Songshan Shaolin Scenic Area, Henan Sheng, China
As the highest mountain among the Sacred Five Mountains of China, the essence of Mt. Songshan trip is the Shaolin Temple, which is situated right on the mountain. Mt. Songshan is located in the northwest of Dengfeng County and reputed as the Central Sacred Mountain among China’s Five Sacred Mountains. Mt. Songshan stretches more than 60 km across from east to west. It consists of two mountains – Taishi and Shaoshi, with 36 peaks altogether. It is about 70 Km from Zhengzhou and the trip takes about 2 hours from Zhengzhou. Its highest peak, Liantian Peak, is 1512 meters.
Mt. Songshan got its fame from being the place where the Indian monk Batuo founded the Shaolin Temple in 495 A.D. Few years later in 527 A.D. another Indian monk, Damo moved to the temple to teach the Chan sect of Buddhism, best known as Zen Buddhism.
Epic China Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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