Qinghai, Chinai

Regional Level Types
Qinghai	Province
China	Country

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Qinghai is a provincial-level administrative region in western China, covering approximately 721,000 km². It borders Xinjiang to the north-west, Gansu to the north-east, Sichuan to the south-east, and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south and south-west. The provincial capital is Xining. Qinghai occupies a central position on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and is one of China’s least densely populated provinces.

Geographically, Qinghai is dominated by high-altitude plateau landscapes, with average elevations commonly exceeding 3,000 m. The province is of exceptional hydrological importance, forming the headwaters of several of Asia’s great rivers, including the Yellow River (Huang He), Yangtze (Chang Jiang), and Mekong (Lancang Jiang). Large endorheic basins also occur, most notably Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor), China’s largest saltwater lake. Mountain ranges such as the Kunlun, Qilian, and Tanggula mountains frame basins and uplands, while extensive alpine grasslands and cold deserts characterise much of the interior.

Geologically, Qinghai lies at the intersection of several major tectonic domains, including the Qaidam Basin, the Qilian Orogen, and the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The province records a long and complex geological history involving Precambrian basement, Palaeozoic accretionary and collisional events, and intense Cenozoic deformation related to the ongoing India–Asia collision. The Qaidam Basin contains thick sequences of Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, while surrounding mountain belts expose metamorphic, volcanic, and intrusive rocks affected by multiple orogenic phases. Active tectonics, uplift, and seismicity continue to shape the region.

Qinghai has a significant and diverse mineral and energy resource base. The province is particularly important for salt and evaporite minerals, including potash, halite, mirabilite, and borates, especially within the Qaidam Basin. Qinghai is also a major producer of lithium, extracted from brine deposits associated with salt lakes, making it strategically important for battery materials. Metallic resources include copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, chromium, and nickel, often associated with orogenic belts and intrusive complexes. Coal, oil, and natural gas occur in sedimentary basins, though production is secondary compared to evaporites and metals. Construction materials such as limestone and aggregates are also locally important.

Historically, Qinghai has been a borderland region between Central Asian, Tibetan, and Chinese cultural spheres. It formed part of ancient trade routes linking China with Inner Asia and Tibet and was incorporated into successive Chinese dynasties over time. In the modern period, Qinghai became a province of the People’s Republic of China in 1928, with its current administrative status maintained since 1949. The province has a diverse population, including Tibetan, Hui, Mongol, and other ethnic groups.

Administratively, Qinghai is divided into prefecture-level cities, prefectures, and autonomous prefectures. Its extreme elevation, harsh climate, and complex geology have strongly influenced settlement patterns and economic development. Qinghai’s position on the Tibetan Plateau and its rich evaporite and strategic mineral resources make it a key region for understanding plateau uplift, continental collision, and brine-hosted mineral systems in Asia.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

329 valid minerals. 10 (TL) - type locality of valid minerals. 1 erroneous literature entry.

Rock Types Recorded

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities