Guìdé
With its crumbling mud walls and traditional earthen houses, the old town of Guìdé offers a window into ancient life on the Tibetan Plateau. The thundering Yellow River turns aqua as it makes its way past this fascinating town in Qinghai province, and the geology of the surrounding landscape is as fascinating as it is beautiful.
Guìdé lies on the banks of the mighty Yellow River, close to the border with mystical Tibet. This ancient outpost was hewn from rock and clay in the 14th century by the powerful Ming Dynasty, and some of the original mud walls still envelop the town today. Discover the China Fortune Wheel, a vast gold-plated Tibetan prayer wheel turned by the waters of the Yellow River, and walk through the multicolored landscape of the nearby stunning Danxiá Canyon geopark.