finally i am on the flight to xining of qinghai. the original plan was to take the 2-days 2-nights train from beijing to lhasa. however due to lack of advance planning and changes on my travel plan, it was too late for me to obtain the train ticket. I was advised that the beijing-lhasa train tickets are open for sales 10 days in advance and these tickets are often sold out in very short time. however i decided to travel too late, due to personal difficulty. first lesson learnt.

wow the sky is still bright when i arrived in xining, it was about 9pm then.

along the flight, viewing from the plane, i was so impressed by the unique scenery in this place, mountains after mountains, endless sandy dessert, yellowish rivers, then came the fresh greenery panorama reflecting into my eyes. in my mind i thought that maybe this's why they call the place "Qing-Hai" i.e. Green Sea.