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Journey to Shaolin and Wudang

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  • Journey to Shaolin and Wudang

    Greetings everyone,
    Through a series of serendipitous events I’ve found myself invited to China for the next few weeks visiting friends. The trip was quite spontaneous so I did not have a lot of forethought or planning but I did really want to make a pilgrimage to see the site of the original shaolin temple and also the wudang mountain. Now yes I do know what you are thinking and I’m clued up to all the fake stuff going on there but I still want to visit these historic sites where the past masters once walked even if I just go to enjoy the scenery and meditate there a bit.

    I thought many of our members would know more than I do about these areas, any insider tips about visiting these sites? Also any other recommendations for China? So far my loose itinerary for the next 2 and a half weeks is :
    Forbidden city
    Great Wall
    Shaolin temple
    Wudang mountain
    Terra-cotta army in xian
    Wandering around Da Li and surrounding areas in Yunnan

    Any insights would be appreciated

    Many thanks and Happy Holiday season everyone !
    from the ♥

  • #2
    It seems to me you underestimate distances in China. From Wudang to Beijing it takes you a full day by train. My recommendation: Visit a smaller part of China. You have more time at a place and China is full of interesting places. I suggest you leave Yunnan aside, since it is far off the other places. You can stop in ShanXi (Pingyao, etc) instead.

    Shaolin:
    I stayed 2.5 days there + 1day SongShan.
    In the monastery in the main hallway there is a door on the right hand side. Less than 1% of the tourist notice it, though it is actually open and there is some calligraphy exhibited there. It will lead to a side yard. When I was visiting one of the pharmacists was practicing a set in the pharmacy (other side yard across the main hallway) The pagoda forest is fenced, but you can walk around. Roads off the main path are full of rubbish. Sad
    You can climb up the hill to Boddhidharma's Cave and further to the top of the mountain. It will take you half a day back and forth. In front of the cave there is a small natural yard where rubbish is burned nowadays, so the wall is pitch black and it smells burned. The cave itself is tiny and mainly occupied by a shrine. There is only space for about 2-3 people standing. Again the wall and ceiling are pitch black from smoke.

    I walked back through the mountains to a parking lot close to DengFeng. It will take you about 6h. The walk from the parking lot to DengFeng is not very spectacular (as seen driving by from the taxi). The path is in good condition but sometimes steep. You will walk through a (highly guarded by cameras and barbed wire) monastery. The monastery is split in half by the path. You cannot enter it. Somebody told me that there are only 3 shaolin masters left around Shaolin. 1 is somewhere in the mountains and 2 stay at this monastery. I happened to quickly walk past me when I was having lunch. He was very energetic and cheerful. I guess he must be in his 60s. He reminded me of Sifu. I peeked over a wall and saw a novice carrying two water buckets like Lohan (is) Carrying (his) Water while walking over the fields. You can skip half of the walk by taking a cable car. By that you won't miss walking along the spectacular cliffs.
    In DengFeng I visited the first chinese university (kind of nice to see) and walked up SongShan. Both took me a day back and forth. Just below the peak in the east there is a beautiful temple. It has no walls, just loosely scattered buildings. It feels like time stops at this place. On the way to this monastery you might find another beautiful temple (White Crane Temple or something like this).

    Wudang:
    If you want to save the entry fee and avoid tourist masses, take a bus to where the road goes to WuLongGong and walk up the road (4-5h?) to WuLongGong (5 Dragon Palace). When I was there the infrastructure (roads) was already finished, but nobody was there. 2 years prior you had to walk half a day through the woods to get there. By now I can imagine everything being flooded by tourists. Nevertheless it is worth visiting! I walked up the peak (2-3h back and forth from WuLongGong). On the way up I saw a hut with a tiny field on the other mountain range. I tried to get there and walked 2h through the woods one way and found a cave where somebody planned to live (bricks piled up, holes drilled for a door), but it was getting late so I turned around. I guess you need 6-7h from WuLongGong to get to this hut one way... Up the peak you find 3 buildings with a pond where people might have cultivated. Beautiful but now it decays rapidly.. I stayed at WuLongGong with the monks? living there (back then it was possible - superb breakfast) and walked the following day to the main tourist area. I took the ,,new" path (WuLongGong->NanYan, scenic) for 6-7h. I planned to take the old path up, but people I met coming down recommended not to do so in wet weather (very steep and slippery). It is very easy to get lost (especially up; sometimes path not visible for a long time)!
    The temples NanYan and the the temples on the way to the peak are definitely worth visiting. I heard the path resembles the Way (with its ups and downs and achievements - 3Gates). The Purple Cloud Temple is ok. With the entrance ticket you can take the bus through the area and avoid walking long distances. I spent 3 days in the area. At NanYan you can try some of the fragrant tea grown in Wudang.
    In the village just below the Tourist area (I can't remember the name) I stayed at the YouthHostel, which is a meeting place for foreign students staying at the martial arts schools in town and in the mountains. There I spent some time talking to them. They reported, that If you ask around town you will find people walking up the mountains every now and then to support hermits and / or learn from them. They say there are still people "who drink the dew and eat the clouds" far off in the mountains. Some people say some masters never left Wudang despite tourism and still cultivate in the temples there.


    Xi'An:
    Skip the Terra-cotta Army and do a day trip to HuaShan, if you do go to Xi'An. You can also do a day trip to the mountains south of Xi'An which are famous in Taoism. If you google a photograph of the Terra-cotta Army you've seen all there is to see. Instead go to the History Museum where you can see 8 warriors up close. They display archeological funds throughout the history of China. Free entry as a foreigner.

    You see, there's lots to see..

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    • #3
      Thanks for your detailed response Fraanz, that is exactly what I was looking for. I arrived at Shaolin temple today, it was good to finally see it with my own eyes but I do see why so many people walk away from it disappointed. I happened to arrive at the same day as the heavy snow started so the whole place looked so beautiful covered in 3 or 4 inches of fresh snow however I didn't manage to get to Damo cave as everyone advised us it was too dangerous in that weather. All in all I'd say kungfu enthusiasts would probably visit the place anyway because of its historical significance but it is kind of hard to recommend it to others as its basically a big tourist trap.
      from the ♥

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