Shaolin Temple

Overview

About

Shaolin Temple lies on the shaded north side of Shaoshi Mountain at the western foot of Mount Song, with the Pagoda Forest, the First Patriarch’s Hermitage, Bodhidharma’s Cave, the Second Patriarch’s Hermitage, Yongtai Temple and the Shaoshi Que. Ringed by hills, it was among the first AAAA attractions named by the national tourism authority.

Founded in 495 and named for the dense forest (lin) below Shaoshi Mountain, it is the cradle of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China and the birthplace of Shaolin martial arts. The Pagoda Forest to its west covers about 20,000 m² with 231 brick and stone memorial pagodas of the Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and modern times, the largest in China.

The temple covers more than 30,000 m² with seven courtyards on its axis, grand in scale and fine in sculpture and painting. More than 300 stelae survive, among them the poem of Empress Wu of Tang, the Qianlong stele, the stele of the Three Teachings, works of the four great Song calligraphers and the stele of Master Dao written by the Ming calligrapher Dong Qichang, all of high calligraphic and sculptural quality.

The Thousand Buddha Hall holds 320 m² of murals out of more than 500 m² in the temple: five hundred arhats, lifelike and varied, painted in the Wanli reign of the Ming more than 400 years ago, their colours and lines still clear, the temple’s greatest treasure. Around the temple, besides the Pagoda Forest, stand pagodas of the Tang and Five Dynasties, including those of the masters Tongguang, Faru and Fahua.

Today Shaolin is famous not only for its ancient Buddhist tradition but for its martial arts: “Chinese kung fu leads the world, and all kung fu comes from Shaolin”.

On 30 August 1995 China Post issued 1995-14 “Shaolin Temple”, four stamps: the gate, the Pagoda Forest, monks practising, and the thirteen monks rescuing the Prince of Qin.

Travel tips

Getting there: Dengfeng has no railway; long-distance buses run from Zhengzhou and Luoyang, about an hour and a half from Zhengzhou. City buses go from Dengfeng to Shaolin Temple and Zhongyue Temple.

Tickets: Shaolin Temple and Mount Song share one ticket. Park at the scenic-area car park and buy tickets at the main gate; inside, walk or take the shuttle bus to the temple and the Pagoda Forest. Further on is the lower cable-car station.

Shaolin Temple: some 10–15 km west of Dengfeng. The site includes the main monastery, the Pagoda Forest and the Chuzu Hermitage, and there are martial-arts shows.

Mount Shaoshi: from the Shaolin area take the cable car or walk up. Plank paths run around Sanhuangzhai; Shuce Cliff (“Book Cliff”) is on the way there. The climbing paths are steep.

Time: one day is enough for Shaolin Temple and Mount Shaoshi.

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