Qinghai

A remote province on the northeastern border of Tibet, Qinghai's sweeping grasslands locked in by icy mountain ranges are relatively unknown to most Chinese people. They tend to think of the province as their nation's Siberia, a center for prisons and work camps. Yet Qinghai shares much of the majestic scenery of Xinjiang combined with the rich culture of Tibet.

Qinghai's relative isolation will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a recently completed 1,700-km (1,054-mi) rail line to Tibet. For now, the province continues to be sparsely populated, with a little more than 5 million inhabitants. (Yes, that's a tiny number in China.)