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Shaolin Temple

Birthplace of Zen

Shaolin Temple is located in Dengfeng City, Henan Province, China. Bodhidharma the Buddhist Zen master had preached here and been facing the wall for nine years, so Shaolin is also known as the Zen Ancestral Court. As the saying goes: "All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin", Shaolin Kung Fu has become a global cultural symbol.

The Shaolin Temple, underneath the Five Breast Peak of Mount Songshan, is a Zen Buddhist temple in Dengfeng City, Henan Province, China. Thus it’s often called Songshan Shaolin Temple. The temple was built in 495 A.D., when it is said that Bodhidharma the Buddhist Zen master had preached here and been facing the wall for nine years, so Shaolin is also known as the Zen Ancestral Court.

Manywhere Trivia:
The Shaolin Monastery and its Pagoda Forest were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

Shaolin Temple has Mountain Gate 山门, Hall of Heavenly Kings 天王殿, Mahavira Hall 大雄宝殿, Abbot's Room 方丈室, Standing in Snow Pavilion 立雪亭, the Hall of a Thousand Buddhas and other major buildings. The temple has preserved more than 200 Stone Inscriptions from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, as well as murals, Buddha statues, scriptures, and many other precious cultural relics with high historical and cultural value. In the Shaolin Pagoda Forest on the west side of the temple, more than two hundred pagodas of different ages are erected.

Pagoda Forest At Shaolin Temple

Tombs of Shaolin Masters

Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple is located on the west side of the Main Court of Shaolin Temple in Mount Songshan. The Pagoda Forest has more than two hundred Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and contemporary pagodas built with bricks or stones. These pagodas are the tombs of Shaolin senior monks in the past generations.

Shaolin Kung Fu is famous all over the world, and it is said that “All martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin”. Shaolin Kung Fu originated from the “Unity of Zen and Martial Arts” philosophy by the Zen Buddhist School of China, and has gradually become one of the most representative symbols of Shaolin. The 72 Shaolin Kung Fu techniques cover different areas such as Boxing, Palms, Finger techniques, and swords, spears, sticks, etc.