Dengfeng is a small (by Chinese standards: 600,000) city in Henan province, China.

Understand

The gate to the Shaolin temple

The city lies in the shadow of Mount Song, one of the five sacred mountains of Taoism. The mountain is home to the Shaolin Monastery, a center of Zen Buddhism and kung fu. The Shaolin Monastery and several other historical monuments in the region have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as 'Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth”'.

Get in

• 1 Dengfeng Bus Terminal (登封汽车客车总站), Intersection of Yinghe Road and Yangcheng Road (颍河路与阳城路交叉口) (in the city center), ☏ +86 371 62857930. Dengfeng's main bus station. (updated Jan 2021)

Buses to Dengfeng are available from Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng and many other cities in Henan Province.

In Zhengzhou, most buses to Dengfeng depart from the following three bus stations:

1. Zhengzhou Central Bus Station (郑州长途汽车中心站)

2. Zhengzhou South Bus Station (郑州客运南站)

3. Zhengzhou High Speed Rail Bus Exchange (郑州高铁长途汽车枢纽站)

The last one, which can be found at Zhengzhou East Railway Station, is useful if you want to transfer from train to bus or vice versa. Dengfeng does not have its own railway station.

Bus services to Dengfeng are also available from Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport. These buses terminate at the Shaolin International Hotel in downtown Dengfeng.

Day-trippers who just want to visit the Shaolin Monastery can take the Intercity Bus (跨城巴士) that departs from the Zhengzhou Grand Hotel (郑州大酒店) at 06:50.

See

• 1 Damo Cave (达摩洞). The cave where Damo meditated. (updated Feb 2021)
• 2 Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory (登封观星台). The earliest surviving observatory in China. (updated Feb 2021)
• 3 Shaolin Temple (少林寺; Shàolínsì) (take the City Bus until the last stop and then change for bus 8, ¥3). Until 6PM. Also known as Shaolin Monastery, this important Zen Buddhist temple is the birthplace of the famous Shaolin Kung Fu martial art. With the ticket you can also go to the Pagoda Forest and reach the summit of the mountain. Note that a one year pass for all the attractions in Dengfeng area costs ¥150. They will just ask an extra ¥30 at the Shaolin Temple. That said, Shaolin Temple is very commercialised, with its abbot often dubbed the "CEO monk" and known for his extravagant lifestyle, which has proven controversial among many traditional Buddhists. ¥100.  
• 4 Shaoshi Mountain (少室山). The area's tallest peak at 1512 meters above sea level. (updated Feb 2021)
• 5 Songyue Pagoda (嵩岳寺塔). The oldest surviving brick pagoda in China. (updated Feb 2021)
• 6 Zhongyue Temple (中岳庙). The largest Daoist temple complex in Henan Province. (updated Feb 2021)

Do

• Shaolin Monastery Wushu Institute at Tagou offers one-day classes with accommodation for individuals interested in the Shaolin style of kung fu.
• Hiking - there are many tracks on the mountains. Few of them are paved. Some lead to remote and quiet places. There's no real map to be found in town so take a compass, and be careful of the snakes.
• CK Martial Hearts, Wangzhigou, Dengfeng, ☏ +86 186 11558781, info@ckmartialhearts.com. CK Martial Hearts offers multi-day kung fu study programs for both beginners and more advanced students, inside the Shaolin Temple, training with the actual monks who live and train there. These programs are only offered at certain times of the year, so be sure to check their website to see when the next program is. (updated Aug 2018)
• Shaolin Temple, learnshaolintemple@gmal.com, Shaolin Temple Kung Fu School is located near the original Shaolin Temple in northern China. As a certified Shaolin Kung Fu training school in China that is fully authorized by the Shaolin Temple, which is a best kung fu school in China for foreigners to explore martial arts. All traditional Shaolin Kung Fu styles can be learnt as much as you can, including traditional Shaolin, shaolin philosophy, Chinese kickboxing, Chi Na, Tai Chi, healing Chi Kung, Ba Duan Jin, Yi Jin Jing, Wu Qin Xi and Meditation, etc. The Masters of the school are Shaolin warrior monks trained from an early age inside the original Shaolin Temple. They have rich experience teaching Kung Fu to international students. Our full time kung fu training allows you to learn at a fast pace. You really can learn a lot in a short amount of time here!

Sleep

Budget

• Shaolin Travelers Hostel, 308 Chong Gao Road; 崇高路308 (from Luoyang or ZhengZhou take a bus to Deng Feng (¥25), get off at the second bus station in DengFeng, take a ¥5 taxi ride to arrive at the place), ☏ +86 15981883801. Check-in: any time, check-out: noon. English speaking staff. They offer a cool private lesson with a Shaolin master and a discount card for the local attractions. Dorms ¥20-60, ensuite ¥160. 
• Songshan Binguan, Next to the Tagou school, near Shaolin Monastery, ☏ +86 371 2749050. 

Mid-range

• Fengyuan Dajiudian, Zhongyue Dajie 18, Dengfeng, ☏ +86 371 62865080, fax: +86 371 62867090. 
• Shaolin Guoli Dajiudian, 16 Shaolin Lu, Dengfeng, ☏ +86 371 62866188, fax: +86 371 62856608. 

Go next

• Zhengzhou - buses depart Dengfeng at varying intervals from 07:30. t. The fare is ¥30 (as of February 2021).