Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (in short Haibei Prefecture) is located on the northeastern part of Qinghai Province and it covers an area of 34,100 square kilometers. The average altitude of this region is 3100 meters above the sea level. The altitude of the river valley on the eastern region is about 3000 meters above the sea level and the altitude of the western part is over 3500 meters. Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has jurisdictions over Menyuan Hui Autonomous County, Qilian County, Gangca County, Qinghai Lake Farm and Tongbao Pasture. Besides, the prefecture capital is located in Xihai Township of Haiyan County. Haibei Prefecture is vast in territory with quite a small population. It is a gathering place of many different nationalities. Until the end of 2005, there are totally 272,000 people in Haibei Prefecture and 63.37% of them are the minorities. In Haibei Prefecture, there are about 27 nationalities, such as Han Nationality, Tibetan, Hui Nationality, Mongol and Tu Nationality and so on.
The main characteristics of Haibei Prefecture lie in three aspects as follows: First, the natural resources are rich here. Secondly, Haibei Prefecture enjoys important role for its ecological environment. Haibei Prefecture is located on the source areas of Huangshui River, Hei River and Datong River and it is an important water sources on the upper reaches of Yellow River. Besides, it is also a critical source of water supply to Qinghai Lake. It is a natural ecological barrier for the eastern part of Qinghai Province and Hexi Corridor. Finally, the tourist resources here are particularly favored by the nature. In Haibei Prefecture, the abundant tourist resources here are full of local features and have many different types. There are distinctive highland sceneries like lakes, deserts, grassland, Snow Mountains, forests and valleys. There are not only natural sceneries, but also many historical and cultural relics. Qinghai Province marks out 82 excellent scenic areas in the province and 22 of them are located in Haibei Prefecture. The most well known scenic spots in Haibei Prefecture are Qinghai Lake, Birds’ Island, Sand Island, Jintan and YintanGrassland and Yuanzi City. They earn great glory at home and abroad.