how long does bus from Xining to Qinghai Lake?

A single trip from the city to the lake takes around 5h. So it is hard to have a round trip in a day if you wanna have much fun there. At the Gongjiao Bus Station near local main railway station, only one bus is scheduled to Niaodao (Birds' Island) Town at 07:45 and it gets back at 15:00. From the town to the scenic area, you can hire a taxi or car at a cost of CNY40.

You can stay in the Niao Dao Hotel, which is close to the Bird's Island Scenic Area.