A 3-day, 2-night travel guide for Qinghai Minhe with a budget of 10,000 RMB?
I understand you perfectly—
You don't just want to pass by "Minhe," a small dot on the map,
but rather delve deep into the secret river valley at Qinghai's easternmost tip, to be a "pastoral traveler on the upper Yellow River."
Below, I will reveal to you—
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🌾「Minhe·Sanchuan Secret Realm」3 Days 2 Nights｜Yellow River Farming × Tu Ethnic Customs × Peach Blossom Spring × Hehuang Slow Life
**Theme: Yellow River Valley × Tu Ethnic Homeland × Spring Planting & Autumn Harvest × Intangible Cultural Heritage Handicrafts × Low Cost, High Quality**
📍Route: Xining → Minhe → Sanchuan Town (Songshugou) → Guanting Town → Xining
⏰Time: 3 Days 2 Nights｜💰Budget: 10,000 RMB/person (even better value for two people traveling together)
🎯Style: No influencer filters × Avoid crowds × Only walk on field paths, only encounter real life
> ✅ Within 10,000 RMB, achieve—
> Stay in a Tu ethnic courtyard by the Yellow River, experience spring plowing and rice transplanting, learn to make highland barley wine, listen to "Huar" (folk songs) duets, and photograph the triple scroll of "snow-capped mountains + rice paddies + Yellow River"!
This is not just tourism, but a gentle exploration of the "last stop" of Hehuang civilization.
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💰Total Budget Breakdown (per person)
| Item | Cost |
|------|------|
| Round-trip transportation (High-speed rail + chartered car) | 1600 RMB (from Xining, 2h drive) |
| Local transportation (chartered car for 1.5 days) | 1200 RMB |
| Accommodation (2 nights, characteristic B&B) | 2800 RMB (approx. 1400 RMB/night) |
| Dining (5 main meals + snacks) | 900 RMB |
| Experiences + Tickets + Handicrafts | 1200 RMB |
| Contingency + Insurance + Souvenirs | 300 RMB |
| Total| Approx. 8000 RMB ✅ (Remaining 2000 RMB can be used for upgraded experiences)
📌Tip: For two people traveling together, chartered car and accommodation costs can be shared, making it only around 5000 RMB per person, offering excellent value for money!
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🗺 Itinerary (Relaxed and slow-paced, in-depth experience without rushing)
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🌅 Day 1: Xining → Guanting Town → Sanchuan Town (Songshugou) (180km, 2.5h)
- Depart from Xining at 8:30 AM (self-drive or chartered car recommended)
- Pass through [Ping'an] at noon, can make a short stop to have a bowl of Ping'an Liangpi (cold noodles).
- Arrive at [Guanting Town] at 1:00 PM — Qinghai's easternmost town, the first stop on the upper reaches of the Yellow River.
- Overlook [Qilisi Medicinal Spring] (Tibetan-Mongolian medical custom site, foot soaking available)
- 2:30 PM head to [Sanchuan Town] (collective name for the three southern townships of Minhe)
- Check into [Songshugou·Yellow River Home] (Tu ethnic wooden house B&B, rice paddies visible from the window) | Approx. 1400 RMB/night
- The host is a Tu ethnic uncle, who can sing "Huar" and is skilled at brewing highland barley wine.
- Participate in a [Tu Ethnic Family Feast] in the evening:
- Must-try: Hand-grabbed lamb + Highland barley wine + Tu ethnic Jiao Tuan (stirred flour paste) + Wild vegetable buns
- After dinner, listen to the uncle play the jaw harp and sing "Huar."
📸 Photo highlights today:
- Rice paddies by the Yellow River with snow-capped mountains in the same frame
- Smoke curling from Tu ethnic wooden houses
- Folk house window decorations and red lanterns
💰Cost for the day: Approx. 3800 RMB
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🌄 Day 2: Farming Experience → Tu Ethnic Embroidery → Cycling along the Yellow River Bank
- Wake up at 6:00 AM, photograph [Yellow River Morning Mist] (rice paddies like a mirror, reflecting the Qilian Mountains' remnants)
- 9:00 AM head to [Songshugou Terraced Fields]
- Participate in [Spring Plowing Experience] (+150 RMB)
- Spring: Rice transplanting / Bean planting
- Autumn: Harvesting / Threshing
- 📸 Shot: Low-angle shot of "person's silhouette in the field, snow-capped mountains in the background"
- Return to the B&B for [Earthen Stove Meal] at noon:
- Highland barley noodles + Stewed local chicken + Wild vegetable soup
- 2:00 PM experience [Tu Ethnic Intangible Cultural Heritage Embroidery] (+200 RMB)
- Learn to embroider "sunflower" and "eight-petal plum" patterns with the auntie.
- Can take home a handmade sachet or coaster.
- 5:00 PM cycle along the [Yellow River Bank Path] (bicycles provided)
- Route: B&B → Yellow River beach → Songshugou entrance
- 📸 Photograph "Yellow River S-bend + molten gold sunset"
- Evening: Fireside chat, listen to the uncle tell legends of the "Eight Sights of Sanchuan."
🏨 Accommodation: Same as before (Yellow River Home)
📸 Photo highlights today:
- Poetic scenes of farming fields
- Close-up of Tu ethnic auntie embroidering
- Yellow River sunset silhouette
💰Cost for the day: Approx. 3400 RMB
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🌅 Day 3: Qilisi Medicinal Spring → Qiangyun Folk Museum → Xining (180km, 2.5h)
- 9:00 AM head to [Qilisi Medicinal Spring] (Tibetan-Mongolian medical custom site)
- Natural mineral spring, rumored to cure skin diseases and arthritis.
- Can experience "medicinal foot soak" (+50 RMB)
- 📸 Photograph "bubbling spring eye + fluttering prayer flags"
- Continue to [Guanting Town Qiangyun Folk Museum]
- Showcases Tu, Salar, and Bao'an ethnic cultures.
- Can try on Tu ethnic traditional costumes for photos (+100 RMB)
- Learn about "Tu ethnic wedding," "Anzhao Dance" and other intangible cultural heritages.
- Have [Guanting Liangpi (cold noodles) + Highland Barley Wine] in town at noon.
- Depart for Xining in the afternoon.
- Arrive at 7:00 PM, ending the "Sanchuan Secret Realm" journey.
📸 Photo highlights today:
- Medicinal spring prayer flags and mist
- Ethnic costume photoshoot at Qiangyun Museum
- Distant view of snow-capped mountains from the river valley road
💰Cost for the day: Approx. 800 RMB
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📸 Photo Map (God-tier spots for WeChat Moments)
| Location | Photography Tips |
|------|----------|
| Songshugou Rice Paddies | Photograph "snow-capped mountain reflection + rice transplanter silhouette" |
| Yellow River Bank | Photograph "S-bend + sunset" |
| Tu Ethnic Wooden House | Photograph window decorations and smoke |
| Qilisi Medicinal Spring | Photograph bubbles + prayer flags |
| Qiangyun Folk Museum | Ethnic costume photoshoot |
| Field Paths | Photograph "person walking in a painting" |
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🍽 Must-Try Food List
| Cuisine | Recommended Place |
|------|--------|
| Hand-grabbed Lamb | Yellow River Home B&B |
| Highland Barley Wine (home-brewed) | Tu ethnic uncle's home |
| Tu ethnic Jiao Tuan | Freshly made by local farmers |
| Guanting Liangpi (cold noodles) | Old stall in town |
| Wild Vegetable Buns | B&B breakfast |
| Sour and Spicy Li Fen (rice noodles) | Sanchuan Town roadside |
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✅ Summary: This is the true meaning of "Minhe"
You are:
- Bending down to plant a rice seedling in the fields of Songshugou
- Listening to a Tu ethnic uncle sing "Huar" by the Yellow River bank
- Soaking your feet in Qilisi Medicinal Spring, experiencing ancient medical customs
- Wearing rainbow sleeves at Qiangyun Museum, taking your first Tu ethnic portrait
Minhe is not just Qinghai's "Eastern Gateway,"
but the last pastoral poem of the Hehuang Valley.
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📌 Optional Upgrades (if budget allows):
- +300 RMB → Hire a photographer for half a day (10 retouched photos)
- +200 RMB → Customize a "Sanchuan Memory" handwritten travel journal (I can write it for you)
- +500 RMB → Add one night "staying in a century-old Tu ethnic courtyard"
If you need a couple's version (Yellow River confession + couple's embroidery) or a parent-child version (farming + handicraft experience), just let me know!
May you hear the slow song of the Yellow River's upper reaches in the winds of Minhe. A travel blogger who writes poetry for Hehuang 🌾🏡🎶
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