Exploring Qinghai’s Hidden Wonderland with Kids! A Lesser-Known Route in Qaidam Basin, Few People, Beautiful Scenery Like Mars!

Who says family trips can only be to amusement parks and aquariums?

This time we took the kids to Qinghai’s Qaidam Basin, and it truly opened the door to a new world!

Desolation and grandeur coexist, tranquility and fantasy intertwine, and the kids kept exclaiming, “Mom, are we on Mars?”

If you want your children to witness the true power of nature, you must come here.

🌪️ Highlights of the Qaidam Family Tour: Few People, Wild Scenery, Nature Classroom

No crowded tourists, no overdevelopment, only pristine landforms and pure landscapes.

Kids can see the emerald green of Jade Lake, the peculiar water Yadan landforms, and the desolation of Heidu Mountain—each place is a vivid geography lesson. On this land, parent-child relationships become especially pure.

🗿 9-Day Family Itinerary Essentials (Relaxed Pace Version)

𝑫1-𝑫3 Xining → Tianjun Stone Forest → Hala Lake → Delingha

✅ Tianjun Stone Forest looks like a natural stone castle, kids run around happily

✅ Hala Lake is peaceful and vast, picnicking by the lake with kids is wonderful

✅ Baishu Mountain hiking is light and easy, telling historical stories under ancient cypress trees is very meaningful

𝑫4 Usute Water Yadan

✅ Ride an off-road vehicle into the “Water Devil City,” kids say it feels like filming a movie

✅ Yadan formations reflected in the lake, especially photogenic under blue sky and white clouds, can’t stop taking family photos

𝑫5 Mars Highway → Heidu Mountain → Jade Lake

✅ Drive along Mars No.1 Highway, feel the earth’s primal power in the red desert

✅ Jade Lake is like a green gem embedded in the desert, kids crouch by the lake playing with stones, very focused

𝑫6-𝑫8 Ethnic Culture Experience + Underground Yadan Exploration

✅ Haixi Prefecture Museum to learn about multi-ethnic customs, kids are especially interested in Tibetan clothing

✅ Underground Yadan with various shapes, like walking into a natural art gallery, kids keep asking “How was this formed?”

𝑫9 Balong Volcanic Rock Pillars → Return Trip

✅ Volcanic rock pillars with clear joints, observe geological structures up close, kids say “It looks like a giant’s piano keys”

If you want to take your kids on a unique family trip, the wilderness and romance of Qaidam Basin are definitely worth experiencing together.