In August 2017, starting from Xining, after a night's rest in Golmud, I set foot on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for the first time via the Kunlun Pass. The first thing that catches the eye is the source of the Yangtze River - the Chumar River. The river is so turbid that it is hard to think of the clear Yangtze River. If you don't understand geography, you may mistake it for the Yellow River. (Note: There are two main sources of the Yangtze River, the Chumar River and the Tuotuo River, both originate in Hoh Xil, and the river water is relatively turbid; in fact, the source river of the Yellow River is very clear; the photos are all taken by mobile phones, which may not be very clear)


After departing from Xining, the driver told us that the rapeseed flowers in Menyuan County are in bloom, so we can stop by to visit. When mentioning rapeseed flowers before, Wuyuan was the first thing that popped into my mind. Unexpectedly, Menyuan’s is just as spectacular, and it seems to be even better against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains.


The people living in this village are really happy, surrounded by such beautiful scenery.

The sea of ​​flowers under the snow mountain.

Yellow-green interval.

From Xining to Golmud, it was already the night of the day. Golmud is nearly 3,000 meters above sea level, but there are still many trees planted in the city, but the leaves have almost fallen in just August. I can't help feeling that although people can overcome the sky for a while, it is difficult to reverse nature. Rest overnight and head to the plateau early the next morning. Mount Yuzhu is located on the east side of the Kunlun Mountain Pass, with an altitude of 6,178 meters. Due to the warming of the climate, the snow line is constantly shrinking. It may be difficult to see its beauty in summer after a few years. Winding up the mountain and passing through the mountain pass, there is boundless Hoh Xil. (Note: We are a little anxious on our way. It is best to rest in Golmud for a few days to get used to it when we go to the plateau for the first time.)


Looking at Kunlun Mountain from the Sonam Dajie Protection Station.

This is the source of the Yellow River (Changjiang), the Chumar River (just kidding, how can I imagine the source of the Yangtze River is like this).

After the confluence of the Chumar River and the Tuotuo River, it becomes the Tianhe River, the main flow of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. According to the legend, the story of transitional reading of scriptures in "Journey to the West" happened here. It can be seen not clearly in the picture that the Tongtian River is extremely turbid, and after converging with another tributary, it flows out of Jiegu Town, Yushu City, which is the Jinsha River.


The muddy Tongtian River.

Clear tributaries, floodplain cattle and sheep.

The mountain rain is about to come and the wind is all over the building. The rain on the plateau comes and goes quickly. Wherever you see this kind of cloud, it must be raining heavily.

A road with no end in sight.

Yushu Earthquake Site.

Yushu New Town is full of lights and festoons.


After leaving Yushu, we drove to the source of the Yellow River—Maduo County (about 6-8 hours by car), and arrived at the source of the Yellow River—Zhaling Lake and Ering Lake. Since the lake area is too large and we have work tasks, we only inspected the Eling Lake area and overlooked Zaling Lake. The picture above is a wetland in the west of Eling Lake.

Overlooking Eling Lake at the Bull Head Monument.

Clear lake water, yes, this is the source of the Yellow River!

A rainbow after a shower.

The indigo Eling Lake is like a tropical seashore.

Niu Tou Monument: Totem, written "Source of the Yellow River".

Tibetan prayer flags.

Lion-like clouds.

A salt lake at the exit of Eling Lake. (Note: Ering Lake is a brackish water lake, which is due to the strong evaporation on the plateau, and the lake's recharge period is relatively concentrated).

Tibetan wild ass: a national first-class protected animal, but it is very common on the plateau at present, and some scholars estimate that its number has exceeded 100,000.

Clear water of the Yellow River.

A river of clear water flows eastward. (Photographed in Dari County)

Sunset on the Yellow River.



Sunset on the plateau. (Photographed in Huanghe Township)

Sunset on the plateau. (Photographed in Huanghe Township)

After leaving Dari County, we drove to Nianbao Yuze in Jiuzhi County, the last stop of this investigation. Here is a group of steep and beautiful peaks, and it is also an excellent geological practice base. It's a pity that our time was limited and we couldn't go deep into the hinterland of the park. Brother Yiga from Rigancuo Scenic Spot braved the heavy rain to lead us to look for spring water, thank you here (Brother Yida’s photography works are really good, I have always had the wish to revisit Nianbao Yuze, the last article Tibetan Antelope The photo on the cover of this article was taken by a friend of Brother Ida).

The water on the plateau is flexible, sometimes surging and sometimes calm. The three most important rivers in my country, the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lancang River all originate here. Among them, 25% of the total water volume of the Yangtze River, 49% of the total water volume of the Yellow River and 15% of the total water volume of the Lancang River all come from this area. Therefore, Sanjiangyuan is also named "China Water Tower". The organisms on the plateau are diverse, just like the meadow in the picture above, there are dozens or even hundreds of species of plants within one square meter. However, in recent years, due to the interference of human activities, especially the impact of intensive grazing, grassland degradation in some areas has been extremely serious (as shown in the figure below), and the protection of the ecological environment on the plateau is urgent. Think of the source of drinking water, I hope we can remember the plateau environment while drinking water from the three rivers together.


Alpine meadow is a common vegetation type on the plateau. Unlike ordinary grasslands, meadows have a dense layer of grass felt on the surface of the soil, making it difficult for water to penetrate. Under the joint action of overgrazing, rodents, and alternating freezes and thaws, the grass mat layer may crack, and after the cracks expand, the patchy bare land shown above is formed. Once the bare ground appears, it is difficult to recover naturally in a short period of time.