Things to do in Sunan

Mati Temple, located at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, is a national key cultural relics protection unit. It is a group of grottoes integrating Han and Tibetan Buddhism with Yugur and Tibetan folk customs, initially carved during the Northern Liang Dynasty and flourishing during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It's only an hour's drive from Zhangye city, and the road is relatively easy to drive. Unfortunately, apart from the Jinta Temple, which is mostly closed to the public, the grottoes and niches in the Thirty-Three Heavens North Temple Grottoes and Thousand Buddha Caves are mostly empty. Most of the Buddha statues and murals are gone. Besides multiple layers of historical damage, the main destruction occurred during the Cultural Revolution, when the vast majority of ancient Buddha statues were smashed and murals were removed. Jinta Temple, due to its remote location and sparse population, miraculously preserved its Northern Dynasties painted apsara sculptures, becoming a treasure of the Mati Temple grottoes. Most of the Buddha statues seen now are reconstructions from the 1980s and 1990s. Many niches have not yet been re-sculpted, so they appear empty. It is not recommended to visit if you only want to see Buddha statues and murals.

A very satisfying trip! The half-day tour of Binggou Danxia was just over 40 yuan per person for transportation, including door-to-door pick-up and drop-off – excellent value for money. Especially our driver, Mr. Zhao, was incredibly warm, attentive, and considerate – very professional, punctual, and responsible. Highly recommended!

On the third day of the National Day trip, the journey from Zhangye to Jiuquan was long, so we arranged to go to the snow mountain first. It is indeed not famous, but the scenery is nice, and you may see marmots, but we didn’t see any. It was cold and windy, so you needed to wear a thin down jacket and gloves. There were plank roads all the way, but the altitude was 3900-4000m. This was the day with the fewest steps on the trip. We walked more than 8,000 meters and had not yet reached the end. I flew a drone, and it may not have been halfway, but I still felt very tired. It took 2 hours, plus the round trip bus ride was about 3 hours. There were not many people in the scenic area, so there was no need to queue.

What's confusing about this scenic area is that the navigation leads to the visitor center on the map, but after asking a staff member, I learned that I had to go up to the second floor to exchange for tickets, get a navigation address and a pass, and then drive more than ten kilometers to actually reach the scenic area. Make sure you don't lose your pass; you'll need to check it before entering. Also, it might be inconvenient if you're not driving. During the summer, which is probably peak season, I didn't see any buses for individual tourists; it was all private cars. The scenery inside the scenic area is definitely worth seeing, and the fact that drones can fly is a great feature 👍

Qilian Mountains in Gansu attracts tourists with its magnificent natural scenery and rich cultural heritage. Qilian Mountain Ski Resort has become a popular attraction where tourists can experience skiing, snowmobiling and other activities. In addition, a herd of white-lipped deer, a national first-class protected animal, was discovered in the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve, and the ecological protection results were remarkable. It is worth a visit. The Qilian Mountain Grassland is known as one of the six most beautiful grasslands in China 🤟

As the essence of Mati Temple, almost all the Buddha statues in the grottoes are modern replicas, but the seven-story, twenty-one grottoes embedded in the steep red sandstone wall are a wonder!

It's truly beautiful and perfect for taking photos! However, because the entire scenic area consists of several viewing platforms, and the only way to get between them is by sightseeing bus, tourists tend to congregate at these platforms, making it extremely crowded. This is especially true during the most beautiful sunset hours, when the area is packed with people, making even taking a photo a luxury.

The last part of the journey up to the Medicine Master Hall is very interesting. It is basically vertical. You need to use your hands and feet to go up. Go back the same way. The room can accommodate about ten people. You have to be patient when going up and down. Wait until everyone comes down before going up again.

This so-called tourist attraction is a complete rip-off. As tourists from Chengdu, having hiked over various free mountains like Zheduo Mountain and Jiajin Mountain, and seen countless free grasslands like Hongyuan and Ruoergai, why would anyone pay 90 yuan per person to come here? I wouldn't have come at all if it weren't for bringing my dog. Turns out the entire grassland is fenced off and completely off-limits. Avoid this place!