Zhangye Mati Temple Thirty-Three Heavens Grottoes.

Mati Temple is located in Mati Tibetan Township, Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, 60 km from Zhangye. It was built in the Northern Liang Dynasty and is a large group of grottoes. It includes seven small grotto groups, stretching nearly 30 km, including Qianfo Cave, North and South Mati Temple, Upper, Middle, and Lower Guanyin Cave, and Jinta Temple. The most famous is the Thirty-Three Heavens Grottoes of the North Temple, which was excavated from the Northern Dynasties, and took hundreds of years to complete. It is shaped like a pagoda, with 7 layers and 21 caves, and only one "Z"-shaped internal passage, with winding corridors. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, it still stands on the cliff. The internal passage of the grottoes is dark in many places, and the stone steps are difficult to walk even after being repaired. Some places can only be passed by one person sideways, and sometimes you need to use both hands and feet to go up and down. According to Buddhist scriptures, the center of the top of Mount Sumeru is Indra, and there are eight heavens on each of the four peaks, where eight gods live, namely the Thirty-Two Heavens, which together with Indra in the center form the "Thirty-Three Heavens", which is a place for the gods to entertain. It takes about an hour to climb up and down here, which requires some physical strength, and it will be blocked when there are many people. Unfortunately, most of the sculptures were destroyed in that era, which is really regrettable. A separate ticket for the Thirty-Three Heavens Grottoes is required, which costs CNY 35.