
Shaolin Temple Yunnan
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Shaolin Temple was founded in the 20th year (496) of the Taihe reign of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). It was named Shaolin Temple because it is situated in the heart of Songshan Mountain, the middle of the Five Famous Mountains in China, and within dense woods at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain. It is said that this temple was built by Yuanhong (Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty) to accommodate Buddha, an Indian monk who came to China to disseminate Buddhist doctrines. Afterwards, Bodhidharma, the founder of the Chan Sect in China, came to Songshan Mountain via Guangzhou City and Nanjing City by sea. In Shaolin Temple, he widely recruited disciples and carried forward Buddhist doctrines. Since then, the status of Shaolin Temple as the Chan Sect’s birthplace has been established.
Henan Shaolin Temple

From Henan Shaolin Temple to Yunnan Shaolin Temple



Shaolin Temple (少林寺), the famed temple in Henan province, officially opens the Shaolin Temple in Kunming. The temple’s abbot Shi Yongxin (释永信) signed an agreement to take over the four ancient temples in Kunming: Miaozhan Temple (妙湛寺), Tuzhu Temple (土主庙), Fading Temple (法定寺), and Guanyin Temple (观音寺).
Yunnan Shaolin Temple, located in Kunming Guandu Ancient Town, also named Miaozhan Temple (昆明官渡区妙湛寺/少林寺)) is known around the world for the rich culture of Chan (Meditation and Buddhist studies), Wu (Martial Arts) and Yi (Chinese Traditional Medicine). The Yunnan Shaolin Temple is expected to serve as a platform through which the temple will transmit ‘Shaolin Culture’ to South and Southeast Asia.
Shaolin Temple in Yunnan is the main South of China Kung Fu training branch. We are currently in the developmental expansion phase for Shaolin Temple in several locations; therefore, we will be able to offer our students a much richer experience in training Kung Fu while experiencing first-hand Chinese Culture and Traditions.
The Shaolin temple in Yunnan is closed for restoration
The training resumes in Shandong Province
From July 2023, Shaolin Temple Yunnan Kung Fu Department will offer training in Shandong Province, Maqi Mountains scenic spot. We offer an outstanding location which combines Huigan Temple and a school-like facility for training and living.
It gives a complete experience for some, as living and eating in the Temple can be quite restrictive. Students can opt for accommodation in the Temple or school. The meals will also include meat, fish and seafood to ensure students who do not follow a vegetarian or vegan diet can have good sources of proteins to sustain their intense training.
The Temple is just 1 hour from the centre of Rizhao city – a seaside city, the capital of Water Sports in China, with enchanting sea views and soft beaches.
Shaolin Temple Yunnan Kung Fu Department
welcomes you in Shandong Province
Outstanding Culture
老骥伏枥,志在千里。 (Lǎojì fúlì, zhì zài qiānlǐ)
An old warhorse in the stable still longs to gallop a thousand miles. You’re never too old to live out a dream. Just because you have aged doesn’t mean you can no longer be the happiest version of yourself.
Located on Nanma Mountain, Huigan Temple was first built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and destroyed in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In the fourth year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty (1114), Emperor Huizong personally inscribed “Huigan Temple” and made a gold plaque for the people of Ju to rebuild it. In the Jin Dynasty, the red-coated army gathered at Maqi Mountain in Yiyi, raised their flags to fight against the gold, and retreated south. The Jin army burned down Huigan Temple and its camp. Rebuilt in the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Jingju Temple. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was renamed Ganlu Temple, but in the late Ming Dynasty, it was destroyed by war. It was rebuilt in the early Qing Dynasty and named Hailong Nunnery. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the seventh year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1668). Tian Benqin, a later Taoist, rebuilt it and called it Hailong Temple. It was destroyed again in the mid-1960s. In May 2012, Shandong Chenxi Group donated nearly 200 million yuan to complete the renovation.
The Shaolin temple in Yunnan is closed for restoration
The training in Chengdu temporarily suspended
The six characters, “Lingkai Temple in Paotai Mountain”, on the screen wall of the temple gate are written by Shi Yongxin, the Venerable abbot of Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan.
From the start of 2023, Shaolin Temple Yunnan is merging with Shaolin Temple in Chengdu – Lingkai Temple, Sichuan Province, just 1-hour drive from the centre of Chengdu city. Chengdu is most famous for being the home of China’s magnificent giant pandas. Chengdu is considered the best and most fantastic place to live in China.
Shaolin Temple in Chengdu - Lingkai Temple
welcomes you
Outstanding Culture
There is a Chinese saying: "What matters most for a mountain is not its height, but its heavenly inspiration".
Legend has it that during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), a monk at Ciyun Temple on the opposite mountain found his heavenly spirit while meditating. He moved there and a few years later, with help and donations from a few followers, built the temple and named it Nianhua (flower-picking) Temple. People usually think the name of the temple refers to the legend of Shakyamuni holding up the flower to a smiling Mahakashyapa, considered the First Ancestor of Zen in India. In fact, the hua (flower) in the name refers to mianhua (cotton). People usually refer to donations to temples as dengyouqian (literally, money for lantern and oil). Since cotton is used as wicks for oil lanterns, the monk has included ‘cotton’ in the name of the temple to pay tribute to the temple’s followers.
Today we introduce the ancient Nianhua Temple, known since the Qing Dynasty as Lingkai Temple (1896), located on the top of Paotai mountain. It was first built in the Southern Song Dynasty. It has a history of thousands of years. Although the ancient Nianhua Temple is a famous ancient temple in western Sichuan, wars destroyed it many times. The historic sites are buildings reconstructed from the Qing and Song Dynasties. Initially, there were 8 Buddha halls, including Jialan, Maitreya, Songzi Guanyin, Big Buddha, Patriarch, and one scripture collection building. In the 25th year of the Republic of China (1936), the enlightened monk (mummy “Patriarch in the Body”) of the temple passed away, and his body was not transformed, and he was enshrined in the scripture library.
The building had three axes, built along the mountain, from west to east. On the central axis is the Tianwang Hall, followed by the Shanmen, the Guanyin Hall, and the Daxiong Hall. The Bell Tower, Pharmacist Hall, Wuguan Hall, Inner Living Hall, and Kitchen are on the right axis. Drum Tower, Dabei Pavilion and West Guest Hall are on the left axis. Guanyin Hall was built in the first year of the Republic of China. It is a stone and wood structure with a suspended mountain roof. The inscription, “the first year of Hong Xian,” is on the back wall. The Daxiong Palace was built in the 22nd year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1896). The hall is seven rooms wide and 7.4 meters high, the base of the plain surface is 0.8 meters high, and there are five levels of vertical belt steps. Dabei Pavilion is the original west wing of Huaiguanyin Hall in the main hall, with a stone and wood structure, hanging mountain roof, three rooms wide and 6 meters high.
The rest of the halls in the temple have been restored. The gate is majestic and colourful, and the layout of the galleries is neat. Most of the pillars have couplets and inscriptions by famous artists. The whole mountain temple is quiet and elegant. In the temple, there is an ancient bell with a height of 1.25 meters and a diameter of 1.1 meters cast in the 22nd year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1842) with Pu Lao and various patterns. There is a strange osmanthus tree in the temple, about 3 meters high, which died in 1966, revived in 1985, and blooms yearly—a miracle for the biological world.
Paotai Mountain is 863 meters above sea level, northeast of Chengdu. The top of the mountain looks like a five-petaled lotus called Lotus Mountain. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, a Song Dynasty bronze cannon and pedestal were dug out of the Paotai Mountain. Behind the wall is a chart of nine golden dragons making a scene, and it reads: The mountain is widely planted, and longevity is boundless. The top of the eaves is Erlong Xizhu. The dragon totem is commonly used in temples, which is rare in many temples in western Sichuan, proving the prominent status of the ancient Nianhua Temple.
The Gongjia Mountain in the southeast of Paotai Mountain runs obliquely and meets Longzhao Ridge and Paotai Mountain. On both sides of the mountain, two peaks face each other at Yingzuiyan, like a leaping eagle guarding the mountain. It looks like a flying dragon pouncing on a lotus, called “Flying Dragon Pounces on Lotus”. It is called “jumping eagle and protecting lotus”. More than 300 acres, 40,000 trees, ancient temples in the forest, the wonders of ground cracks in front of and behind the mountain, and the sandstone cave “Tianxing Cave”.
In the Longquan of Western Shu, since the Qin and Han Dynasties, Li Babai, the Eight Immortals of Shu, and master An Shigao have practised here. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, it became a well-known Fengshui treasure land for Taoism, Buddhism, immortality and meditation. Li Chungeng and Yuan Tiangang practised Taoism in the mountains. Tang Dynasty eminent monks such as Mazu, Yuanming, Yuangang, and Wuda Guoshi also stayed in the temples in the mountains. In Xi, the Tuojiang river, thousands of miles away, gathers three rivers in Jintang, splits into the Jintang gorge angrily, breaks through the barrier of Longquan mountain, and flows southward. At the mouth of the gorge, two mountains face each other, towering straight into the sky, with Yunding mountain on the west bank and Paotai mountain on the east bank.
Kunming
Chengdu & Kung Fu Pandas
Chengdu is considered the best and most fantastic place to live in China
Wanna learn more?
Chengdu City
Chengdu is the province’s capital and is located near the centre of the province. Its mild and humid climate, fertile soil, and abundant mineral and forestry resources make it one of China’s most prosperous and economically self-sufficient regions. The area has been seen as a microcosm, a country within a country called “Heaven on Earth.” Chengdu has always played a vital role in Sichuan’s cultural and intellectual life. The city is a haven for intellectuals and scholars and is sometimes called the “Little Paris” of China.
Sichuan is renowned for its hot, spicy cuisine, which features the liberal use of hot chilli peppers. Garlic and ginger are also common in both vegetable and meat dishes. Peanuts are another common ingredient in kung pao (gong bao) chicken, a trendy dish worldwide.
Students in training are encouraged to explore these local wonders during their free time; such interactions can only enrich their stay at the Temple and in China as a whole.
Sichuan Province
Sichuan is the second-largest Chinese province. It is famous for the giant pandas and occupies most of the Sichuan basin and the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau between the Jinsha river (west), the Daba mountains (north) and the Yungui plateau (south). Sichuan province translates as “four rivers”: Jialing, Jinsha, Min and Tuo, which run through the region.
UNESCO World Heritage sites include:
- The giant panda reserves;
- The Dujiangyan irrigation system;
- The Emei mountains (one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism) and Leshan Giant Buddha (World Heritage site in 2007);
- The Jiuzhai river valley (World Heritage designation in 1992).