Located at the northwest bank of the Mati River and at the foot of Linsong Mountain in Zhangye city, Mati Temple is a national 5A tourist attraction, a cultural relic and a famous Buddhist site. It is about 62 kilometers away from downtown Zhangye and earned its name because of a horse footprint found on the top of a grotto.

First built in the northern Liang period (397-460), Mati Temple boasts a wide range of natural, historical and cultural sites, with Yugu, Tibetan and Mongolian ethnic features. It has been widely known for the 21 grottoes distributed in seven floors situated on sharp cliffs.

It is surrounded by rich landforms and has lots of rare wild animals such as white-lip deer, snow leopards and cliff sheep.