The Salar of Northwest China

Where do the Salar live?

Living throughout north central and northwestern China, the largest concentration of Salar are located in Xunhua Autonomous County of Qinghai province, approximately 200 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital, Xining.  About seventy percent of the Salar people live in the villages of Xunhua County, mostly along the banks of the Yellow River.  The next largest groups of Salar can be found in Gandu village of Hualong County, approximately 70 kilometers north of Xunhua, and also Linxia city of Jishishan county, Gansu province.  There are many other small concentrations of Salar people scattered throughout other counties in Qinghai and Gansu provinces: Xining city; Gonghe, Guide and Qilian counties of Qinghai; Dahejia town of the Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar County of Gansu; and even a pocket of Salar in Yining County of Xinjiang province.  Most of these areas are located on the geographical region known as the Tibetan Plateau, an area comprised of rugged mountainous terrain that is rather desolate and devoid of precipitation throughout the majority of the year.  In addition, it is rumored among the Salar that there still exists a remnant of about five thousand of their people living outside of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, but this has never been confirmed.  

Xining City and Qinghai Province

Over 40% of the 5,000,000 residents of Qinghai live in the capital city of Xining.  Xining is located in the northwest corner of the province directly east of Qinghai Lake.  It is 7,200 feet above sea level and is the only city of significant size in the region.  Xining and Qinghai have the reputation of being the desolate and harsh backwater of China.  It is also called the Chinese Siberia because most of China’s political prisoners and common criminals are sent to the many labor camps found in Qinghai.  Qinghai is home to numerous minority peoples besides the Salar, including Hui, Tibetan, Manchu, and Tu.  Within Qinghai’s borders are also found the sources of the Yellow, Yangtze, and Mekong rivers.