{"id":2823,"date":"2024-09-04T14:09:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T12:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daiasjourney.com\/?p=2823"},"modified":"2024-09-04T14:09:05","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T12:09:05","slug":"visiting-the-shaolin-temple-a-practical-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daiasjourney.com\/de\/visiting-the-shaolin-temple-a-practical-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Visiting the Shaolin Temple \u2013 a practical guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you just binged a bunch of Kung Fu movies or have been a practitioner for a long time, if visiting the Shaolin temple is on your bucket list, but you have no clue how to do it \u2013 this is for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step by step guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before going into the details of arranging a stay there, I want you to know, that for visiting the temple it really doesn\u2019t matter how well you know Kung Fu. During my time there I have met many people who have been doing Shaolin for years and even teaching it in their home countries \u2013 but I have also met people, who came to the temple without any prior knowledge and learned their basics directly from the source. The only thing that truly matters is your determination and how much effort you are willing to put in. If you try hard, you will learn \u2013 if you don\u2019t, you will waste your money and time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first important step is to find the correct website<\/strong>. And no, it\u2019s not shaolintemple.com. That one leads to a different temple, which claims it is the only one allowing visitors \u2013 it\u2019s not and from what I\u2019ve heard, they don\u2019t even have the abbots blessing. But that is going into the complex politics of Shaolin \u2013 a topic I\u2019d rather stay clear off. The website you\u2019re looking for is shaolin.org.cn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Klick through the website to get a better grasp of what is waiting for you. It is changing a lot, so I cannot say, where exactly the following information will be in the future, but currently you will find a list of phone numbers and email addresses under contact. What you need is the foreign affairs office. There are two people there, who speak English \u2013 Levy and Winston<\/strong> \u2013 and their email address is shaolintemple495@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So naturally, your next step is to send them an email with the length of your stay and your preferred dates<\/strong>. They are pretty flexible on the later, but you need to put a rough estimate in order to get an invitation letter for the visa. Once the duration of your stay is fixed, they ask for an upfront payment of 20% of your total cost. Then they will ask for your passport information in order to set a letter of invitation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With said letter and all other documents required, you pay a visit to your local Chinese embassy. I did this in Laos, which was quite chaotic, try doing it in your home country to save you some troubles. With the letter I had no problem at all getting my visa<\/strong> \u2013 they even gave me 2 months, instead of just the one the letter was for. Still, try to have your paperwork in order and complete\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we\u2019re almost done, you just need to get there. This is possible either by flying to the nearest airport in Zhengzhou or taking a train from Beijing, which also goes to Zhengzhou or Luoyang<\/strong>. From either city you need to take a bus or taxi to go to Dengfeng<\/strong> and finally the temple. I got a taxi via the app \u201cdidi\u201d, which saved me the troubles of hassling for a good price. Busses are a lot cheaper, but you need to get to the bus station first and arrive at a reasonable hour \u2013 which I didn\u2019t, due to a flight delay, which caused me to miss my connection (do not, and I cannot stress this enough, do not book a flight with China Southern). Once you arranged your transportation, you are all set to go live your dream of visiting the Shaolin temple!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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central path in the temple<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I do like Shaolin, no denying that<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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nice roof<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A couple of tips on traveling China in general<\/h2>\n\n\n\n