Qinghai is situated in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and is mainly a high, desolate plateau. The central region has the vast, swampy Qaidam basin, and in the northeast there is the large Qinghai Hu or Koko Nor salt lake for which the province is named. Flanked by two big mountain range----Qilian in the north, Tanggula in the south, 4/5 of this highland averages 3,000 meters above sea level. In its middle, stands another big mountain spur ---- the Kunlun. 95% of province is pastureland. What makes the physical feature of the region unique is that two major Chinese waters, the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers all originate here: one from the southwest slop of main peak of Tanggula; one from northern slope of Bayanhar. This feature has earned the province a name as the source of the rivers. Clad in snow in winter and cool in summer and with 17.2 ºC (62.96 ºF) as its average monthly temperature in July, the area is an ideal summer resort. The province has a sparse population, 4.04 million in total. The inhabitants are made up of different ethnic group: the Han, the Tibetan, The Hui, The Monoglian, the Tu and the Salar.