Qinghai, also Tsinghai or Ch'ing-hai, inland province, western China. Located in the Tibetan Plateau (Qing Zang Gaoyuan), it is one of China's least populated provinces. bounded on the north and east by Kansu, on the southeast by Szechwan, on the south and west by the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and on the west and north by the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang.

Tsinghai was a remote region of China, lying to the west of the historic provinces that made up China proper. Parts of it came under Chinese control in the 3rd century BC. For centuries it was sparsely occupied by nomadic herdsmen, chiefly Tibetans and Mongols, plus a few Chinese settlers on farms around the northeastern corner of Koko Nor (lake).

Coal, petroleum, and iron ore are the leading natural resources. Also present are reserves of borax, salt, and phosphates in the province's many large salt lakes. The capital, Xining (Sining), is the only large city. include tanneries, match factories, and woollen textile and dairy facilities.

Major industrial towns are Xining and Yushu.

Area 721,000 sq km (278,000 sq mi); population 5,180,000.

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