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mke1963 Says: The Thousand Buddha Caves are just inside the entrance gateway to the Matisi Scenic Area, and walking up the road is a pleasant experience, with the river rushing past on one side, and the decaying niches studding the cliffface on the other.There are 8 caves here, of a...
Matisi Nan - Matisi South Caves
mke1963 Says: Just above the Shengguo Temple, and clearly visible from Mati village are the Matisi Nankou, the southern Matisi Caves. Although impressive from the valley floor, there is less to see at the Matisi Nan site (there are no caves here, compared to the 9 caves at Matisi Bei,...
Matisi Bei - Matisi North Caves - Part II
mke1963 Says: Just south of the main temple building compound are a series of caves not normally open to the public, but it might be possible - by begging..or perhaps even by asking at the administrative offices in the village - to get a quick glimpse. Some 20km south of the vilage is the...
Matisi Bei - Matisi North Caves - Part I
mke1963 Says: The main attraction at Matisi are the grottos and caves which date back to the Northern Wei period and continue through 1,000 years of Buddhist inhabitation and devotion in this area.NOTE: The whole cave area is closed to visitors during 2005 and will reopen in mid 2006. If...
mke1963 Says: Originally constructed in the 1920s, the Tibetan Yellow Hat sect Shenguo Temple lies in a tiny cleft in the valley above Matisi Village on the track up to the Matisi Bei temple and caves.It was largely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (as was the better known Jinta...
mke1963 Says: Above the village shop (in the modern row of buildings at the top end) is a small museum which explains the history of the area. It is a modern museum with good labelling (albeit mainly in Chinese) and is worth visiting for 30 minutes. There is a god display of traditional...
mke1963 Says: The area is slowly being built up as a 'Scenic Area' () and so the local people are becoming used to tourists.There are virtually endless opportunities for walking up into the forested valleys leading into the Qilianshan. However, note that this is remote countryside....
Wolong Binguan: Wolong Binguan
mke1963 Says: There is a small hotel/binguan in the centre of the village. It also has a restaurant in the 'tent' facility outside.We didn't use it because we were moving on later in the day. It seems to be at the one-star level.
Home stay accommodation: Home stay accommodation
mke1963 Says: We were unable to stay the night as we were on business and had to get to jiayuguan that night.However, there are home stay possibilities in the village of Matisi. Ask at the visitor centre/shop or at the Yugur/Tibetan restaurant in the centre of the village for details.Note...
Helpfulness
There are eleven restaurants around the village and up the main valley, and all focus on the local Yugur and especially Tibetan cuisine, which includes a lot of Tibetan tea with butter, cheese and flour mixed in. As Matisi already attracts tourists in good numbers, some of the restaurants have been developed as entertainment centres and include dancing, remember that this provides much needed local employment for young people. One of the local dance troupes performs Yugur, Tibetan and even Mongolian dances in other cities of the province.
The immediate surroundings of the eleven restaurant tents is scruffy, but this is all being cleaned up in 2006.
Favorite Dish: The baked mutton which just falls off the bone.
Updated Apr 23, 2006
Helpfulness
There are occasional buses from Zhangye to villages near Matisi, but it is probably easiest to hire a taxi for the entire day (RMB150) if you are returning to Zhangye. If you are staying overnight, arrange for a driver to come back. Hitchhiking is not recommended as the traffic is light.
However, there seem to be a good number of visitors by car to Matisi, so hitching may be possible on the way back.
During the peak summer season there is one bus that departs from Zhangye for Matisi each day for visitors. There are three buses from Matisi to Zhangye each day, but they leave early in the morning, returning to Mati village around 2pm, so not much use for the whole day.
The tourism authorities haven't yet made the arrangements for the daily tourist bus in 2006, so ask at the hotel in Zhangye when you arrive.
Updated Apr 23, 2006
Helpfulness
At the top of the line of new (empty) shops, the final shop does stock food and some souvenirs of the area. However, the range of items is very limited and you should aim to bring whatever you need with you.
The items shown in the photograph - small soft toys, and the Yugur cothing - is made by local households within Sunan County, if you wish to support local businesses! Most other items on sale come from far and wide.
Updated Apr 23, 2006
Helpfulness
The Jinta Caves are strictly off-limits and lie well to the southeast of the main Matisi complex. However, if you are a researcher (possibly with links through CASS or the Dunhuang Academy) or make prior arrangements (i.e. before coming to China), a visit may be possible in summer. The valley is inaccessible from about November through to May because of snow.
The site is a series of three caves high up on the cliff face, above the remains of a destroyed Tibetan monastery. (If you are looking for the monastery, don't bother....long gone, although some bricks remain where the car parks).
The scultures and frescos are staggering, easily matching the best at Dunhuang or Maijishan. However, the ligthig is poor so you will need a flashlight. There is simply too much to describe in these small caves. There are believed to be five layers of frescos. The significance of this site is such that two researchers who stole several pieces received the death penalty just a few years ago.
Updated Apr 23, 2006
Tour guides - please use them!
mke1963 Says: Many travellers and tourists prefer to explore on their own, but please also consider the impact thishas on the local economy.In the example of Matisi, the tour guides are mainly from the Tibetan and Yugur minorities and are mainly young. Tourism is one of the few - if not...
l_joo Says: While exploring Matisi, I stumbled upon a cute little piglet. Must be his/her owner tied he/she here nearby where they stay. I gave he/she some bread to eat. After eating, I try to pat his/her head but almost got bitten, probably came too sudden.
l_joo Says: In our favourite VT-miscellaneous-forum, 'THIS IS ME AT XXX' is one of the heatest topic. Some peoples' tips contained only a mere one line of writings has been constantly criticized as meaningless tips or bad. Bearing that in mind, I try not to write tips with just a line,...
l_joo Says: I don't want say too much when I already have a photo of this quality in location like this. Anybody try to tell me this is not a beautiful place, look at it yourself, I hate describing beautiful.
l_joo Says: My sense of sight directly tell me this is not a just a scene of goat eating grasses, it was something, something which the organs accepted with joy and naturally delightful, it just so comfortable and feeling fresh and healthy. This kind of scene is absolutely beautiful,...
The gray outlines of the Qilianshan come slowly into focus in the cool grey morning light, as the old Silk Road city of Zhangye is left behind. Zhangye's dusty tree canopy is replaced by a gravelly......
What I think In travel website such as VT, if a location I build or you build successfully accepted by travel agents, they would start bringing peoples there and slowly the place will for 99%...
Build your own Matisi page
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