The Yellow River — China's second-longest river and the cradle of Chinese civilisation — rises on the Qinghai plateau at Maduo county, about 400 kilometres west of Xining. The source is a group of alpine lakes at 4,600 metres called the Star Sea (Zaling and Eling lakes), which feed into the river's upper tributaries. The area is within the Sanjiangyuan National Park and is accessible from Xining on a 2–3 day road trip.
Most travellers who make this journey do so by hired vehicle with a local driver. The road crosses open plateau at altitude; accommodation is basic and weather can be severe outside summer. The lakes themselves are remarkable — flat, intensely blue sheets of water surrounded by treeless grassland, with black-necked cranes and bar-headed geese feeding along the shores. For Chinese visitors the source of the Yellow River carries deep cultural resonance; for foreign travellers it is simply a very remote and beautiful landscape.