, Haixi Shan, Shadao (Sand Island), Sankuaishi (Three Rocks), Erlang Sword Peninsula, and Qinghai Lake Fishery are scenic spots in Qinghai Lake that are worth visiting.

At that time, all coming into your eyesight is herds of birds in different colors and manners. Some are white, some yellow, and some other diversiform. Some are flying in the sky, some running on the land, others swimming in the water. Birds' eggs are seen everywhere on the land. You seem like coming into a realm of birds. The twitters of the birds sound like a melodious song, which makes sightseers intoxicated. When winter falls, those birds fly back to the south to stay away from the coldness successively. The summer scene in Qinghai Lake is repeatedly extraordinary year after year.

Facts of Bird Island

Bird Island is a collective name for two small islands. The small island in the west is called Haixi Mountain, also known as Egg Island. Migratory birds, such as bar-headed geese, great black-headed gulls and brown headed gulls, come here around April every year to breed. In May and June, birds' eggs are everywhere, hence the name. The small island in the east is called Haixipi, which is mainly the breeding ground of cormorants, so it is also called Cormorant Island.

Haixi Mountain(Egg Island)

Haixi Mountain, also known as Xiaoxi Mountain or Egg Island, is full of bird eggs of the breeding season, hence the name. Located 4 kilometers north of the Buha estuary, the island is large in the east and narrow in the west, shaped like a tadpole, with a total length of 1,500 meters.

From March to April every year, migratory birds such as geese, ducks, cranes and gulls migrate from the south to Qinghai Lake to start nesting. From May to June, birds' eggs are everywhere, and young birds are in groups, which are very lively. There will be more than 30 species of birds on the island. From July to August, the weather is comfortable and birds soar in the blue sky and swim on the lake. At the end of September, migratory birds will fly back to the south.

Cormorant Island

Cormorant Island, also known as Haixipi, it is located 6 kilometers north of Buha River, which is at the top of the Buha River alluvial beach. There is a fault cliff on the northeast edge of the island close to the lake, and an approximately cylindrical rock stands outside the cliff, which is a breeding place for cormorants. The vegetation coverage on the island is over 90%.

Other Islands in Qinghai Lake

Haixin Mountain

Haixin Mountain is located in the center of the Qinghai Lake, which is about 25 kilometers from the Bird Island. It is 2.3 kilometers long and 0.8 kilometers wide. The highest point of the Haixin Mountain is 3,266 meters. The birds will inhabit by the cliff and the beach with gravels.

Sand Island

Sand Island is located in the northeast of the Qinghai Lake. It is about 13 kilometers long and the widest place is about 2.8 kilometers. The highest point of the Sand Island is 3,252 meters. Sand Island is the habitat of great black-headed gulls.

Sankuaishi

Sankuaishi means three large rocks in Chinese, also known as Gucha Mountain. It is located in the southwest of the Qinghai Lake. It is consisted of 7 rocks. It is 20 kilometers from the Haixin Mountain and the Bird Island. Seeing from the distance, it looks like three giant tripods standing in the waves.

Best Time to Visit Bird Island

From March to May every year, tens of thousands of birds from South Asia, Russia, Southern China and other places migrate to the Bird Island on the west bank of Qinghai Lake to breed. When the little birds can fly, they will leave the Bird Island and fly back to their original places. Therefore, April to May every year is the best time to visit the Bird Island in Qinghai Lake.

How to Get to the Bird Island

The most common method of going to Bird Island is taking bus from Xining, there are tickets box in Xining city Changjiang road and Xiguan street intersection.

There is a bus at 7:45 a.m. every day going to Bird Island in Xining Long-Distance Bus Station, arrive at 14:30 in the afternoon, cost RMB 48. The return bus departs at 15:00 in Bird Island town on time.

In addition, you can also rent a car to go there. On the way through Sun & Moon Mountain you can also let the driver to make a stop, having a show view at religious buildings there. From the Bird Island town to gate of Bird Island scenic area, it is about 16 kilometers, carpooling costs 10 Yuan/person, chartering bus costs 40 Yuan/car can get to the gate of the scenic spot.

Recommended Tour: 7 Days Qinghai-Tibet Train Experience
(Destination: Xining-Lhasa)