Songshan Mountain range, Henan Province

Mount Song (Songshan) is made up of several mountains that rise to 1500 m in the Dengfeng district of Henan province. The mountain is one of the most sacred Buddhist mountains of China. It is home to the famous ShaoLin Temple, traditionally considered the birthplace of Zen Buddhism. 

Shao is one of the mountains in the range. One of the ways to go to Shao is a 15-minute cable car ride from near the ShaoLin Temple. We took this route. 

ShaoLin Temple 6 (Pagoda Forest)

Come out of the main temple complex, walk few hundred metres, come to Pagoda Forest - a cemetary where senior monks have their tombs.

The bigger the tomb, the senior the monk. Tombs with a surrounding wall means the monk had exceptional qualities, untouched by others and also that he never allowed women to come near him. Women visitors not allowed to enter the wall!

On a far off hill there is a huge Buddha statue and a temple (no picture - could not take). That is where the Indian monk made the first temple about 1,540 years ago. Origin of the present day ShaoLin Temple.

Last set to follow.

ShaoLin Temple 7 (Last)

ShaoLin Temple has the most famous Martial Arts school in the world. The school has 25,000 students, including about 2,000 foreigners. Co-educational, providing primary to secondary education leading to high school diploma. While all subjects are taught, emphasis is on martial arts.

Every evening students march to the play ground, each carrying his/her own padded stool to sit and practice.

The school hosts and partcipates in several national and international competitions every year.

ShaoLin Temple 4

Couple of temple offices also on the courtyard sides

Way back: Two-hump camel.

ShaoLin Temple 3

The sequence of the monastary (or temple) complex is:

• Outer compound, ticket office, souvenir shops, etc.
• Outer main gate
• Road to main precinct
• Students Hostel, Hotel on the way 
• Gate to main temple premises
• Courtyard
• Small temple
• Courtyard
• Main  temple (Taking pictures of the idols there were prohibted. I tried several times but they never came - strange!!!)
• Courtyard
• Smaller temple (with lying Buddha)
• Courtyard
• Smaller temple

Each temple had a large urn where people lighted incense sticks. before the idols there were padded slanting stools for people to kneel and pray. People would light incense stiks, do an "aarti" and then plant the incense sticks in the urn.

There were huge stone inscription, idols of dragon, tortoise (lucky animals), etc., in the courtyards.

Also were smaller temples on the sides of the courtyards.

More pics follow.

ShaoLin Temple 2

The Shaolin temple was a Buddhist temple. Like all temples, its primary function was the promotion, research and propagation of spiritual development. The original Shaolin temple was constructed in China's Honan (Henan, Hunan) province. The words Shao-lin (Xiao-Lin) mean young forest in the modern Mandarin Chinese dialect, named so because the original temple was located near a young forest. The first Shaolin temple was constructed in the 19th year of Emperor Xiao Wen's rule during the Dynasty of North Wei for the use of a man named Fu Tuo, a Buddhist monk. The monks lived a relatively simple life of prayer, asceticism and meditation.

ShaoLin Temple

Martial artists have long regarded the Shaolin Temple as a mysterious symbol of power and spirituality. A place where a Spartan existence and centuries' worth of martial secrets would transform average men into super-human fighting machines (as well as the birthplace of all martial arts).