Kekexili, a paradise for wild animals

Kekexili (also called Hoh Xil) is located in the northwestern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that is known as an uninhabited land and a paradise for wild animals. Covering 4,500,000 hectares, the Kekexili Nature Reserve Park is the largest nature reserve in China. It aims to protect the unique wild plants and animals in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and natural environments.

At an average elevation of 4,800 meters (the highest elevation is 6860 m and the lowest is 4200 m), the main landforms of Kekexili are plains, mesas, iced mountains, glaciers, as well as lakes. There are several extremely high mountains in the edge of northern and southern regions. The southeastern part of the Kekexili, drained by the Chumar River, is one of the major headwater sources of the Yangtze River.

The Reserve is the home to more than 230 species of wild animals including 30 kinds of mammals, 56 kinds of birds. There are 5 kinds of national first protected animals and they are snow leopards, Tibetan wild asses, wild yaks, Tibetan antelope, and golden eagles.

'Kekexili: Mountain Patrol' is a film directed by Chinese director Lu Chuan in 2004 that depicts the struggle between vigilante rangers and bands of poachers in the remote Kekexili. The film had a profound impact in China in bringing attention the region and the plight of its inhabitants and endangered species.

Golmud is the largest city in Kekexili area, which Kekexili Adminstration located there, and about 850 km from Xining to Golmud, and 1150km from Lhasa to Golmud.

When you take a train trip from Xining to Lhasa, you will have an opportunity to enjoy the scenery of Kekexili. The Tibet Railway runs 1,956 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa and is the world's longest railroad built atop a plateau. The Golmud-Lhasa section extends 1,142 kilometers, with the highest elevation being some 5,072 meters above sea level at Tanggula Range, making it the highest railway in the world.