Shaolin Kung Fu Tour from Beijing

After breakfast, your private tour guide will pick you up from the hotel and then take you to explore Beijing, the capital city of China.

Firstly, you will take a visit to Tian’anmen Square. It is located in the center of Beijing and is regarded as the largest city center square in the world. Covering an area of 440,000 square meters, it can accommodate 1 million people for a grand rally. Tian’anmen Square was named after Tian’anmen Gate Tower, the majestic building standing on the north side of Chang’an Avenue. Tian’anmen Gate Tower was built in 1417 in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, imperial edict issuing ceremonies would be held here when a new emperor was enthroned, a new empress was selected and an emperor abdicated. On December 25th, 1911, Empress Dowager Longyu issued the abdication edict of Emperor Puyi, the last emperor in China’s history. On October 1st, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong stood on the Tian’anmen Gate Tower and proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Since then, it has become a symbol of New China and become an important part of the National Emblem of China.

Then you will go north to the Forbidden City(closed each Monday), the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing (1636-1912) dynasties. The construction of the Forbidden City began in 1406 during the Ming Dynasty and was completed in1420. It is 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west, surrounded by 10-meter high city walls. Covering a total area of 720,000 square meters, it boasts more than 70 palaces of different sizes with over 9000 rooms. Along the central axis, six grand halls are standing in a line.They are the main buildings and essences of the Forbidden City. You will walk along the central axis to admire the masterpieces of traditional Chinese architecture. And your tour guide will show you the classic but short route to avoid crowds of people.

At noon, you will have your lunch at an authentic restaurant. After lunch, you are going to visit the Temple of Heaven. It was the place where the Ming and Qing emperors prayed for good harvests every spring and worshipped heaven every winter. Covering an area of 2.73 million square meters, the Temple of Heaven is the largest building complex for worshiping heaven in the world. Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in the north and Circular Mound Altar in the south, connected by Danbi Bridge, are the main buildings in Temple of Heaven. Listening to your tour guide, you are going to be amazed by the building structure and concepts which show the ancient people’s reverence for heaven.

After the Temple of Heaven sightseeing, you will take a Tai Chi Class here. Different from other Chinese Kung Fu styles that focus on fighting skills, Tai Chi is good for keeping healthy and has become the most popular Kung Fu style throughout the whole world. In this Tai Chi Class, a professional Tai Chi master will teach you the basic Tai Chi moves, kicks, and punches. The Tai Chi Mater will demonstrate each movement to you and ensure you to acquire it. Feel free to ask questions if you miss something. When you go back home, you can teach your family members and friends. It will be great to keep practicing Tai Chi together with your beloved ones.

Then, you will go to the west suburb of Beijing to visit the Summer Palace. It is 15 kilometers away from downtown Beijing. It used to be the royal garden during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). In summer, the emperors came to the Summer Palace to escape the heat and enjoy outdoor activities. The Summer Palace was built after the West Lake in Hangzhou. Mainly dominated by Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, this royal garden is decorated with the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, the Long Corridor, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, and so on. A special place in the Summer Palace I would like to mention is the Hall of Jade Ripples. It was originally built in 1750 during Emperor Qianlong’s reign for handling state affairs. During Emperor Guangxu’s reign, it became his living quarter. After the failure of Wuxu Reform or the Hundred Days of Reform (an imperial attempt to renovate the Chinese social system) in 1898, Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned in this hall by Empress Dowager Cixi. In order to prevent Emperor Guangxu from escaping, three brick walls were built on the east, west, and north sides of the hall. You can still see the relics of the brick walls here.

In the evening, you will go to the Red Theater to watch a Kung Fu Show– Legend of Kung Fu. Different from pure Kung Fu demonstrations, it is a stage play that tells the story of a little monk in Shaolin Temple growing into a Kung Fu master. The fusion of modern dance, dramatic music, and beautiful stage art with Chinese traditional martial arts has made this Kung Fu Show unique and spectacular. More than a hundred foreign leaders, ambassadors, and other dignitaries have ever watched this fabulous show and spoke highly of it. For tourists not only domestic but also overseas, it is worth watching and cannot be missed. It starts at 19:00 and ends at 20:10.

Red Threater

Temple of Heaven

This morning, you will be transferred to the railway station and take the estimated train G571 9:22/13:32 to Luoyang. Your private tour guide will greet you at the railway station and then transfer you to a local restaurant for lunch.

This afternoon will be dedicated to Longmen Grottoes. It is located about 8 kilometers (about 20 minutes’ drive) south of Luoyang. Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Yungang Grottoes in Datong, and Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui are collectively called “China’s Four Great Grottoes”. Among them, Longmen Grottoes is the treasure trove of Buddhist stone carving art with the most sculptures in the world, topping the four grottoes. It is divided into two parts by the Yi River: Xishan Grottoes and Dongshan Grottoes. Most of the Dongshan Grottoes are works of the late Tang Dynasty (618-907) while the Xishan Grottoes was built during the Northern Dynasties (386-581), Sui Dynasty (581-618), and early Tang Dynasty and is the most quintessential part of the Longmen Grottoes. Among all the statues in the Xishan Grottoes, the statue of Vairocana Buddha has been called the “essence within essence”. This statue is dignified and humble with a gentle smile, so it is also known as the “Oriental Mona Lisa”.

Longmen Grottoes

Longmen Grottoes

In the morning, you will go to White Horse Temple. It is located 20 kilometers (about half an hour’s drive) northeast of Luoyang. Built in 68 AD, the White Horse Temple is the first temple founded after Buddhism was introduced into China. Since then, “Monk’s Courtyard”, the original name of the place where monks lived and carried out Buddhist activities, has been renamed “Temple”. Therefore, the White Horse Temple has been considered to be the birthplace of Chinese Buddhism and is called “Ancestral Courtyard” and “Origin of Buddhism” by Chinese Buddhists. More importantly, Buddhism has spread to Asia as well as Europe and the Americas via the White Horse Temple. As a result, it has been regarded as a holy shrine for Buddhists all over the world.

Leaving White Horse Temple, you are going to visit Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, 52 kilometers southeast to White Horse Temple. We will drive about 1.5 hours to get there. Shaolin Temple is a world-famous temple linking profound Buddhist culture and fabulous Kung Fu. At the very beginning, the temple was built for the propaganda of Buddhism. Then, how did it become the birthplace of Kung Fu? It was said that in 527 AD during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 AD), the Indian monk Bodhidharma came to Shaolin Temple to promote Zen Buddhism (a branch of Buddhism). Because he always sat still all day to do missionary work, he felt tired and stiff.In order to relax his body, he created a set of physical exercises and taught it to the monks of Shaolin Temple. This was the embryonic form of Shaolin Boxing. Later, after continuous development and evolution, the Shaolin monks created different Kung Fu styles and set up a complete Kung Fu system with wooden sticks, ropes, swords, and so on. Thus, Shaolin Temple became the place where Chinese martial arts originated.

When you arrive at Shaolin Temple, you will first follow your guide to have a look at the main buildings in the temple. You may also peep into the rooms where the Shaolin monks live and meditate. The Pagoda Forest of Shaolin Temple is also a must-visit.It is the tomb cluster of the most prestigious and accomplished monks of Shaolin Temple. As it’s a place for paying homage to the dead, it’s not appropriate to talk and laugh loudly when you visit there.

Then, you will witness the real Kung Fu by watching a magnificent Shaolin Kung Fu Show. It’s an outdoor performance due to the Covid-19, which lasts for about half an hour. There are five performances arranged in each day for tourists to choose from, respectively 10:30-11:00, 11:30-12:00, 14:00-14:30, 15:00-15:30, and 16:00-16:30. During the performance, professional Kung Fu monks of Shaolin Temple will demonstrate a variety of Shaolin Kung Fu kills, astonishing and eye-catching. It will be the most memorable and exciting experience of your Shaolin Kung Fu tour.

After the Kung Fu Show, you will be driven to Zhengzhou. Your tour guide will escort you to the airport and say goodbye to you.

Shaolin Temple

White Horse Temple

Author: Lingyun Zhou

Proofreader: Betsy He