Based on the condition of the natural resources in the Qaidam Basin, such as the geography, the climate, the water resources and the halophytes, this paper comprehensively analyzes the resource basis for developing the saline lake agriculture, focusing on the characteristics of the land use and the problems of applications. It is shown that the priority of the Qaidam Basin is to deal with the salinized soil. With the accumulated temperature, the heat resource is rich. Furthermore, the salt water, the brackish water and the plant resources are also very rich in this area. The proportion of the agricultural land in the Qaidam Basin is 0.17%. A large part of the agricultural land is not developed and the abandoned area is large. The grassland area accounts for 46.64%, but with the altitude, the climate, the traffic and other conditions, its use is limited. The proportion of the forest is 2.87%, but with a serious damage. The saline land area accounts for 11.68%, which is rich in the Qaidam Basin, but it is hardly used. The resources in the Qaidam Basin is rich with a huge development potential. So it is suggested to establish an agricultural demonstration district in this area. to be used to develop the salt lake agriculture, as well as to strengthen the study of the halophytes, and rationally to develop and utilize the saline land resources.

saline land  /  nature resources  /  land resources  /  saline lake agricultural  /  Qaidam Basin