Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Temple, a hometown for Shaolin Kung Fu, is a famous Buddhist temple 49 kilometers away from Luoyang at home and abroad and is located 13 kilometers away from the northwest of Dengfeng City. Shaolin Temple, a Key Buddhist Temple and World Heritage, saves a lot of precious cultural relics and is famous for Shaolin Kung Fu.

History

Firstly founded in 495, Shaolin Temple was once called Monk Temple. After 32 years, Bodhi Damour from India came to teach meditation and named this temple Shaolin Temple. Thereafter, the monks in the temple gradually expanded and increased. So Shaolin Temple was famous around.

In 574, Shaolin Temple was destroyed and in Sui Dynasty, Shaolin Temple was reconstructed and became the largest temple in Northern China. In Tang Dynasty (618-907), it declined. In 1312, it was expanded again. In the end of Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the monks escaped. Until Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), eight Emperors had come to Shaolin Temple and the scale was expanded. In 1928, the main buildings all were destroyed and many precious tripitaka, temple records and the scripts were burnt to ashes.

Attractions

Tianwang Hall

Tianwang Hall, as well as Daxiong Hall and Cangjing Pavilion, is called Three Halls. Tianwang Hall, built in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), was overhauled in 1753. Another gate was built in front of the original gate which was named Tianwang Hall and was destroyed in 1928. Two tall Buddhist statues are in front of the hall. Four statues standing for Feng, Tiao, Yu, and Shun are in the back of the hall.

Daxiong Hall

Daxiong Hall is a center of Buddhist activities which was destroyed in 1928 and reconstructed in 1986. The statues of Sakyamuni, Amitabha and Medicine Buddha are in the hall with four big characters Bao Shu Fang Lian written by Kangxi Emperor hung in the hall. The whole structure is reasonable, majestic and imposing.

Thousand Buddha Hall

Located behind the Lixue Pavilion, Thousand Buddha Hall is the last one in the main hall. The murals are very famous which are the treasures in Shaolin Temple. The west, east and back walls all are decorated with colored murals bright and harmonious, which show high level of Tang Dynasty murals.

Pagoda Forest

In the west of Shaolin Temple, there are more than 200 stone pagoda in different dynasties in which the hierarch in Shaolin Temple are buried. Covering an area of 20 thousand square meters, this place are place various cemeteries with different sizes, shapes and heights so that it is called Pagoda Forest. In 1996, Shaolin Temple was listed as the National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Shaolin Kung Fu

Yanwu Hall, a performance venue for Shaolin Kung Fu, is built on the road, where the masters of Kung Fu gather. These people show superb Kung Fu performance successively to the millions of Chinese and foreign tourists. Through the stage, lighting and music, the Shaolin Kung Fu is more attractive. It is the best place to watch the success of Shaolin Kung Fu. Show time is 3pm; 4pm and 5pm averaged 30 minutes per game. With a scenic spot ticket, you can see the show without extra charge.