The Silk Road Places

Xining

Tours

Xining's more upscale hotels have travel offices that can help you arrange expensive private tours with English-speaking guides to Kumbum Monastery or Bird Island. For less expensive and more innovative tours, head to the Lete Youth Hostel and contact Tibetan Connections. A third option is to hire the services of an enterprising individual like Niu Xiaojun, who speaks good English and has been leading foreigners to off-the-beaten-path destinations for years.

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