Basic Overview
Erlang Sword Scenic Area, also known as the "151 Base", is a core scenic spot of Qinghai Lake. It is located on the southeast shore of Qinghai Lake in Gonghe County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, with its gate adjacent to National Highway 109, about 151 kilometers away from Xining City. The scenic spot gets its name from a 25-kilometer-long narrow peninsula that stretches northward into the lake, shaped exactly like a sharp sword piercing the lake center. In Tibetan, it is called "Haihu", and it was historically known as "Haida" in ancient records.
Its predecessor was the state-owned Shanying Machinery Factory (also known as Factory 874), founded in 1965 and externally named "151 Base" — China's first torpedo launch test base. It undertook the important task of testing torpedoes and made remarkable contributions to the country's coastal defense construction. After completing its historical mission and being decommissioned in 1984, the base was transformed into a tourist attraction. A torpedo launch test exhibition hall was built here in 2003 and further improved in 2010, allowing visitors to review that glorious and arduous period of military history.
