I am wondering if we should take taxi or bus from the airport to our hotel, JinJiang Inn Xining Dashizi.

Yes, shuttle bus may help. It is suggested to take shuttle bus to get off at Xining Hotel Station. Then your hotel is around 1,000m away on the opposite of local famous Mojia Street.

Sorry - I have a follow up question. I have been trying to find the route we would walk from the bus station to our hotel. Maybe I do not know the correct bus stop address, but it shows 5.8 km - too far to walk with luggage I think. Is a taxi too risky? What would be the cost - seems like I have seen 50 as the regular rate. Thanks! Ellen

I think u may find the wrong bus stop to get off.
The XN Hotel, on Qiyi Street, is about 1 to 1.5km from your hotel, so you can easily walk to reach the hotel.
From the XN Hotel, you can walk along Qiyi Street to reach North Avenue until you reach the East Avenue.
If you want to take a taxi, it is not risky and the taxi fare is around 5 to 6RMB.

Sorry - I think I posted this in the wrong place a minute ago. Thank for that information - we can easily walk that distance. I will google the path now and make sure I have the right one.
Ellen