Lenghu


Lenghu is an Administrative Committee in the northwest of Qinghai province, China, bordering Gansu to the north/northeast and Xinjiang to the northwest. It is under the administration of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Geography

Lenghu borders Da Qaidam to the east, Mangnai to the west, Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County to the north, and Ruoqiang County to the northwest, and is part of the northwestern Qaidam Basin in an area dotted frequently by yardangs.

Climate

As with most of northwestern Qinghai, Lenghu has an arid climate, with long, cold winters, and warm summers. It is the driest locale in the country, with only of precipitation annually, and it is not uncommon for months to pass by without any rainfall, though underground water resources are plentiful. The monthly 24-hour average temperature drops to in January and rises to in July, while the annual mean is ; diurnal temperature variation is wide, averaging annually. The area is also extremely sunny; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 72% in July to 85% in October, the area receives 3,443 hours of bright sunshine annually.