A Glimpse into Real Chinese Kung Fu

Today, your private tour guide will pick you up from the hotel or airport or train station and lead you to explore Xi’an.

The first attraction you will visit today is the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, 40 kilometers northeast of Xi’an. We will drive there for about an hour. Entering the exhibition hall, you will see three pits full of terra cotta warriors and horses. There are nearly 8,000 terra cotta statues on display. They are all life-size and standing in lines and rows. They have been serving as the underground army to protect the mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang for more than 2,000 years. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses has been known as “the eighth wonder of the world” since it was discovered.

Your lunch will be served at a downtown restaurant. Upon finishing lunch, you are going to have a look at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the Great Ci’en Temple. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a pavilion-style tetragonal tower built with bricks. It is a masterpiece of Chinese Buddhist architectural art. In 652, to properly place the Buddhist scriptures, statues, and relics that Monk Xuanzang got from India, he asked Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) for permission to build the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The original pagoda was built completely following the Indian style. It was a 5-story solid tower stuffed with earth inside and covered with bricks outside. During later dynasties, it underwent several large-scale reconstructions. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Emperor Wanli ordered to wrap the Big Wild Goose Pagoda with a layer of grey bricks, which not only protected the pagoda but also maintained its original shape. Therefore, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is also known as “pagoda in pagoda”. The current pagoda you see today is nearly 65 meters high with 7 floors.

Then you will be driven to the Great Mosque for a visit. The Great Mosque is located in Huajue Alley, also known as the Huajue Alley Mosque. It is one of the oldest Muslim mosques in Xi’an. Quite different from the typical Muslim mosques, the Great Mosque has obvious Chinese architectural elements. The overall layout of the mosque adopts the traditional Chinese architectural pattern, with main buildings along the central axis and auxiliaries on both sides. There are classic Chinese-style archways, pavilions, halls, and corridors. The decorative patterns are Muslim-style. The perfect fusion of Chinese architectural style with Muslim culture makes the Great Mosque unique and magnificent.

Today’s itinerary will end with a food trip to Muslim Street near the Great Mosque. Muslim Street is the gathering area of the Hui people in Xi’an. It consists of several different streets including Beiguangji Street, Beiyuanmen street, Xiyangshi street, and Huajue Alley. It is also a well-known snack street in Xi’an and a must-visit place for first-time tourists to Xi’an. These streets are lined with numerous food stalls and shops. Over 300 kinds of local specialties and snacks in Xi’an, such as Rou Jia Mo (marinated meat in a baked bun), Zeng Gao (sticky rice and jujube cake), Yang Rou Pao Mo (pita bread soaked in lamb soup), Liang Pi (cold noodles), etc., can be tasted in the Muslim Street, making people linger here. Along Muslim Street, buildings with traditional Chinese architectural styles and Muslim architectural styles can be seen everywhere. It is a unique way for you to know about Xi’an by admiring the profound cultural heritage here while enjoying the local delicacies.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Muslim Street

This morning you will be transferred to the railway station and take the estimated train G2260 10:08/11:26 to Luoyang. Upon arrival, your tour guide will pick you up at the train station and then escort you to a local restaurant for lunch.

After lunch, you are going to visit Longmen Grottoes, one of the four largest treasure houses of Buddhist grotto art in China. It is located on the cliffs on both sides of the Yi River, 7 kilometers south of Luoyang. It was first built when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) designated Luoyang as the capital city and the construction lasted more than 1,400 years. Now, there are more than 2,300 Buddhist niches, 70 pagodas, 100,000 Buddha statues, and 2,800 inscriptions existing in the Longmen Grottoes. Then your guide will take you to see one of the most exquisite Buddha statues, namely, the statue of Vairocana Buddha. The statue of Vairocana Buddha has been valued as the highest-level model of Chinese Buddhist art. It is known as the “Mona Lisa of the East”, which looks beautiful and kind-hearted. Have a look at the statue carefully. A gentle smile lifts the corner of her mouth; her kind eyes lookdown to the earth. It is like a warm and loving mother smiling and looking at her children.

Longmen Grottoes

Longmen Grottoes

After breakfast at the hotel, you will visit the White Horse Temple. The White Horse Temple was built in the eleventh year (68 AD) of the Yongping period in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) and has a history of more than 1,900 years. It is the first government-run temple built after Buddhism was introduced to China. The White Horse Temple introduced Buddhism to North Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and later to Europe and America, becoming a holy place for Buddhist believers all over the world. Therefore, since the end of the 19th century, the governments of Thailand, India, and Myanmar have successively funded the construction of the White Horse Temple, making it the only international temple in the world with different architectural styles of China, India, Myanmar, and Thailand. The White Horse Temple is worthy of the name “the first temple in the world”.

Then we will drive southeast for an hour to Dengfeng, about 75 kilometers away from Luoyang. Here you will pay a special visit to the birthplace of Chinese Kung Fu or Chinese martial arts –Shaolin Temple. Walking along the central axis of Shaolin Temple, you will see the majestic main buildings, such as the Main Gate, Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Great Buddha’s Hall, and the Buddhist Scripture Library. You can also have a look at the abode of the monks if you are interested in their living style. Apart from that, your guide will show you around the Pagoda Forest, the cemetery of the Shaolin monks. After a monk is dead and buried, a pagoda will be built where the monk is buried. Therefore, the longer the history of the temple is, the larger the number of pagodas becomes. So far, the Pagoda Forest of Shaolin Temple has been the largest existing Pagoda Forest in China with more than 240 brick pagodas. Among these pagodas, the most famous one is the pagoda of Abbot Fuyu, which was built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). He was the only monk who was knighted as the royal nobles by the emperor. You can ask your guide to tell you which one it is.

Then the most essential part of your Shaolin Temple tour –Shaolin Kung Fu Show is waiting for you. For most Kung Fu fans, you may know about Chinese Kung Fu by watching some famous Kung Fu movies, for example, Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee, Police Story starring Jackie Chan, Ip Man starring Donnie Yen, and so on. Then, have you ever seen real Chinese Kung Fu? Do you want to learn some Kung Fu moves and kicks? During this live Shaolin Kung Fu Show, you will witness the powerful Kung Fu demonstrations by Shaolin monks. And you may learn some simple self-defensive skills from them. It will certainly be an unforgettable Kung Fu experience in your life.

After the show, you will be driven back to Luoyang.

Shaolin Temple

Pagoda Forest

Author: Lingyun Zhou

Proofreader: Summer Hou