Qinghai Province, China is for the most part a huge, empty wilderness in the middle of China with a population of just 4.5 million. Geographically and culturally a part of the Tibetan plateau , Qinghai has for centuries been a frontier zone, contested between Chinese immigrants and the Tibetans and Muslims who originally dwelt in its pastures and thin snatches of agricultural land. Today, the minority presence in Qinghai can still be felt strongly - as well as Tibetans, there are Hui, Salar, Tu, Mongol and Kazakh people all living here.

Only incorporated into the Chinese empire two hundred years ago - and not brought under firm Han control until 1949 when Communist armies defeated those of the Muslim warlord Ma Bufang - the area is still perceived by the Han Chinese as a frontier land for pioneers and prospectors, and, on a more sinister note, a dumping-ground for criminals and political opponents to the regime. The number of inmates held in Qinghai prison and labour camps , including those released but who must remain in the province because they cannot regain residency rights in their home towns, is estimated to reach four hundred thousand - almost one in ten of the population of Qinghai. Of these, a tenth are political prisoners. Several of the prison camps are actually in the outskirts of the capital, Xining, purporting to be ordinary factories.

It is only the eastern part of the province around Xining that has a long-established Han presence. With its lush green valleys and plentiful annual rainfall, this is also the only part of Qinghai where sustainable agriculture takes place. To the west and south of here the land rises to a three-thousand-metre plateau which, bitterly cold for half the year, can at best be used as pastureland for cattle and sheep. To the northwest, on the other hand, towards the border with Xinjiang, the land sinks into an arid basin, which was good for little until the communist era, when mineral deposits and oil were discovered. Now the area supports extensive mining.

For the traveller, the primary point of interest in Qinghai is the road into Tibet , at present the only place where foreign tourists can officially cross by land to Lhasa. Qinghai is in many respects itself a part of Tibet, and in addition to the substantial Tibetan minority who live here, the splendid Ta'er Si , one of the major Tibetan lamaseries in all China, is located just outside Xining.

The province has other attractions, too, chiefly as an unspoilt natural wilderness area. The enormous Qinghai Hu , China's biggest lake, in particular, offers opportunities for hikes and bird-spotting. There are also possibilities for longer treks, rafting, hunting and mountaineering. Such activities have to be arranged by local travel agents, who can sometimes manage this at just a few days' notice.