Kanbula

Near the bus stop

Several hotels within walking distance; double rooms around ¥140 (2017 price, check current).

Etiquette

• Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
• Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
• Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
• Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
• Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
• Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
• Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
• Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4

Scams and watch-outs

• Bus schedule to Xining is unclear; the only return bus may leave at 07:00 — be at the main street by 06:30.
• Taxis to Xining charge about ¥300 (2017 price, check current).
• Most restaurants and shops are Muslim; beer is hard to find.
• Camping on the reservoir: no official sites, legality for foreigners is uncertain.