Riyue Mountain

Riyue Mountain (Chinese: 日月山; pinyin: Rìyuè Shān; lit. 'Sun and moon mountain'), known in Tibetan as Nyima Dawa La (Tibetan: ཉི་མ་ཟླ་བ་ལ, Wylie: nyi ma zla wa la), is actually a mountain pass situated in Huangyuan County, Xining, Qinghai Province, China. The mountain pass is 3,399 m (11,152 ft) above sea level and separates the Qinghai Lake endorheic basin from the Huangshui River basin, a tributary of the Yellow River. The Daotang River (Chinese: 倒淌河; pinyin: Dàotǎng hé) flows west from the pass into Qinghai Lake. The pass separates Qinghai Province into a pastoral zone in the west and an agricultural zone in the east. The mountain pass is currently crossed by China National Highway 214 that follows the ancient trade route into Tibet. It is also the historical Southern Silk Road and Tang-Tibet Ancient Road, and other roads must pass through and an important place where multi-ethnic groups live together.