Get to know Haiyan County
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- Administrative area
- County · 县
- Part of
- Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
- Chinese name
- 海晏县
- Local areas
- County guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 4,443.10 km²
- Population · 2020
- 37,729
- Administrative seat
- Sanjiaocheng Town
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
Most of the county lies above 3,000 metres, and it is where the Huangshui River (湟水河), a tributary of the Yellow River, begins. The Jinyintan grassland averages 3,100 metres above sea level, with a mean annual temperature of only 0.4°C. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway crosses the whole county.
History
The area was once land of the Western Qiang (西羌). In AD 4 Wang Mang (王莽) set up Xihai Commandery (西海郡) here, with its seat at today's Sanjiaocheng (三角城); the county itself was created in 1943. In 1939 the composer Wang Luobin (王洛宾) came to the Jinyintan grassland with a film crew; on the journey back he adapted a folk song sung by a local Tibetan woman into "In That Faraway Place" (在那遥远的地方).
In July 1958 the grassland was chosen for Base 221, where China's first atomic and hydrogen bombs were developed. On 29 September 1964 the first atomic bomb left by train from Shangxing Station (上星站) and reached Daheyan (大河沿) in Xinjiang 81 hours and 38 minutes later. The base was decommissioned, handed to the prefecture in the 1990s and on 15 May 1995 renamed Xihai Town (西海镇), now the prefecture seat.
What to see
The site of the base has been a national key cultural relic since 2001. The Qinghai Atomic City Memorial Hall (青海原子城纪念馆), completed in 2009, is described by the National Development and Reform Commission as the only large museum in China covering the whole history of the country's nuclear industry. Other preserved sites include the detonation test ground (爆轰试验场), the underground command centre, the No. 2 factory and Shangxing Station. Because the prefecture seat moved to Xihai Town, the base's old living quarters are still in use: the old theatre and rows of three-storey Soviet-style dormitories covered with Mao quotations stand amid everyday town life.
Highlights
- Qinghai Atomic City Memorial Hall 青海原子城纪念馆: Completed in 2009 on the former Base 221, covering the history of China's nuclear industry.
- Jinyintan Grassland 金银滩草原: High grassland averaging 3,100 metres; Wang Luobin's 1939 visit gave rise to "In That Faraway Place".
- Shangxing Station 上星站: Station from which China's first atomic bomb set off by special train on 29 September 1964.
- Xihai Commandery site 西海郡故城遗址: Seat of the commandery Wang Mang founded in AD 4, at today's Sanjiaocheng.
Sources for this guide
海晏县 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
金银滩、原子城，总有一种力量让人泪流满面 · People's Daily Online, Qinghai channel
金银滩上的一抹“红” ——青海省海北州海晏县西海镇红色旅游发展典型案例 · National Development and Reform Commission
秀我中国丨重访原子城：金银滩草原上的转运“秘密”-新华网 · Xinhua
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Haiyan County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Haiyan County
Atomic City Memorial Museum · 原子城纪念馆Atomic City Memorial Museum原子城纪念馆
Atomic City Memorial explains the history of the former nuclear-research base on the Jinyintan grassland. Its exhibition follows the base from planning and construction through research and retirement. Photographs and objects…
Read the place guide →
White stupas standing on the open grassland of Jinyintan, Haiyan County · 海晏县金银滩草原上的白色佛塔 Source-recorded photograph date: 2018-08-28 13:55:02.Jinyintan Grassland金银滩草原
Jinyintan (金银滩草原) is a grassland in Haiyan County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, lying by Qinghai Lake at the foot of Tongbao Mountain. It is the setting of Wang Luobin's song 《在那遥远的地方》 and the site of China's first nuclear weapons research and production base, the 221 plant, known after the fact as the Atomic City.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Haiyan County local specialties
海晏县特色美食 · 1 specialties to discover
Haiyan ten-bowl feast 海晏十大碗AI dish illustration / AI 菜品示意图
The appeal is the variety across bowls rather than one fixed seasoning. Portions can be substantial.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →All dish names · 全部菜名 (1)
More dishes from across Qinghai are in the Qinghai food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Haiyan County is about 10 km in a straight line from central Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Search for 海晏县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Atomic City Memorial Museum and Jinyintan Grassland are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture →More in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 海晏县 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Atomic City Memorial Museum · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Jinyintan Grassland · 西安兵马俑 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.