Atlas of China
Hainan 海南Hǎinán
A clear stretch of the Yellow River, red cliffs and a lost Tuyuhun capital
- Type
- Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
- Region
- Qinghai
- Seat
- Gonghe
- Listed sites
- 103 rated 4A · 7 national heritage
About Hainan
Hainan, 'south of the lake', lies along the southern shore of Qinghai Lake and across the high Gonghe basin, where about two-thirds of the people are Tibetan. The Yellow River is dammed at Longyangxia, completed in 1992, beside a large solar park, while at Guide, where the river is said to run clear, red Danxia cliffs rise near a Confucian temple founded under the Ming. West of the lake lie the earthen ruins of Fusi, capital of the Tuyuhun kingdom.
Listed sites in Hainan
10 sites in Hainan are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.
- Guide National Geopark 贵德国家地质公园 4A scenic area · on the map
The geopark is a Danxia landscape of red sandstone and conglomerate cliffs near Ashigong village in Garang township, where earth-pillar formations sit on the upper layers and seven differently coloured gorges cut through the lower ones. - Longyangxia Scenic Area 龙羊峡 4A scenic area · on the map
Longyangxia is a Yellow River gorge scenic area built around the reservoir behind the Longyangxia hydropower dam (completed in 1992). - Qingqing Yellow River Scenic Area, Guide 清清黄河 4A scenic area · on the map
Along its stretch at Guide the Yellow River runs unusually clear, which gave rise to the local saying that 'the Yellow River is clear at Guide'. - Fusi City Site (Tuyuhun Capital) 伏俟城遗址 National heritage site · on the map
Fusi (also written Fuqi) was the capital of the Tuyuhun kingdom, a Xianbei-founded realm that held the Qinghai Lake region and the Qaidam Basin until it fell to the Tibetan Empire in 663. - Guide Confucian Temple and Yuhuang Pavilion 贵德文庙及玉皇阁 National heritage site
This is a cluster of temples in Guide's old town, begun in 1592 under the Ming and mostly rebuilt in the late 19th century under the Qing, with a Confucian temple, a literary courtyard, the Yuhuang (Jade Emperor) Pavilion, a Guan–Yue (war god) temple and a City God temple side by side. - Saizong Monastery 赛宗寺 National heritage site · on the map
Saizong is a Gelug monastery of Tibetan Buddhism below Saizong ('Monkey Fortress') mountain, founded in 1923 by the third Aro Tsang lama of Rongwo Monastery. - Shizang Monastery 石藏寺 National heritage site · on the map
Shizang is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Hebei township in the far south of Tongde County, near the Yellow River. - Wenchang Temple, Guide 文昌庙 National heritage site · on the map
Wenchang Temple is a Qing-dynasty temple of Wenchang, the god of literature and examinations, in Xiapai village, Hexi, on the Yellow River plain west of Guide town. - Zhenzhu (Pearl) Temple, Guide 珍珠寺 National heritage site · on the map
Zhenzhu ('Pearl') Temple is a Gelug monastery on the edge of Guide's old town; local tradition says a senior monk founded it in the 1240s with a donation of a load of pearls, hence the name. - Zongri Site 宗日遗址 National heritage site · on the map
Zongri is a Neolithic settlement and cemetery on a Yellow River terrace at Tuanjie village, which gave its name to the Zongri culture of about 5,000 years ago, known for painted pottery with dancing-figure and two-people-carrying designs.
On the map
Open Hainan on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Hainan on the map