Exciting Kung Fu Tour with Shaolin Temple

Upon landing in Zhengzhou, your 4-day exciting Kung Fu tour officially starts. Your private tour guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for getting over the jet lag.

Zhengzhou, 760 kilometers south of Beijing, is the capital of Henan Province, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Zhengzhou is an ancient city. As early as 3,500 years ago, it was the capital of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) and an important birthplace of Chinese civilization. Since the early 19th century, due to the completion of the Longhai Railway (Lianyungang-Lanzhou) and the Jingjiu Railway (Beijing-Kowloon), Zhengzhou has become one of the important hubs for east-west and north-south railway transportation in China. At the same time, Zhengzhou is also the cradle of the famous Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Kung Fu at home and abroad, and an important window for the world to understand China.

In the morning, we will drive southwest for about 1.5 hours (about 70 kilometers) to Dengfeng under the jurisdiction of Zhengzhou. We will go to the Astronomical Observatory first, 13 kilometers southeast of Dengfeng. It was built by the famous astronomer Guo Shoujing of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) during the period from 1276 to 1280. The Astronomical Observatory is nearly 13 meters high, and the bottom side is more than 16 meters long. The surrounding four walls are inclined to the middle with a groove in the north wall. There is a stone bar with a length of 31.196 meters, a width of 0.53 meters, and a height of 0.56 meters lying on the ground for measuring the length of the shadow at noon. In this way, different seasons could be distinguished to serve agricultural activities in ancient China. It is the oldest surviving observatory in China.

Then you will go to Shaolin Temple for a visit. Shaolin Temple was first built in the 19th year (495 AD) of the Taihe period in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). It was built by Emperor Xiaowen to settle an eminent monk from ancient India. Shaolin Temple now occupies an important position in the history of Chinese Buddhism and is known as “The Most Famous Temple in the World”. After visiting the main buildings in the temple, you will come to the Pagoda Forest to have a look. The Pagoda Forest is the tomb of the eminent monks of Shaolin Temple, with a total area of more than 14,000 square meters. There are more than 240 tomb pagodas built in different dynasties including Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), Jin (1115-1234), Yuan, Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1636-1912). It is the largest and most numerous ancient pagoda forest in this country. The height of the pagodas here are generally less than 15 meters, ranging from one layer to seven layers. The height and size of a pagoda is determined according to the monk’s position and achievements in Buddhism before his death.

Shaolin Temple is famous not only for its ancient Buddhist culture but also for its superb and practical Shaolin Kung Fu. In 1983, the movie, “The Shaolin Temple”, starring Jet Li made Shaolin Temple famous all over the world. Almost everybody has heard of Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Kung Fu. At this point, you will be definitely eager for having a look at what the real Shaolin Kung Fu is like. Then the most important part of your China Kung Fu tour –Shaolin Kung Fu Show will bring you a visual feast. The various Shaolin Kung Fu, such as Shaolin boxing, cudgel skills, spear skills, and swordsmanship, will absolutely dazzle and amaze you. It’s good for you to take pictures and post on your Facebook. I’m sure you will receive lots of thumbs-ups.

Shaolin Temple

Pagoda Forest

This morning, we will drive northwest for about an hour (about 72 kilometers) to Luoyang. First, we will visit the Longmen Grottoes, about 8 kilometers south of Luoyang. The Longmen Grottoes was first built in the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Built for more than 1,400 years, it is the longest-built grotto in the world and top of the “Four Major Grottoes of China”. The Longmen Grottoes are densely distributed on the cliffs of the east and west mountains on both sides of the Yi River. It is 1 km long from north to south. There are more than 9,700 Buddha statues and more than 1,300 grottoes. The largest Buddha statue is the seated statue of Buddha Vairocana in Fengxian Temple. It is 17.14 meters high in total with a head height of 4 meters and an ear length of 1.9 meters. The smallest Buddha statue is located in the Lotus Cave with a height of only 2 centimeters.

After lunch, you are going to Luoyang Museum(closed each Monday). Walk into the Luoyang Museum and feel the profound historical and cultural heritage of this ancient capital. In the museum, more than 2,000 cultural relics spanning from 500,000 years ago to the Ming and Qing dynasties are displayed according to different historical periods. Within the Luoyang Museum, one of the most precious cultural relics is a Golden Phoebe(a kind of precious wood in China) Pagoda during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. The entire pagoda is 6 meters high and weighs 4 tons. There are 304 niches for Buddha statues in total, each of which enshrines a gilt Buddha statue. The wooden pagoda adopts the traditional Chinese mortise and tenonjoint structure (the main structural form of ancient Chinese architecture to connect two pieces of wood) without using a single nail. You will be fascinated by this masterpiece of ancient Chinese woodcarving art.

Then the Luoyi Old City will be the last attraction of your Luoyang tour. Luoyi is the old name of Luoyang in ancient times. As the ancient capital throughout thirteen dynasties, Luoyi was known as the “Cultural Holy City”. Luoyi Old City now is a comprehensive cultural tourism area integrating sightseeing, entertainment, catering, and shopping. In the Luoyi Old City, the streets and lanes full of traditional Chinese characteristics crisscross. Classical shops for selling “Four Treasures of the Study” (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab, and paper), Han Chinese costumes, Chinese folding fans, and oiled paper umbrellas are standing on both sides of the streets. At the same time, there are also many historical relics left here, such as the Xintan site (a wharf of Sui and Tang Dynasties Grand Canal), Wenfeng Pagoda, and Jin and Yuan Dynasties Ancient City Wall. Walking around the Luoyi Old City, it feels like stepping into the ancient capital of Luoyang thousands of years ago.

Longmen Grottoes

Luoyang museum

Today you will be driven back to Zhengzhou and then transferred to the airport for your flight returning home. Your tour guide will say goodbye to you and your China Kung Fu tour ends here.

Author: Lingyun Zhou

Proofreader: Liz Lee