Shaolin-Monastery

The Shaolin Monastery No Chinese monastery is more famous than the Shaolin Monastery. Kung fu is a lucrative industry here, with students coming to the monastery from numerous schools all over the world. Martial arts shows here earn the school money. The site’s beginnings are shrouded in legend. The Indian monk Bodhidharma is said to have meditated here for nine years in the 6th century, sitting in a grotto and laying the foundations for Zen Buddhism, which seeks enlightenment in personal experience rather than scriptural study. The monastery’s foundation dates back to 495, though it was restored to its current appearance in the 1980s. Two halls in the monastery are of particular historical value, one with a Ming-period mural depicting "500 Luohan worshiping the Vairocana Buddha," and another illustrating monks in service to Tang Dynasty founder Li Shimin. Also significant is the pagoda forest, and the cemetery of the Shaolin monks, with 220 tomb pagodas more than 1,000 years old.

Song Mountain The holy central mountain! Like the other four sacred mountains, sacrifices were made to Song Mountain. What matters here is not the view from the 1,492-meter peak, but the sites at its southern foot, including, of course, the Shaolin Monastery in particular.