7 Nature & Parks in Tianshui That You Shouldn't Miss

Reviewed By garyr0bertb - China, null

I visited Maijishan Grottos in December 2020 as I wanted to see the area in snow and avoid the huge summer crowds. I have visited hundreds of places in China (an Australian working in Guangzhou) and this is undoubtedly one of my top 3 favourites. I think ‘grottos’ is a more apt name than caves as the openings in the cliff face are quite small. Maijishan is one of the four famous grottos of China, the others being Mogao, Yungang, and Longmen – all in different provinces. One does not have to be a Buddhist, or even spiritual to appreciate the awesomeness, craftsmanship and cultural value of these grottos. The eagle-eyed will see an evolution of styles spanning the dynasties and centuries. Visiting Maijishan needs preparation and some of the information I found on websites seems now to be incorrect. I flew from Guangzhou to Lanzhou for a week. I took a taxi from my hotel to Lanzhou West Train Station; then caught the high speed train from Lanzhou West Station at 7.05am and arriving at Tianshui South Station at 8.33am (159RMB for 1st class ticket one way). I walked to the far end of the station and descended two escalators to the bus station in the basement. I waited about 40 minutes and caught BUS 60 to the entrance of the Maijishan site. Bus 60 is a tourist shuttle bus costing 7 RMB each way. I think there are only 2 morning buses in winter but more in other seasons. Once arriving at the site, pay 80RMB to enter, then choose to walk to Maiji Mountain (It took me 20 minutes walking briskly uphill along a road) or take a small electric vehicle (there will be a small charge). Walk up a steep set of stone stairs to the second admission gate. Here you just show your ticket and enter OR pay extra for a private tour in which extra grottos will be open for viewing. I chose not to have a private tour as it was a minimum of 600 RMB per grotto and in winter, there are no English-speaking guides. I caught the 2pm shuttle bus back to the station, and then the 4.05pm high speed train to Lanzhou. By 6.30pm I was sipping craft beers near the Zhengning Night Market and editing my photos. I was totally amazed at the technology of the ‘out-of-cliff walkways’ (totally safe I think), the view of the valleys and mountains, and of course the hundreds of Buddha-clad grottos. Most of the grottos are protected by metal gauze; however, I placed my iPhone camera in a gap and took oodles of great photos. I also had a downloaded guide of the grottos and read this beforehand. There are a few larger, gauzeless grottos open all the time, and these had amazing sculptures and murals depicting a thousand years of evolving Buddhist history. I won’t provide any details of the sculptures as I think these need to be discovered. A few tips if travelling privately from Lanzhou: # Best to use the high speed train – forget slow trains and buses as these leave little time to explore the mountain; remember to use the special entry and exit channel by showing your passport and train ticket # have the correct names of the high speed stations in Chinese characters for the taxi drivers etc # book the high speed train tickets in advance – use a Chinese travel agency or a Chinese friend who can book and pay online # bring your passport, and your mobile phone with the latest Health Record for the province (if travelling in 2021) # bring water and snacks, comfortable walking shoes to negotiate the stairs and walkways, and appropriate clothes for the season # don’t whinge if many of the grottos are protected by gauze as cultural heritage is more important than photo addictions; there are c. 200 grottos and 7000 sculptures – you do not need to see them all! # take it slow and easy on the steep stairs and on the overhang walkways; be conscious of people around you in tight spaces # avoid Chinese national holidays at all cost