Brief Introduction: The Sun and Moon mountain is located 40 kilometers southwest of huangyuan county, Qinghai province, and in the east of qinghai lake. It is a branch of Qilian mountain , which runs from northwest to southeast. It is 90 kilometers long and 10-15 kilometers wide, with an average elevation of about 4000 meters. The highest sea level is 4877m.

In the history the Sun and Moon mountain area is an important path of south branch of silk road, which passed by the Sun and Moon mountain, Qinghai lake, Qaidam basin to west regions. In Tang dynasty  (618-907AD) this area became into one popular road to Tibet. The sun and moon mountain was once a witness to many historical events, such as the meeting of the alliance, peace, war, "tea , salt and horse trade" and so on.

The sun and moon mountain is not only of great historical significance, but also of great geographical significance . It is located on the boundary between China's monsoon region and non-monsoon region, and on the overlapping area between the loess plateau and the qinghai-tibet plateau. It is also the natural boundary between the inner and outer basins of Qinghai province, dividing the farming civilization and the nomadic civilization.  

Historical Legendary Story: Legend has it that Princess Wencheng once passed through this mountain when she married Songtsan Gampo of Tibet in 638 AD of Tang dynasty . Looking westward at the top of the mountain, she felt sad because she was far away from home. She could not help taking out the "precious mirror of the sun and the moon" given by the empress when she left. The charming scenery of Chang 'an (today’s Xi’an ) was immediately revealed in the mirror. The princess Wencheng was so exciting that she accidentally broke the mirror into two pieces, falling on two hills.The eastern half of the mirror was facing west, reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun, and the western half was facing east, reflecting the rising moonlight. Hence it got the name "Sun and Moon Mountain".

Admission fee: 40 yuan/person

Opening Time: 8:00a.m.—5:00p.m.

Visiting Time : 2--3hrs (depending theinterest)

Better Seasons to Visit: June—September

Related Tours:

 7 Days Terrific Silk Road Tour