Qinghai /

Qinghai ( listen (help·info)) (Chinese: 青海; pinyin: Qīnghǎi; Wade–Giles: Ching Hai, pronounced [tɕʰíŋxàɪ̯]); Oirat Mongolian: Көкнур (transcribed into Cyrillic); Tibetan: མཚོ་སྔོན་; Mongolian: Kökenaγur; Salar: ) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake. It borders Gansu on the northeast, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on the northwest, Sichuan on the southeast, and Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest. The area known today as Qinghai was under the control of the Han kingdom about 2000 years ago. It is currently a province of China. A large part of its area, until the early 20th century most often referred to by its Mongol name Kokonur in English, lies outside of China proper and has been an ethnic melting pot for centuries, mixing Tibetan, Han Chinese, Mongol, and Turkic influences. It was a battleground during the Tang and subsequent Chinese dynasties when they fought against successive Tibetan tribes. Most of Qinghai was once also under the control of early Ming Dynasty, but later plagued with unrest and gradually lost to the Khoshut Mongols. The Xunhua Salar Autonomous County is where the Salar people live in Qinghai. The Salars voluntarily