Chaerhan Salt Lake
- Chinese name: 察尔汗盐湖 Chaerhan Salt Lake
- Address: Chaerhan Town, Golmud City, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province
- Address: 青海省海西蒙古族藏族自治州格尔木市察尔汗镇
- Opening hours: 08:30-20:00 (04/01-10/08 Monday-Sunday)
- 08:30-19:30 (October 9th – March 31st of the following year, Monday – Sunday)
- Tickets: Free
- Total area: 5856 square kilometers
- The east-west length of the Salt Lake: more than 160 kilometers
- North-South width: 20 to 40 kilometers
- The thickness of the salt layer is about: 2 to 20 meters
Chaerhan Salt Lake
Chaerhan Salt Lake is the largest salt lake in China and one of the most famous inland salt lakes in the world. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway passes through it.
geographic location
Chaerhan Salt Lake is located on the north side of Golmud City in the west of Qinghai Province, about 60 kilometers away from Golmud City. It is the largest salt lake in China and an important salt production base in Qinghai. Tourists come here mainly to watch the scenery of the Salt Lake and take pictures. In addition, there are also facilities such as the Salt Lake Museum and the Wanzhang Eye Bridge in the factory area, which can be visited and played.
visiting documents
Most of the tourists who visit Chaerhan Salt Lake come here by chartered car from Golmud, or pass by here when driving to Golmud on the Qinghai-Tibet line. The salt factory has a large area, and it takes several kilometers from the gate to the lake, so you have to drive into the salt factory to play. In principle, the salt factory only allows vehicles with visiting documents to register and enter, so it is best to confirm whether you can drive into the factory area when chartering a car in Golmud, otherwise you may be charged a so-called “ticket” by the security guard at the gate.
Salt Lake Museum
After entering the factory area, you will first see a Salt Lake Museum next to the factory area. The museum is a two-story building that can be visited. The museum displays the formation history and mining process of the Chaerhan Salt Lake, as well as the model display of the Chaerhan Salt Lake, etc. You can learn a lot about the salt lake and salt mining. The most exciting thing is the many salt flower crystals in the museum, which are very beautiful and you can take a good look at them. Especially at the entrance of the museum is a crystallization of “Wonderful Flowers of Salt Lake”. The four characters “Wonderful Flowers of Salt Lake” have become a popular place for many tourists to take pictures, which is very interesting.
Wanzhang Salt Bridge Road
After visiting the museum, you can continue to drive to the lake, where you can see a road extending into the lake. The road is called the Wanzhang Salt Bridge, but it is actually paved with salt. The hardness on it is the same as that of ordinary asphalt roads, and it can be opened to traffic. And when the road is damaged, the workers in the factory can restore the road by pouring some brine, which is very miraculous.
The vast salt lake stretches as far as the eye can see
You can get off at the Wanzhang Salt Bridge and walk on foot. Walking on this “bridge”, there are endless vast salt lakes on both sides. There are white salt crystals on both sides of the salt lake. The lake water is transparent and green. You can clearly see that the bottom of the lake has also become white due to the crystallization. There are also many naturally crystallized salt pillars growing in the lake. The scenery is very beautiful. Especially on sunny days, the surrounding scenery, sky and white clouds are reflected in the lake, which is an excellent place for photography. When playing on the salt bridge, you can choose how long you want to go, and you can return after you have fun and end the game.
Chaerhan Salt Lake Tourist Map
Chaerhan Salt Lake Video
Chaerhan Salt Lake Photo
Chaerhan Salt Lake Car Rental with Driver
Chaerhan Salt Lake Travel Guide
- Tickets are 100 yuan, including the bus, which lasts about half an hour
- After entering, you can take the battery car to the core photo spot (6 minutes). If you don’t sit, you can walk in, and you can arrive in 20 minutes.
- The glass boat is 30 yuan per time, and the aerial photography is 100 yuan. You can take pictures if you like it. It is really beautiful, but it is best to wear red clothes (skirts).
- The maximum height of aerial photography is 150 meters.
- Please be sure to keep clean and hygienic and take care of this beautiful salt lake.
- Transportation: Private cars are not allowed to enter, and there is a unified bus round-trip (100 yuan/person) in the scenic area; 20 yuan/person for the battery car
- Opening hours: April 1st-June 30th 08:30-18:30; July 1st-October 31st 08:00-20:00
- Photography/playing: After taking the bus from the visitor center to the terminal (40 minutes), you can walk or take a battery car to Qiandao Yanhua, which is the most beautiful place in the entire scenic spot. Many internet celebrity check-in points, such as water pianos, beach chairs, dead tree swings, tent hotels (not open), etc.; after that, you can take the bus to the central pier and enjoy the Wanzhang Salt Bridge, which is about 32 kilometers long (unfortunately, because of time Not enough, no chance to appreciate).
- Note: The salt crystal here is not edible salt, but industrial salt, so if you want to go to the lake to take pictures of scenic spots such as water pianos, remember to rent rain boots (10 yuan/person); in addition, do not let brine get into your eyes.
