Say "Qinghai" to people outside of China and odds are you'll get a blank stare. Say "Tibet" on the other hand, and likely as not you'll get a lively—if not outright impassioned—response. If they haven't been there yet, they'd like to go, and most Westerners have clear ideas of what they imagine Tibet to be like, accurate or not.

It's a funny thing, because geographically, culturally and historically speaking, Qinghai is Tibet, at least part of it. But of course, what precise political borders constitute "Tibet" vis-à-vis "China" can be an exceedingly controversial topic. And while vast Qinghai, which stretches across the northeastern reaches of the Tibetan Plateau, is many things besides the land Tibetans have long called Amdo (it also includes parts of present-day Sichuan and Gansu provinces), travelers seeking Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, holy mountains, pristine alpine grasslands and prayer-flag adorned villages will find ample satisfaction.

They'll also find Mongolian and Hui Muslim communities living alongside a rapidly increasing Han Chinese population. Add lesser-known ethnic minorities—Golok, Salar and Tu among them—and you've got a land that is as fascinating for its people as it is for its natural splendor. Qinghai, China's largest province (Tibet and Xinjiang are technically "autonomous regions"), retains a wild purity in places like Qinghai Lake's Niao Dao (Bird Island), sacred Mount Amnye Machen, the remote Yushu (Jyekundo) region and the pristine Mengda Nature Reserve.

Most Qinghai trips involve a stop in Xining, an ancient trading center and Chinese garrison town that has grown into a city of over 2 million. A good base for exploration of northeastern Qinghai, the city itself has a good deal to offer, including the Qinghai Provincial Museum, Xining Mosque, Shuijing Xiang Market and temples like Beishan Si and Jinta Si.

Qinghai's second-largest city, Golmud, has seen a boost in tourism lately thanks to its newly established role as railhead for the last major leg of the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad,connecting the Tibetan interior and capital of Lhasa to China's eastern political and population centers.

At the top of the list for those seeking a Tibetan experience sit Yushu, with its many monasteries and villages set in a landscape of alpine meadows and forested valleys, and Tongren (Repkong), a major center of Tibetan arts and crafts. 

Western Qinghai's remoteness and harsh climate—the region bordering Xinjiang is high-altitude desert, and the closer to Tibet you get, the more its topography ripples with imposing mountain ranges—has ensured that it has largely remained the lightly populated domain of nomads, though recent discoveries of mineral wealth have introduced mining in the region.

Eastern Qinghai, including the Yangzi (Yangtze) River and Yellow River regions and the area around Qinghai Lake, is kinder to human habitation, and, as such, has historically been contested ground, with Mongolian, Muslim, Tibetan and Han Chinese populations vying for control over good pasture and fertile valley lands.

Starting from around the third century AD, the area around Qinghai Lake—known then as Kokonur—was the site of the Tuyuhun Kingdom, ruled by elements the Mongolic Xianbei during the third through the seventh century AD. After falling into the orbit of Tang Dynasty China, Tuyuhun was absorbed by the advancing Tibetan forces; today's Tu minority are descendents of the ancient Tuyuhun.

Tibetan power over the region waned and waxed along with Mongol, Dzungar, Manchu and Han fortunes. Finally, the Manchu Qing Dynasty overwhelmed the nomadic Dzungar in the 17th century, virtually eliminating them with what some historians term a genocidal thoroughness.

The Qing would fall two centuries later, allowing Tibetans to reclaim independence in 1912. Tibetan power, centered in Lhasa, was weak in peripheral Qinghai, however, and an assortment of mainly Muslim warlords held sway in the region for much of the first part of a chaotic 20th century. The People's Republic consolidated control over the region following their final 1949 triumph, the year of Qinghai's creation as a province.

During the second half of the 20th century, Qinghai, viewed by many eastern Chinese as a frontier province or place of exile, became as well known for its prisons and nuclear test sites as anything else, and some of those who suffered the greatest under the Cultural Revolution came to bleak ends in Qinghai.

Fortunately, Qinghai has begun to shake such infamous associations subsequent to the opening and reform of China, and today it is slowly gaining recognition as a tourist destination of great natural beauty and cultural diversity—though now mining, industrialization and other environmentally destructive practices threaten major damage to the region's fragile ecosystems.

In recent years, migration from eastern China has solidified the PRC's control over the region, though beyond Han-dominated Xining, Golmud and easternmost Qinghai, Tibetan and Mongolian cultures retain sway—a situation that has led to tensions, and even violence, as resident Tibetans have periodically resisted Beijing's policies. Hence, in the event of reported disturbances in Tibet or Tibetan regions of Gansu, Qinghai or Sichuan, it's always best to be aware of any temporary travel restrictions and advisories. 

The climate varies considerably from the greener east to the dry west, though, given the elevation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, there are consistent qualities that visitors to any part of Qinghai should take note of.

First of all, the cold: Winters can be brutal. In Xining and the valleys in the east they're just bearable, but it's not a recommended time for travel. Secondly, Summers are short and cool, and even then, drastic temperature changes from day to night are possible, so visitors should pack and dress accordingly—layers are always recommended, as is a wind-breaking outer shell, preferably waterproof.

The tourist season really starts in mid-May, as the grasslands in the general vicinity of Qinghai Lake, fed by snowmelt as well as precipitation, burst into life and migratory birds stream into the region. Travel is pleasant through the summer, though any who find themselves in the northwestern desert region should prepare for daytime temperatures as high as 36°C and anyone venturing into the mountainous south, including Tongren and Yushu, should expect chilly nights, even in July and August.