Fellow Virtual Travelers,
We left Zhengzhou this morning by van for a 1.5 hour drive to the Songshan mountain range - this is where the Shaolin Kung Fu art was born 1500 years ago and is at the heart of this art that we study!
Songshan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Song
Dengfeng:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengfeng
Wow! We had a change of itinerary today that turned into a real treat! Chenjiagou (Chen) Village turns out to be on roads that are not passable - 3 hours of travel one way and no guarantee that we could get there, as none of the local guides have been on the road we would have had to take. Not only that, but the Shaolin Weapons Factory has moved and no one knows where it is now… This is where our art's weapons have been crafted by hand - one hammer strike at a time, etc. We got to see the factory in action in 1996 and had hoped to capture some video of their work.
Having those two events cancelled, we asked our local guide for other ideas that wouldn't take as long and he suggested two other tours.
The Songyue Temple with China's oldest Pagoda (which was built-in 523 AD). And the Fawang Temple which is an active Buddhist temple and Kung Fu school. Attached is a picture of the rare treat of seeing a local class practicing.
Songyue Temple:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songyue_Pagoda
Fawang Temple:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawang_Temple
This morning we kept our itinerary plan to visit the Zhong Yue Taoist Temple and got to meet the oldest Taoist Monk at the temple who is a friend our local guide. He has been at this temple for 30 years and previously spent time at both Wudangshan and Huashan (both of which we'll be visiting in the next few days). We got our picture taken with him - he was full of laughs and fun! Check out the temple here:
Zhong Yue Taoist Temple:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/dengfeng/attraction/zhongyue-temple.htm
Our big event of the evening was doing our laundry in our hotel room, in order to make it through the rest of the trip with clean shirts and socks. No small event! Hopefully they dry enough to pack by morning!
Tomorrow, we'll be off to the Shaolin Temple itself and it's pagoda forest. Then back on a train to the next city!
Blessings,
Dennis & Anita