The Qinghai, named after Qinghai Province, originates in Xining, capitol of that region in central China, and proceeds west then south for more that 2500 miles to Lhasa, capitol of TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region) over some of the most forbidding, highest landscape on Earth. The Tibetan plateau averages an elevation of 16000 feet and has passes, like the Tangulla, which rises to 16,737 Feet.