Get to know Chengdong District
Photo adjustments
Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Xining
- Chinese name
- 城东区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 114.59 km²
- Population · 2020
- 489,372
- Administrative seat
- Dazhong Street Subdistrict
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Getting oriented
Chengdong borders Ping'an District (平安区) to the east, Huangzhong District (湟中区) to the south, Chengzhong District (城中区) to the west and Huzhu County (互助县) to the north. Besides Xining railway station, the district holds the city's long-distance bus station and its customs office, and National Highway 109, the southern ring road, Huzhu Road and the Xining–Ping'an expressway (西平高速公路) cross it. The district is made up of one town and seven subdistricts.
What to see
The Dongguan Mosque (东关清真大寺) stands on the south side of Dongguan Street (东关大街) in Qingzhenxiang subdistrict (清真巷街道). Its grounds cover 11,940 square metres, and its founding is dated to the Hongwu reign of the early Ming dynasty. It was listed as a Qinghai provincial heritage site on 27 May 1986 and as a national key heritage site in the seventh batch, announced on 5 March 2013.
The Xinlu mansion (馨庐) on Weimin Lane (为民巷) was built from June 1942 to June 1943 and was home to the warlord Ma Bufang (马步芳) and his family from 1943 to 1949. The compound covers 6,000 square metres. It became a provincial heritage site under the name Xinlu on 27 May 1986 and was later turned into the Qinghai Folk Custom Museum (青海省民俗博物馆).
The district government also lists the Huangle Ecological Park (湟乐生态公园) and the Red Leaf Valley scenic area (红叶谷景区) among its sights.
Markets and local products
Chengdong is a trading district. The government names the Wangjiazhuang small-commodities wholesale market (王家庄小商品批发市场), the Qinghai Huixin food distribution centre (青海汇鑫食品集散中心) and the Daxibu trade city (大西部商贸城), as well as two dedicated caterpillar-fungus (冬虫夏草) trading centres. Products it singles out as typical of Qinghai are Tibetan carpets (藏毯), Kunlun jade (昆仑玉), Qinghai old-style yoghurt (青海老酸奶) and yak jerky (牦牛肉干).
Highlights
- Dongguan Mosque 东关清真大寺: Founding dated to the Hongwu reign of the Ming; national key heritage site since 2013.
- Xinlu mansion 馨庐: Ma Bufang's residence of 1943-1949, a provincial heritage site since 1986.
- Qinghai old-style yoghurt 青海老酸奶: Named by the district government among Qinghai products in demand.
- Tibetan carpets 藏毯: One of the Qinghai crafts the district government singles out.
Sources for this guide
区情简介 · Chengdong District People's Government, Xining
西宁东关清真寺 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
青海省民俗博物馆 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-26.
Explore Chengdong District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Chengdong District
Xining Dongguan Mosque · Plan your visit
Getting there
Chengdong District is about 10 km in a straight line from central Xining. Search for 城东区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Start with Dongguan Mosque. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Xining →More in Xining
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 西宁东关清真寺 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 青海省民俗博物馆 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Dongguan Mosque · Michał Beim · CC BY 4.0. Wikimedia thumbnail; fitted to the ranking-card frame.
.jpg){kind=link}
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.