Mati Si, the temple grottoes

Despite being far from Zhangye and finding little information about how to reach the place, it was impossible for us to miss it. After searching through the internet for hours, we were informed that buses were not reliable to go there and we're often canceled if it wasn't the busy season. Given the fact that the city was empty, we decided to ask our hostel if they could arrange something, and they did. We paid 70rmb for a round trip to Mati Si, as well as transportation inside, which I think is much needed if you don't have much time as some sites are far from the others. It's important to note that at the moment, there's no sidewalk so you have to walk on the road, and even though there's not much traffic , it's not really pleasant, and there's no shuttle bus service inside the scenic area. This price was definitely a good bargain as most taxis or drivers would take around three times that for the same service. Mati temple means "Horseshoe" temple. Legend says that a hoof's print was left by a horse descending from the sky. You can actually see the print in one of the temples. But the horseshoe is not the only reason to visit. Going through the many grottoes, narrow stairs, climbing even to reach some is definitely an adventure worth the trip. Witnessing this, you wonder how this was built, and marvel at the ingenuity of those people. There are some beautiful carvings, and some murals are definitely worth seeing. The unusual setting is something that shouldn't be missed while on a trip to Zhangye. When we were there, it wasn't very busy, but I imagine during summer it can get pretty crowded, and thus hard to reach some grottoes as climbing might be needed or going through narrow stairs and corridors. 💰Average Price per Person: 74rmb per person (first Price ticket for the main attractions, it can go to much more expensive if you want to see all the sights in the area) 💞Reasons to Recommend: rare sights, spiritual journey, impressive architecture ⏱️Time spent there: three hours, fast paced. #matitemple #zhangye #temple #spiritual #grottoes #travel #china