[2025 Anning Attraction] Travel Guide for Mati Temple (Updated Apr)

‌Mati Temple Grottoes are located at an altitude of 2,643 meters. The grottoes are located in Mati Tibetan Township, Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, Zhangye City, Gansu Province, and can be traced back to the Northern Liang period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, with a history of over 1,600 years. The name of Mati Temple comes from the legendary divine beast "Mati" ridden by Sun Wukong when he returned from the Western Heaven with Tang Monk and his disciples. The history of Mati Temple can be traced back to the Northern Wei period, making it one of the earliest grottoes in China. Mati Temple Scenic Area is home to rolling mountains, crystal-clear rivers, dense forests, and vast grasslands. In spring, everything comes to life; in summer, the trees are lush; in autumn, the forests are ablaze with color; and in winter, the landscape is covered in a blanket of snow, offering different scenery in each season. Located within the Mati Temple Scenic Area, Tianti Mountain is a majestic peak with an ancient temple at its summit. From the top of the mountain, you can overlook the entire Mati Temple Scenic Area, offering a spectacular view.

Mati Temple, also known as Puguang Temple, was built during the Northern Liang of the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms period, and has a history of over 1600 years. The Mati Temple is a Buddhist holy site on the Hexi Corridor in China, known in Tibetan as 'Dzoma Rangjung', meaning 'the place where the Bodhisattva naturally appears'. The Mati Temple grottoes, along with the Yulin Grottoes of Guazhou and the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, are collectively referred to as the 'Three Great Artistic Treasures of the Buddhist Holy Sites in the Hexi Corridor'. The name 'Mati' comes from a legend where a celestial horse once drank water here and left a hoof print. Ancient people, with their bold imagination, emulated the 'Thirty-Three Heavens' of the heavens and carved out the 'Thirty-Three Heavens' of the human world in Mati Temple. It represents a realm of cultivation in Buddhism. Only by reaching the state of Nirvana and becoming a Buddha can one transcend the three realms and ascend to the Western Pure Land, the 'Ultimate Bliss World'. Time merges into the murals and sculptures, and looking back through the fleeting moments, history meanders like a stream, always leaving traces to follow. The Mati Temple grotto complex has accumulated the essence of a thousand years of historical changes, becoming an important historical and cultural relic on the Silk Road.

Matisi Scenic Area, located in Sunan Yugu Autonomous County, Gansu Province, is under the Linsong Mountain 60 kilometers away from Zhangye City. There are deep horseshoe footprints in a grotto on the top of the mountain, which are recorded in history as the traces of the heavenly horse, hence the name Matisi. The Matisi Scenic Area, known as a fairyland on earth, integrates grotto art, religious culture, ethnic customs, and natural scenery. It is a national AAAA tourist area, a provincial scenic spot, and a provincial forest park. The Matisi Grottoes are a national key cultural relics protection unit. The grottoes were excavated during the Northern Liang period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, with a history of more than 1600 years. They are composed of Shengguo Temple, Puguang Temple, Thousand Buddha Cave, Upper, Middle, and Lower Guanyin Caves, and Jinta Temple, distributed in an area of more than 100 square kilometers. Some early forms, statues, and murals in the grottoes of Jinta Temple and Thousand Buddha Cave all retain the characteristics and style of ancient simplicity and robustness. The magnificent 'Thirty-three Heavens', excavated in the form of a pagoda in 7 layers and 21 caves on the cliff, is breathtaking; the high-relief colored sculpture of Feitian in Jinta Temple is unique in the country; the grand scale of the Buddha Hall Grotto and the exquisite carving of the Thousand Buddha Cave Grotto, although not a masterpiece, also have a dreamy charm. Matisi is one of the Buddhist holy places in the Hexi Corridor of our country. It worshipped Han Buddhism in the early days, and Tibetan Buddhism flourished here after the Yuan Dynasty. In Tibetan, it is called 'Zhuoma Rangxiang', which means the place where Bodhisattva naturally appears. The coexistence of Han Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism is a major feature of Matisi. It takes nearly an hour to drive from Zhangye to Matisi. The snow on the mountain has not completely melted, and it looks spectacular in the sun. Due to the limited time to go to Jiuquan, I was unable to visit the most mysterious and precious Jinta Temple. However, the Thirty-three Heavens Cave and Thousand Buddha Cave at the foot of the snow mountain still present the Buddhist art treasures from countless skilled craftsmen over thousands of years. A piece of mural traces from the Northern Liang to the Ming Dynasty shows the long history and charm of this Buddhist grotto.