# Qinghai: inventory and research for seven collections

Researched on 4 October 2026. This is an artistic brief, not evidence of an already completed generation. The map is a visual source; its captions and geographical placement are not automatically accepted as verified facts.

## Inventory of the source map

Qaidam Basin, Altun, Qilian and Kunlun Mountains; Chaka Salt Lake with human figures and reflection; Delingha; Qinghai Lake, shorebirds, a small stupa/pavilion, a herd of yaks; Xining with a mosque and urban buildings; Eight Treasures Tea on a tray; Kumbum Monastery; Kekexili with Tibetan antelopes; Nomad Life: tents, yaks, and a hostess at a cauldron; Three-River Source and individual Yangtze/Yellow/Mekong Source; Repkong with a thangka artist; Yushu with monastic/urban buildings; Tea-Horse Caravan with pack animals. The waterfall near Qilian and snowy peaks are additional cartographic motifs. Chaka’s reflective surface is rendered as open outlines, not a background.

## Verified tea contexts and limitations

**Drinking practices:** the provincial government confirms in Pingan Yi/Hehuang tea tables, copper teapots, Babao gaiwan, and Qinghai aocha, including cultural performances (S2). The Huangyuan municipal source directly describes aocha as a drink made from boiled fuzhuan (S3). The Sanjiangyuan National Park administration describes hospitality with butter tea in the home of an ecological ranger in Mado (S4). These are three substantive, non-fictional tea contexts.

**Composition:** these facts underlie the boiling of brick tea, serving gaiwan and butter tea; trade packaging is imported raw material. We do not draw tea plantations in the Qaidam, on high-altitude pastures or by the salt lake. The Repkong artist and the lakeside pause with a thermos are contemporary authorial scenes based on the map, not claims about an ancient tea ceremony.

**tea.travel limitations:** we do not repeat duplicated/unverified routes through Yushu, guaranteed tea service inside the monastery, mandatory salt specifically from Chaka, or medical advice. The three sources are a large-scale natural subject, not a single meeting point of rivers. Sacred objects and thangka are depicted respectfully without invented religious text.

## Sources

- **S1** — [tea.travel — Qinghai](https://tea.travel/en/region/qinghai/). Regional route and themes; individual unproven claims excluded.
- **S2** — [Qinghai Government: Hehuang/Pingan Yi culture](https://www.qinghai.gov.cn/dmqh/system/2024/05/05/030043460.shtml). Specific tea environment: copper teapots, Babao, and aocha.
- **S3** — [Huangyuan Administration: aocha from fuzhuan](https://www.huangyuan.gov.cn/index.php?c=show&id=1725&s=special). A direct description of imported brick tea raw material.
- **S4** — [Sanjiangyuan National Park: Home in Mado](https://sjy.qinghai.gov.cn/stbh/25424.html). Tea hospitality with butter tea at an ecological ranger's home.
- **S5** — [Qinghai Government: festive milk-tea hospitality](https://www.qinghai.gov.cn/zwgk/system/2026/02/17/030093270.shtml). Contemporary interregional everyday context, without inventing a recipe.

## Seven compositional solutions

- **C1 — Tea constellation:** Three different tea vessels — gaiwan, boiling kettle and butter churn — make up a two-color atlas.
- **C2 — Large letters — tea worlds:** The letters QINGHAI interact with domestic tea actions, the lake and craft.
- **C3 — Tea territories:** Branched landscape of hospitality: Hehuang, Huangyuan, and Mado.
- **C4 — Illustrated atlas:** Lake-and-mountain atlas with home tea, Kumbum, antelopes and the artist.
- **C5 — Parade of landmarks:** A warm outline parade of various vessels and people, a yak, a lake, and stepped roofs.
- **C6 — Travel Lines:** S-route from the ladle and brick tea to lake and oil tea drinking.
- **C7 — Based on real cups:** Nine major episodes in clean medium outline without high-altitude tea plantations.

## General parameters

English only. C7 contains only the main title; C1–C3 allow short verified captions. Native RGBA 3840 × 1280, significant elements in x60–3780/y110–1170; final central export 3840 × 1152, 250 × 75 mm. Without mockup, opaque background and fixed proportion of empty space. Region palette: #4C467C, #3F9AA1, #AC8743, #A66F83, #779676. C1 uses the first two inks, C2–C3 all five, C4–C7 the first three. The reference defines the manner, not the transfer of Guangdong subjects.