Zhangye Mati Temple - 张掖马蹄寺

马蹄寺位于甘肃肃南裕固族自治县境内（裕固族为甘肃张掖所特有少数民族）；北距张掖市市区65公里，是集石窟艺术、祁连山风光和裕固族风情于一体的旅游区。石窟由胜果寺、普光寺、千佛洞、金塔寺、上、中、下观音洞七处组成，共有70余处窟龛，始建于北凉。马蹄寺因传说中的天马在此饮水落有马蹄印而得名。传说中的马蹄印迹现存于普光寺马蹄殿内，成为镇寺之宝。

马蹄寺，也叫普光寺，建于东晋十六国时期的北凉，距今已逾1600年，然而令人痛惜的是，由于当时的北方军阀割据，混乱一片，加之历代王朝更替，战火绵延，马蹄寺原有规模宏大的建筑群多被毁于战火之中，这其中就包括金塔寺、千佛洞、南北马蹄寺、观音洞以及众多石窟等。 马蹄寺在北凉时期，最早为汉传佛教寺院，后来逐渐成为藏传佛教寺院，属于藏传佛教格鲁派青海东科尔寺的属寺，寺院自建寺以来，香火就极为鼎盛，最盛时的僧众可达1000余人，而建国初期僧众也尚有50余人，足可见历史上马蹄寺的辉煌。

马蹄寺的又一次被破坏发生在动乱的十年文革时期，不仅寺中石窟、壁画、佛像几乎被毁坏殆尽，而且石窟外的建筑则更是荡然无存。马蹄寺所存的三十三天石窟、马蹄印石窟、藏佛殿石窟、胜果寺、千佛洞石窟等，多为改革开放之后重新修复，而寺中主要的建筑如大雄宝殿、站佛殿、观音殿、药师殿等多为明万历年间旧迹，实为不幸中之大幸，这些殿阁虽经历百年风雨侵袭，但仍巍峨屹立于百丈悬崖之上，令人不禁惊叹古人卓越的建筑技艺，给人以视觉与心灵的巨大震撼，而寺中收藏的晋代的站佛、北魏时的文殊菩萨宝剑、清康熙帝的龙袍、乾隆帝的马鞍等众多文物，更令人感叹历史风雨沧桑和马蹄寺曾有的辉煌。

Mati Temple is also called Puguang Temple. The whole grotto is composed of Shenguo Temple, Puguang Temple, Qianfo Cave, Jinta Temple, Upper Guanyin Cave, Middle Guanyin Cave and Lower Guanyin Cave. First built in the northern Liang period, Mati Temple boasts more than 70 caves and shrines. According to the legend, a horse from the heaven once left a mark of horse hooves here, and thus the temple got its name.

The legendary print of the horse hooves now exsits in the Mati Hall in Puguang Temple, serving as an indispensable treasure of the temple. The uniqueness of Mati Temple Grotto lies in the grand scale of budhist towers, caves and shrines in Qianfo Cave, with a total number of more than 500; the larg-scale sculpture of Apsaras in Jinta Temple is of primitive simplicity and elegance, which is unque in China; the Thirty-three-heavens Cave in Puguang Tempple has a total of 21 grottoes ranked in 5 levels.

These grottoes are arranged in the form of a pagoda, with Buddhist halls inside and corridors outside. The total number of caves and shrines both inside and outside is up to 49, all of which are of unique designs. The surroundings of Mati Temple are very beautiful, and the verdant hills, green waters, unusal peaks and peculiar caves are the most famous things of Mati Temple. Tourist can also stay in the tent of Yugu Minority, enjoying the pure chang and the delicious big chunks of stewed lamb and experiencing the unique living style and the cultural characteristics of the nomadic people.