Haixin Shan — Heart of the Sea Island — sits in the centre of Qinghai Lake, a small rocky island crowned with a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. It is one of the most sacred sites in the lake region, approached by boat from the southern shore and receiving a steady stream of pilgrims throughout the summer months.
The island is about 1 square kilometre, rising to 3,266 metres above sea level — higher than the surrounding lake surface. The monastery on its summit is modest in scale but sits in a position of extraordinary isolation. Boat trips from the shore take around 45 minutes each way. The lake surface is intensely blue under clear skies; the journey across it, looking back at the mountains ringing the lake, is worth the excursion even if the monastery itself is small.