Nangqen

Nangqen (囊谦; Nángqiān) is a town and county in Yushu (prefecture), in the southernmost part of Qinghai Province, southeast of Yushu Prefecture.

Get in

Yushu and Xining are the only towns with direct public transport to Nangqen.

From Xining, the sleeper bus will arrive at the bus station, on Xiangda St, in downtown Nangqen. Fare is ¥280.

From Yushu, the collective taxi drop passengers to their destination if it is into town. If you don't know where you are going, ask to be dropped off at the bus station. Fare is ¥50 per person from Yushu.

Sleep

If your hotel has no hot shower, you can take one at the bus station (in the inner parking lot, the office on the right) for ¥8, from 10:00.

• Nangqing Hotel (100 m west of the bus station). This formal hotel has a wide range of rooms, from the 4-bed common room at ¥30 per person (winter price, 2012), a triple room with TV at ¥80 (winter price, listed in the lobby at ¥120, 2012) and a deluxe room with TV and attached bathroom at ¥120 (winter price, listed in the lobby at ¥320, 2012). In winter, there is no running water inside the hotel, but there is a toilet pit and water well in the parking lot behind the building. (updated Feb 2023)

Go next

The bus station has only one bus per day, a sleeper bus leaving around 12:00 to Xining at a price of ¥280 and arrives in Xining around 07:30. (2019)

Collective taxis to Yushu leave from Xiangda Dong (east) St, just East of the main intersection in downtown Nangqen. ¥50. (2019)

To visit the monasteries further south on the G214 or to reach Riwoqe in Tibet, you have to hire a taxi or hitchhike. In the morning, ask the taxi drivers waiting on Xiangda Dong (east) St. their destination, you might get lucky. Monks sometimes come into town to do their shopping, you can find the trucks transporting them near the intersection that is just east of the main monastery (Nangqensi). You might get lucky here too.