Dulan County 都兰县

Setting and landscape

The land falls from southeast to northwest, from the Burhan Budai Mountains (布尔汗布达山) down to the basin plain, passing through gobi, desert, valleys, rivers and lakes. The Haixi prefecture government lists the climate as a typical high-plateau continental one. Wild animals recorded in the county include the white-lipped deer, wild yak, Tibetan antelope, snow leopard and lynx.

The county seat, Qagan Us (察汗乌苏镇), takes its name from Mongolian for "white water river" and sits on the Qagan Us River. Xiangride (香日德镇), whose Tibetan name means "village of many trees", is known as the "granary of the Qaidam"; in 1984 the Xiangride farm set a record wheat yield per unit of land, given by the prefecture government as 1,006.65 kg. Further west, the Nomhon Farm (诺木洪农场) forms an oasis strip almost 20 km long off National Highway 109, and the Mongol village of Hawa (哈瓦村) at the basin's edge is surrounded by wild sea-buckthorn.

History

From the fourth to the seventh century the area belonged to the Tuyuhun (吐谷浑) kingdom before the Tibetan empire absorbed it. Chinese Wikipedia notes that the Reshui (热水乡) area holds many chieftains' tombs, all of them looted, the largest known as "Xuewei No. 1" (血渭一号). From the 13th century (the Yuan dynasty) the area came under the central dynasties and served as grazing land for eastern Mongol tribes and a Khoshut (和硕特) Mongol banner. The Haixi prefecture government dates the Dulan administrative office to 1917 and the county to 1930; in 1955 the seat moved from Xiangride to Qagan Us.

What to see

The Balong columnar joints (巴隆柱状节理群) are volcanic rock columns formed about 220 million years ago; tens of thousands of single columns are visible, and the prefecture government describes them as the largest and most typical such group found in Qinghai. The Lusigou rock carvings (都兰鲁丝沟岩画), 25 km south of the county town and facing the Reshui tombs, are about 1,500 years old and are called the earliest group of carved Buddha images found in Qinghai. The Haisi flower meadow at the Yingde'er sheep farm (英德尔羊场海寺风景区), a 3A scenic area, is known for Stellera (狼毒花) and wild lavender below forested hills.

Highlights

• Balong columnar joints 巴隆柱状节理群: Volcanic rock columns about 220 million years old, described as the largest such group found in Qinghai.
• Lusigou rock carvings 都兰鲁丝沟岩画: Carved Buddha images about 1,500 years old, 25 km south of the county town.
• Nomhon Farm 诺木洪农场: An oasis farm almost 20 km long in the Qaidam Basin, reached off National Highway 109.