Qinghai: Tuosu Lake & Dachaidan Emerald Lake, July 2025

By Beatrice Wong
August 15, 2025
7:30 pm
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Tuosu Lake 托素湖, “butter lake” in Mongolian, is an inland saltwater lake surrounded by the vast Gobi Desert. When it is not windy, the lake is misty and sky blue, and when the weather changes, the lake becomes turbulent with waves crashing to the shore. In the spring, tens of thousands of birds come to Tuosu Lake Bird Island covering the the small 1 km² island with nests and eggs. In contrast, Tuosu’s sister lake, Keluk Lake 克鲁克, is a freshwater lake with a mirror surface, plants on its shores, and fish and shrimp inside attracting many birds. Keluk Lake is the largest artifical fish breeding lake in Qinghai Province, producing very plump and tender freshwater carp. Together with Keluk Lake in the north, they are called Talin Lake with the Qinghai-Tibet Railway passing through the two.

Mehood Hotel (Dachaidan Branch) 大柴旦美豪酒店

Tuosu Lake 托素湖

Tuosu Lake 托素湖

Tuosu Lake 托素湖

Tuosu Lake 托素湖

Tuosu Lake 托素湖

Tuosu Lake 托素湖

Tuosu Lake 托素湖

One of the absolute highlights of my trip was Dachaidan Emerald Lake 大柴旦翡翠湖. Dachaidan translates to “Great Salt Lake” in Mongolian and in its northeastern corner is an emerald-colored magnesium sulfate subtype salt lake. Emerald Lake’s beautiful colors are caused by the different minerals in the lake such as potassium, magnesium, lithium, etc. There is a viewing tower that costs RMB36 which is a must especially if you don’t have a drone like me. The colors of the lakes are more vivid when seen from above. There is also the option of hiring a 4×4 (RMB500) to go further in to see the tea-colored Mi La Lake 蜜蜡胡 (Beeswax Lake) and to get away from the crowds which I highly recommend.