Other lordship · Self-governing peoples of Tibet and the Himalaya · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Tsaidam herders

The Tsaidam (Qaidam) is a salt-marsh basin ringed by the Kunlun, Altun and Qilian ranges: oases at Delingha, Dulan and Golmud, salt lakes and brackish rivers, thin herding and long empty stretches.

The Tuyuhun, who ruled it before the Tibetans took it in 670, were scattered (Wikipedia, Tuyuhun), and the Tibetan Empire ended in the 9th century. Song accounts of the Khotan road through the Qingtang country, which ran along its southern side, are recalled, not read. No ruler of the basin is named for 1200. We draw a people that answers to nobody; Xia's name carries weight at Xining and no farther west than the lake.

Who he is

Title
Tribal chiefs of the Tibetan and Dangxiang herders of the Tsaidam basin
Since
not known
Born
not known
Family
not known
Confidence
low

None named. The Tibetan Empire left tombs at Dulan (7th-9th centuries, recalled); nothing in our sources dates a ruler of the basin after 840.

Overlord

None; Xia's reach from Xining ends at the Riyue Shan and the lake (not pinned).

What it holds

  • Oases and springs at Delingha, Dulan and Golmud
  • Salt from the lakes (Chaka, Da Qaidam)
  • Winter pasture along the Bayan Har and Burhan Buda foothills
  • The caravan tracks to Khotan and Charklik

How it was acquired

By custom.

Allies and rivals

Xia at Xining (the east door); the Tsongkha tribes; Yushu to the south; the Tarim oases and Xia's Hexi to the north.

How things stand that morning

Self-governing; thin; no dated event.

Wealth

Salt, sheep, camels and horses, tolls on caravans.

Military

Mounted herdsmen; no numbers.

Places of note

  • Delingha: Oasis on the northern edge of the basin.
  • Golmud: Oasis and the old crossing to the Kunlun.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Geography and the Tuyuhun background only.

On the map: Ground is drawn in the province record Tsaidam.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia, Tuyuhun (read this session)
  2. Wikipedia, Amdo (read this session)
  3. Author's recall of the secondary literature (Petech, Tucci, Stein, Davidson, Smith, Kapstein, Dunnell): not re-read this session, so marked 'recalled' in the text

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.