Mati Temple Grottoes

Mati Temple Grottoes tickets and tours: which one to book

No ticket for Mati Temple alone is sold online. Admission to the scenic area is bought at the gate, and the grottoes, the monastery and the walking trails are all covered by the same ticket; on ordinary days there are no queues and no need to book. The question is transport. Mati lies in the foothills of the Qilian Mountains about 60 km south of Zhangye, in the grasslands of the Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, and buses are infrequent. Most visitors therefore come on a private tour from Zhangye with a car and driver, which can be fitted around the region's other sights. The most popular combination is a day that covers Mati in the morning and the Rainbow Mountains of the Zhangye Danxia landform at sunset, when the striped hills are at their most vivid.

Another variant adds the Pingshanhu Grand Canyon, or starts in town at the Giant Buddha Temple with its huge reclining figure. Two-day private trips take things more slowly, adding the Binggou Danxia area and leaving time for the grasslands. These tours generally include hotel pickup, a car and driver, and sometimes an English-speaking guide; scenic area tickets and the internal shuttle buses are often paid separately, so check the inclusions. A guide is useful at Mati because most signage is in Chinese only. Travelling independently, a taxi or hired car from Zhangye is the most practical option.

Visiting Mati Temple Grottoes: what to see and how to behave

Mati Temple takes its name, which means Horse Hoof Temple, from a mark in the rock said to be the hoofprint of a heavenly horse. It is not a single building but a group of Buddhist cave temples carved into soft red sandstone cliffs, scattered over several valleys at around 2,500 m, with the snow peaks of the Qilian range behind. Monks began cutting cells and shrines here around 1,500 years ago, in the era when Buddhism was spreading east along the Silk Road through the Hexi Corridor, and the site was extended and repainted over many centuries. The centrepiece is a sheer cliff carved with the Thirty-Three Heavens, a vertical stack of shrines linked inside the rock by steep stairways, narrow tunnels and wooden balconies.

Climbing up through them, sometimes on hands and knees, is an adventure, and from the top balconies the view across the grassland is magnificent. Nearby, the Golden Pagoda Temple cave holds a central pillar carved with Buddhas and flying celestial figures, among the finest early sculpture in the area, and other valleys hold the Thousand Buddha Caves and further shrines. Mati is still an active place of worship, now looked after by Tibetan Buddhist monks, so walk clockwise around shrines and prayer wheels, do not touch the paintings, and ask before photographing inside the caves. The passages in the Thirty-Three Heavens are tight and very steep, unsuitable for anyone with vertigo or limited mobility. The drive from Zhangye takes about an hour and a half.

Mati Temple Grottoes: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The scenic area opens daily from morning until early evening in the summer season, with shorter hours in winter; check locally before going. Mornings are best, both for the light on the red cliffs and because you can then reach the Danxia hills in time for sunset. The best season is from June to September, when the grasslands are green, herders' tents dot the valleys, and wild flowers bloom; early autumn brings golden colours and clear skies.

At this altitude it is cool even in summer, so bring a warm layer and sun protection. Winters are long and very cold, and the site is quiet but sometimes snowy. The Chinese national holidays in early May and early October bring heavy crowds to the whole Zhangye area. Allow two to three hours to see the main grottoes, and more if you want to walk in the valleys. Pair it with the Rainbow Mountains, the Grand Canyon or the Giant Buddha Temple in Zhangye.