Chaka Salt Lake - "Mirror of The Sky" Near Qinghai Lake

What to See in Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area

Best Viewing Platforms in Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area

• Sightseeing Tower: If you are not allowed to take a drone to enjoy the magnificent panoramic scenery of the lake, this open-type steel structure tower is one of the best viewpoints from above. It stands 27.84m in height and the top viewing platform can host 90 tourists to overlook the core tourist area of Chaka Lake.

• "Love" Platform: this platform is the most popular platform among couples, covering an area of 1740㎡, with a total length of 142m. Clearly like the figure of the wooden walkway, the design is trying to deliver its theme, "true love is like salt, for love brings salt". 

• "I Love Caka" Platform: If the "Love" platform is romantic for lovers, this platform is for every visitor. This newly built wooden platform is popular on social media, and the platform is located on the east side of the railway, with a total length of 180 meters. The walkway is clearly seen from above forming the three words "I lOVE CAKA". 

✔ 3 Days Qinghai Short Stay Tour with Erlangjian Scenic Area

• Welcome Square: The Welcome Square is your first site in the Chaka Scenic Area, which covers an area of 23,000㎡, including the Sightseeing Tower, Connecting Corridor, Tourist Service Center, Qingyan No.2 Hotel, Ticket Office, Parcel Deposit Service, Information Center, Pet Care Center, Shopping area, etc. 

• Mirror of Sky Square: The Mirror of Sky Square is the core area in Caka Salt Lake Scenic Area, and it covers an area of about 60,000m2. There are Viewing Platform, Status of Goddess Muyao Luosangma, Lake-worshiping Oboo, Brine Experience Area, and large salt sculpture groups. It is one of the best sites to take pictures. Like how the square was named, the square can truly bring you to a mirror-like scenery. 

Rich in salt, Chaka Salt Lake is also famous for its salt Sculptures, and the most representative sculptures are the Salt Sculpture of Genghis Khan, the Salt Sculpture of Jingpo Ethnicity, the Salt Sculpture of Meeting at Jade Lake, and the Salt Sculpture of Wu Xian. These sculptures are magnificent showing respect and honor to the great Mongolian leader "Genghis Khan", the ethnic groups of Jingpo. And the Salt Sculpture of Meeting at Jade Lake was inspired by a romantic love story between emperor mu in the Zhou Dynasty and the queen mother of the west. The Salt Sculpture of Wu Xian is to commemorate the Wuxian tribes and they might be the ancestor of the development and utilization of natural salt in China. 

Industrial Relics in Chaka Salt Lake

Besides viewing the natural scenery and sculptures, there are many historic relics about the salt manufacturing sites that are open to tourists.

• The Salt Workers’ Auditorium: It covers an area of 1099㎡, in the central area of Chaka Salt Lake. It is used to be the center of the Caka Salt Factory and it still maintains the industrial style of the 1980s showing everyone the memories of the salt factory.

• Salt Manufacturing and Transportation: Besides the old factory, this old railway and trains near the Central Pier show the products and equipment of the old salt-mining industry era, and the whole process of raw salt from transportation to processing.

As the sister site of Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area, Sky No. 1 has a similar lake scenery to Chaka Salt Lake Scenic area. It is located in the East of Chaka Salt Lake, about 150 kilometers from Qinghai Lake. It is only about 10km away from Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area.

The total planning area of the scenic spot is 15 square kilometers. The main scenic spots are Jinghu, Munao square, Salt floating Experience Hall, Starry wharf, Salt Lake wetland, Gesang square, Star and Moon Mirror platform, etc. At Jinghu station (Mirror Lake Station), it has a mirror-like reflection. Here, you can see a series of sinking plank roads extending into the lake, and the walkways are like diamond, heart, and clovers. When you walk along the plank road of Munao square into the depth of the salt lake, you will see a large pure lake, just like a huge mirror on the ground. The panoramic view of the plank road is similar to the picture of Phoenix, which also contains a shape of beautiful Gesang flower.

Speaking of activities, there are also sightseeing trains, featured squares, little boats, salt sculptures, salt spas, etc. In addition to these regular activities, the large-scale live show of Genghis Khan is performed in the scenic area. The performance invites actors from Mongolia to perform and tells the story of Genghis Khan. The whole performance is about 40 minutes long, with two performances in the morning and in the evening.

Besides the beautiful scenery of the salt lake and many activities, if you want to live in the salt lake and enjoy the beautiful starry sky, sunrise, and sunset, there are more accommodation options. There are traditional yurts, wooden houses with yurt style, yurts with transparent roofs, starry tents, and special RV campsites, Hotels, and youth hostels available.

Chaka Salt Lake has a plateau continental climate. The weather in Chaka Salt Lake is very dry the annual precipitation is 197.6mm, the annual average evaporation is 2074.1mm. Even by the lakeside, the annual average relative humidity is 45% - 50%. The temperature varies a lot between day and night and it is very cold in winter. The UV radiation is strong all year round. The annual average temperature is 4°C, and the average temperature is - 12.2 ° C in January and 19.6 ° C in July. Summer from June to August is the best time to visit Chaka Salt Lake with a comfortable temperature. However, since lots of tourists flood into the scenic site during summer vacation, you can also travel here in other seasons or choose the Sky No. 1 Scenic Area where the tourists might be relatively fewer.

• Top Choice During the Daytime

Mirror of Sky: It is an open space of a lake with strong reflection ability. It is like a mirror for the sky. It is known as the "mirror of the sky" in China" The best shooting time here is before 9 am and after 5 pm.

• Top Choice During the Nighttime

Sky No.1: When night falls, you can clearly appreciate the vastness and magnificence of the Milky way and the dazzling strangeness of meteors in the lake area. The reflection of the lake makes the starry sky and the lake melt into one color, and the starry sky seems to fall on the lake. Therefore, Chaka Salt Lake at night is called the "night sky mirror" in China. But it's really cold to shoot at night. Please keep warm and do not roam around by yourself for safety issues.

• Capture the Sunrise and Sunset

The most beautiful period of Chaka Salt Lake is around sunrise and sunset. Colorful clouds, sunrise or sunset, reflections on the salt lake, form a picture of water and sky. The sunrise time of Chaka Salt Lake is about 6:30 a.m. from May to September, and the sunset time is about 19:30 a.m. Since the earliest train departs late, if you want to shoot sunrise and sunset, you'd better stay in the scenic area.

☛ 4 Days Qinghai Lake Chaka Salt Lake Enchanting Tour

For visitors who would like to capture the night scenery and the sunrise and sunset of Chaka Salt Lake, they are recommended to stay inside the scenic areas or the nearby Chaka Town. Chaka Town is only 4km from the entrance of Chaka Salt Lake Scenic Area and 17km from Sky No. 1 Scenic Area. It has more accommodation choices in Chaka Town. But if you would like to capture the night scenery and get up early for the sunrise, both of the scenic areas offer hostels and hotels. In Sky No.1 area, it has traditional yurts and transparent starry yurts for visitors. If you would like to stay inside the scenic area, you may need to book your hotel in advance, especially during the peak season.

Generally, a classic Qinghai Lake takes about 3~4 days. Starting from Xining, it tour covers the two biggest highlights of this city, namely - Kumbum Monastery - One of the Six Greatest Tibetan Gelug Monasteries with Three Arts and Dongguan Great Mosque – Qinghai's biggest mosque with splendid appearance and delicate ornaments which allow you to get a cultural savory. Then, spend 1 or 2 days appreciating the beauty of Qinghai Lake, including stunning lake view, far-reaching snow peaks, grassland, rape flowers (in July and August), etc. For cyclist, Qinghai Lake is also a good destination to offer the delighted experience of sightseeing and cycling in one go. It usually needs 2 days to have a great cycling tour along Qinghai Lake.

☛ 3 Days Qinghai Short Stay Tour with Qinghai Lake

More than Xining City and Qinghai Lake, there are many other natural and cultural treasures worthy of your visit in Qinghai. For more lake view, Chaka Salt Lake which is known as the mirror of the lake must be visited. If you are interested in Amdo Tibet culture, you are strongly advised to extend your tour to Tongren and nearby Xiahe (in Gansu) to explore Regong Art and Tibetan Buddhism.

☛ 4 Days Qinghai Lake Chaka Salt Lake Enchanting Tour

☛ 4 Days Qinghai Lake Landscape Tour Plus Tongren Authentic Tibetan Culture and Art Exploration

Many travelers also prefer a silk road discovery combining Qinghai Lake with Zhangye (Zhangye National Geopark, Mati Temple, Giant Buddha Temple…), Jiayuguan (Jiayuguan Pass, Great Wall Museum, ), Dunhuang (Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Lake, Mogao Caves, Yumen Pass…) and Bardain Jaran Desert. If you love Tibet Buddhist fragrance or breathtaking high-altitude landscape, don't hesitate to visit Tibet (Lhasa, Shigatse, Mount Everest, Namtso Lake, etc.) via the world-famous Qinghai Tibet Railway.

☛ 7 Days Miraculous Land Tour from Dunhuang to Zhangye Xining
☛ 7 Days Qinghai Lake Zhangye Danxia Badain Jaran Desert Wonders Tour
☛ 6 Days Xining and Lhasa Train Tour