Although not seen on more conventional China tourism itineraries, the city of Dengfeng was one of our must do’s in China since it houses the birthplace of Shaolin kung fu — Shaolin Temple. If you’re familiar with ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and know how much Jules loves the trilogy and martial arts, then you’ll know why we had to come here.
Our trusty guide, Sherry, and her driver took us on an hour and a half journey to the forests of Song Mountain, where the Shaolin Temple resides. We were struck by how peaceful and beautiful the surroundings were, and we saw so many groups of boys and young men training. One of the shifus, or masters, led a private class for us to show us some moves. Jules was incredibly relieved once he realized both Philip and I would join him, since he was afraid the shifu would make him spar with some of the trainees. After having watched some of the kids train I can’t say I blamed him.
The part that really knocked Jules’ socks off was when we saw the performance by a troupe of students. Watching a kid being spun around on his stomach on the tip of a trident was just one of a few acts where I felt nervous, but Jules was completely mesmerized, and he’s still talking about it! After witnessing these amazing feats of strength and flexibility and seeing the five animal styles (i.e. tiger, monkey, crane, snake and mantis) of kung fu combat, Jules said, “What about the panda?!? I didn’t see the panda! That’s the strongest animal.” Curse you, Dreamworks.
Later that evening, we put on every single thing that we had packed: thermals, down vests, gloves, multiple layers of clothing and hats to ready ourselves for a most incredible and special evening performance, the Shaolin Zen Music Ritual. Both pictures and video cannot possibly capture the entirety of this interpretation of traditional Chinese zen culture, combining music, dance, Shaolin kung fu and modern technology by some of the top choreographers, directors and composers/musicians in China. If you happened to catch the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, then you’d know where some of its inspiration came from.
Imagine sitting at nightfall in one of the world’s largest outdoor theater, set in a valley with a 1400m (4500 ft) high mountain as a backdrop, seeing your breath when you breathe but feeling toasty inside army green, padded coats, which make you want to call each other ‘comrade.’ When the lights go out, everything is so dark that when you look up at the sky you can see the Milky Way. Then, you’re convinced you feel the reverberations of the first ‘gong,’ before the monks begin chanting. After an hour’s feast for your senses and when you think it can’t get any better, then a man-made 20m (65 ft) wide moon rises up behind the mountain to help highlight the snow that is now falling on your face. Don’t even get me started on the kung fu masters doing their thing while suspended 80m (260 ft) above the ground.
I know what you’re thinking…it’s amazing what you can accomplish when OSHA doesn’t get in the way!
