Xining

Xining
西宁市
Sining
City of Xining
Location of Xining City jurisdiction (dark blue) in Qinghai
Xining
Location of the city center in Qinghai
Xining
Xining (China)
Coordinates (Qinghai People's Government): 36°37′21″N 101°46′49″E / 36.6224°N 101.7804°E / 36.6224; 101.7804
CountryChina
ProvinceQinghai
Municipal seatChengzhong
Government
  TypePrefecture-level city
  BodyXining Municipal People's Congress
  CCP SecretaryWang Weidong
  Congress ChairmanSong Chenxi
  MayorShi Jianping
  CPPCC ChairmanDuan Fada
Area
7,596 km2 (2,933 sq mi)
  Urban
2,892.7 km2 (1,116.9 sq mi)
  Metro
2,892.7 km2 (1,116.9 sq mi)
Elevation
2,275 m (7,464 ft)
Population
 (2020 census)
2,467,965
  Density320/km2 (840/sq mi)
  Urban
1,954,795
  Urban density680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
  Metro
1,954,795
  Metro density680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
GDP
  Prefecture-level cityCN¥ 164.4 billion
US$ 18.2 billion
  Per capitaCN¥ 49,185
US$ 7,897
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
810000
Area code971
ISO 3166 codeCN-QH-01
License plate prefixes青A
Websitewww.xining.gov.cn (in Chinese)
Xining
"Xīníng" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese西宁
Traditional Chinese西寧
PostalSining or Ziling
Literal meaning"Western tranquility"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīníng
other Mandarin
Xiao'erjingثِ نٍ
Tibetan name
Tibetanཟི་ལིང
Transcriptions
WylieZi-ling
Tibetan PinyinSiling
Mongolian name
Mongolian CyrillicСэлэнг
Mongolian scriptᠰᠢᠨᠢᠩ
Transcriptions
SASM/GNCSeleng

Xining is the capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010), of whom 1,954,795 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 5 urban districts. The city lies in the Huangshui River Valley, also known as Tsongkha (Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་), and owing to its high altitude, has a cool climate on the borderline between cool semi-arid and dry winter humid continental.

Xining was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and was a stronghold of the Han, Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties' resistance against nomadic attacks from the west. Although long a part of Gansu province, Xining was added to Qinghai in 1928. Xining holds sites of religious significance to Muslims and Buddhists, including the Dongguan Mosque and Kumbum Monastery. It is connected by the Qinghai–Tibet railway to Lhasa, Tibet and connected by a high-speed railway to Lanzhou, Gansu and Ürümqi, Xinjiang.

The city is home to Qinghai University, a comprehensive university and the only Double First-Class University in Xining.