Lake Qinghai

Four and a half thousand square kilometres with no outlet: water leaves the lake only by evaporation, which made it salt. Its Mongolian name, Kokonor, and its Chinese name both mean "blue lake". Bird Island hosts tens of thousands of bar-headed geese in spring, birds that cross the Himalaya on migration. Buddhist pilgrims circle the lake, three hundred and sixty kilometres, over three weeks on foot or prostrating the whole way. An international cycling race is held here each summer.