Location and Introduction:

Shaolin Kung fu is the most famous of the martial arts heritages with over 1,500 years of history. It was developed from the Shaolin Temple, in the region of Song Mountain, Henan Province. While cultivating in the thick forest of the high mountains, monks created a set of body-building exercises by learning the postures of flying, jumping and running from birds, beasts and fish. Gradually, these body-building exercises developed into a sort of boxing through long practice and improvement, which is generally called ‘Shaolin boxing’. Now, the Shaolin Temple has become the most popular travel destination in Henan Province, especially for the Chinese Kungfu-lovers.

Shaolin Temple:

The Shaolin Temple was founded in 496 AD during the Northern Wei Dynasty to honor an Indian monk named Bodhidharma. It is located in the region of Song Mountain, Dengfeng city. The birth- place of Chinese Buddhism is said to have begun here and is also the home to China's famous marital arts. When travelling the temple, one site that must be visited is the Pagoda Forest. There are 243 stupas located inside the temple, all with different architectural styles. The first stupa built here was in 791 AD and the last one can be dated back to 1803 AD. Altogether, there were 6 dynasties that took place during the construction of these stupas.