The Life of Zanabazar Qinghai Lake Area in Qinghai Province China Altan Khan Names the 3rd Dalai Lama Qinghai Nu (Khokh Nuur in Mongolian) is a salt lake located at an altitude of 10,460 feet and covering some 4587 square kilometers. In 1578 the Mongolian Altan Khan met with the Tibetan monk Sonam Gyatso somewhere just south of here. At this meeting Altan Khan officially adopted Buddhism as the religion of his people. In honor of this occasion he gave Sonam Gyatso the title of Dalai Lama (dalai meaning "vast" or "oceanic" in Mongolian. Two previous incarnations of Sonam Gyatso were also recognized as Dalai Lamas, so he became the Third.

The lake is ringed by a belt of steppe not unlike the steppe of Mongolia, but immediately to the south of this is a range of mountains called the Qinghai Nan Shan with peaks of up to at least 15,238 feet. A road crosses a pass through this range to the small town of Gonghe. A small stream runs through a broad valley here, and much of the land in the level valley bottom is cultivated by the local Huis, a Chinese people who are followers of Islam. On either side of this valley extend desert-steppe and salt marshes.

According to some sources, the meeting betweeen the Altan Khan and the Dalai Lama took place near Gonghe, located in this valley about 20 miles south of Qinghai Lake.

Today there are several Tibetan temples and monasteries near Gonghe. This is a recently restored one next the the stupa of the Panchen Lama.

Recently constructed stupas in honor of the Panchen Lama, the Dalai Lama's counterpart. The Panchen Lamas are now in the favor of the Chinese government, while of course the Dalai Lama is not; there is no monument or memorial that I am aware of to the historic meeting between Altan Khan and Sonam Gyatso nor to the subsequent Dalai Lamas

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