Wender·Vista
Qinghai Lake
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePeople's Republic of China
high on the northeast Tibetan Plateau

Qinghai Lake

— — the inland sea the Tibetans called blue.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The largest lake in China, sitting at about 3,205 metres on the northeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetans call it Tso Ngonpo, the blue lake; Mongolians knew it as Köke Nuur. It is a closed-basin salt lake, fed by short rivers off the Qilian Mountains, with no outlet to the sea. Bar-headed geese and brown-headed gulls nest on its western islands each summer.

from the studio
Qinghai Lake
— bring it home

Qinghai Lake, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Qinghai Lake

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Qinghai Lake is the largest lake in China by surface area, covering roughly 4,500 square kilometres on the northeast Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai Province. It sits at an elevation of about 3,205 metres in a closed basin, fed by some twenty short rivers off the Qilian Mountains and the Datong range. The lake is brackish to saline, with no outlet to the sea. Tibetans call it Tso Ngonpo and Mongolians historically called it Köke Nuur, both meaning roughly blue lake.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the water

The water is mildly saline and alkaline, with a salinity around 12 to 14 grams per litre, a fraction of seawater but well above fresh. Average depth is about 21 metres, with a maximum near 32 metres. The lake supports the endemic Gymnocypris przewalskii, a scaleless carp central to the basin's food web and a key food source for the breeding bird colonies. Water levels fell through the late twentieth century and have stabilised since the early 2000s.

— the year

Two seasons mark the lake's year. From May through July, Bird Island on the western shore hosts large breeding colonies of bar-headed geese, brown-headed gulls, great cormorants, and Pallas's gulls. Most birds head south by early autumn. In July the Tour de Qinghai Lake, a stage road-cycling race first held in 2002 and rated by the UCI, circles the lake on a course often above 3,000 metres of elevation. The lake freezes over from roughly December through March.

— where
People's Republic of China · Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai
— elevation
3,205 m · 10,515 ft
— position
36.8800° N · 100.1800° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
150 km E
Xining
provincial capital
at the lake
Bird Island
bird breeding island
80 km N
Qilian Mountains
mountain range
90 km SW
Chaka Salt Lake
salt flat
N
Qinghai Lake
Xining
Bird Island
Qilian Mountains
Chaka Salt Lake
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Qinghai Lake — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

About 4,500 square kilometres in surface area, the largest lake in China. The exact area fluctuates with annual rainfall and snowmelt from the Qilian Mountains, and has grown modestly over the past two decades.

Qinghai Lake is a closed basin with no outlet to the sea. Inflow rivers carry dissolved salts off the surrounding ranges, and evaporation concentrates them. Salinity runs roughly 12 to 14 grams per litre.

About 3,205 metres (10,515 feet) above sea level, on the northeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Visitors arriving from low elevation should expect mild altitude effects on their first day.

The Tibetan name Tso Ngonpo and the Mongolian Köke Nuur both translate roughly as blue lake. The Chinese name Qinghai also carries a colour reading: qing meaning blue-green, hai meaning sea.

May through July. Bird Island on the western shore is one of the most important inland breeding sites in central Asia, with bar-headed geese, brown-headed gulls, great cormorants, and Pallas's gulls nesting in dense colonies.

The usual approach is from Xining, the provincial capital, about a three-hour drive west on Highway G6. Long-distance trains run to Xining from Beijing, Lanzhou, and Lhasa, with onward bus and car connections.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for customers with Qinghai, Amdo, or Tibetan family ties, and for travellers who have circled the lake by road or by bike. A Small with a note from the studio travels well.

The cold blues and pale stone land in Japandi, Mountain-modern, and quieter Minimalist Asian rooms. It pairs well with raw linen, unfinished oak, and unglazed stoneware in pale earthen tones.

A Large reads well above a console or reading chair. Above a sofa a 4-tile Mural carries the wall. For a longer room a 9-tile Mural holds the whole field.

Yes. For wet rooms and splash zones, choose Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and hold up to steam and daily wiping. Glossy is best kept for dry wall art.

A microfibre cloth with water handles everyday dust and fingerprints. In a kitchen install with cooking residue, a drop of pH-neutral soap in warm water is fine. Skip abrasive pads and citrus cleaners.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license or resell other artists' work, and the same eye chooses every place that enters the atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.