Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China.

[5][6] Scientific exploration of the mineral resources of Qarhan were undertaken in the 1950s, leading to the discovery of the area's potash and gas fields.

[7] In the 2010s, an influx of further investment followed realization of the importance of the Sanhu's supplies of lithium and rare earths for modern personal electronics and electric cars.

A large southern exclave is administered as the "town" of Tanggula, separated from the rest of the county by the western panhandle of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Other major lakes in the southern exclave of Golmud include Ulan Ul Lake [zh] (Chinese: 乌兰乌拉湖; pinyin: Wūlán Wūlā Hú)[12] and Migriggyangzham Co [zh; ru] (Chinese: 赤布张错; pinyin: Chìbùzhāng Cuò, Standard Tibetan: མི་རིག་རྒྱང་གྲམ་མཚོ).

[20] The larger Sanhu Depression includes East and West Taijinar, which hold China's largest reserves of lithium.

[7] According to the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the per capita disposable income in Golmud was 6,852 yuan in the first quarter of 2017, a 9.3% increase from the one year prior.

[11] The commission also states that the government has been developing the production of traditional woodworking, embroidery, and other local crafts through designated "demonstration areas" (Chinese: 示范区; pinyin: shìfàn qū).

[11] Statistics for 2001 show that the city's nominal GDP totaled 2.213 billion RMB, a rise of 31.9% from the previous year[20][why?]

It will actually branch off the Qinghai–Tibet Railway at the Yinmaxia station north of Golmud, and will cross the Qaidam Basin and the Altyn-Tagh/Qilian system on the way to Dunhuang in the neighboring Gansu province.

[22] The Golmud-Korla Railway running north west from Golmud into Korla, Xinjiang began construction in November 2014 and was completed in 2020.