The destruction of Shaolin TEMPLE [Archive]

GeneChing

07-01-2004, 10:31 AM

I've heard this through the Shaolin grapevine and haven't confirmed it yet. I hope that some of the people in Shaolin like Blooming Lotus or Russbo can do so. The word is that they just demolished many of the altar rooms within the temple. These are the side altar rooms that were reconstructed after the Cultural Revolution. None of the older buildings were affected.

My understanding is that this is all part of Abbot Yongxin's redevelopment plan. He wants to restore Shaolin to it's former glory and that temple was ten times the size that it is presently. So apparently, he has knocked down the newer buildings to make room for this expansion.

According to my source, the demolishing took place a few weeks ago. He said he caught it all on film. Some hardcore Japanese-made wrecker was brought in a levelled it all a few days.

Can anyone confirm this? My source is quite convincing, but it's just one source, so I'm looking for corraborating stories.

norther practitioner

07-02-2004, 03:25 PM

Doc should be there soon, I posted something over there, and linked this thread. Hopefully you'll have a reply in a few days.

GeneChing

07-02-2004, 05:09 PM

I put the word out to some other people I know at Shaolin too. But I'll be unavailable for a spell, so I won't be able to get back to you on this for a while. When I'm back and know more, I'll follow up here.

xiao

07-04-2004, 02:16 AM

More about that can be found here (http://www.aboutshaolin.com/news_more.php?id=488_0_2_12_M)

blooming lotus

07-04-2004, 11:56 PM

hopefully you read Xiao s' link.i, unfortunately I don't have time myself at the moment.I was there last only a few weeks myself and there was alot of construction etc going on.I really can't be much more specific than that at this stage, but i'll read the article and if necc, make some enquiries locally......

blooming lotus

07-05-2004, 02:03 AM

ok..crux of article

projects begins feb 04

revamp includes bodhisavatta nunnery, kuan-yin nunnery, 1000 budhha palace ( particulary mural painting), pillared artworks and some landscaping......IE trees outside of emporor palace..

partial goal , restoration to original state and erradicate unwanted guests and traffic ( ie : squatters, police etc)

estimated completion date Oct 2004

restoration plan developed by Zhang Jiatai, dean of Henan Ancient construction institute......

I'll ask around and see how far they really have gotten and hopefully will let you know soonish

David Jamieson

07-05-2004, 08:38 AM

bl-

is there anyway you can show us some pictures of teh site and what's happening there?

do you know of anyone in the area who can show us these via the web?

you must understand that many of us here are quite curious about teh state of teh temple, if for no reason other than some small connection to it through our various practices.

it would be good to know that all is well and that the things happening will ultimately result in a positive move forward for the shaolin temple and what it is about.

cheers

r.(shaolin)

07-05-2004, 10:26 AM

From the press release this sounds great!
Having people like Dean Zhang Jiatai involved then allocating enough
money to do a quality job is a important step saving this amazing piece of cultural history. The team at Shaolin is doing the right thing in this regard.

r.

blooming lotus

07-05-2004, 06:30 PM

Originally posted by Kung Lek
bl-

is there anyway you can show us some pictures of teh site and what's happening there?

do you know of anyone in the area who can show us these via the web?

you must understand that many of us here are quite curious about teh state of teh temple, if for no reason other than some small connection to it through our various practices.

it would be good to know that all is well and that the things happening will ultimately result in a positive move forward for the shaolin temple and what it is about.

cheers

krikey K!!! great to hear about global interest ( sincerely) but really....it's a bit of a mission to facilitate pics out from here, but like I said before, I'm on my way to Aus Via gaunzhou in only several days.I do have some shots myself that I'm keen to post as soon as I get home or to a scanner/printer......also , I got my fiance onto it ( who - out of interest did some "time" ( understand the punn) out at shaolin si or tagou to be truthful, and he's giving them a buzz today to find out the drum........doc ( www.russbo.com)'ll be out there in several weeks, but if you're really anxious , I'll zip out there on my way out and do more photos......

Personally..I know they're building a new temple up at tianjin soonish , by '08, and have also heard they have plans for total demoltion at dengfeng/ mt.song ( true original state) ........why they'd wanna start preservation efforts now is a little beyond me at this stage, but I'm sure there's method to the maddness, so I'll do the run out there, take some shots and keep you all posted.............

Serpent

07-05-2004, 07:49 PM

Originally posted by blooming lotus
why they'd wanna start preservation efforts now is a little beyond me at this stage, but I'm sure there's method to the maddness,
Because world attention will hit China in 2008, genius. They want a nice, clean country for the olympic cameras to start those tourist dollars rolling in. Lord, you can be a muppet some times! ;)

blooming lotus

07-06-2004, 12:44 AM

must you follow me around the forum acting like that???......my point was that Tianjin ( the new nthn temple ) is set to open around the same time..you would think they'd just put those funds into the new site....especially bearing in mind that soon after this the Henan site at songshan is scheduled for demo...

Royal Dragon

07-06-2004, 05:38 PM

Are you saying that are demolishing the original Shaolin Temple? The buildings that have been standing for hundreds of years? Or just the new stuff?

blooming lotus

07-07-2004, 01:24 AM

my understanding is that all of it will go, the temple will relocate to Tianjin, not far from Beijing and songshan will return to it's original state................

I really can't have a problem with this...........and if you went there I'm sure you'd feel the same. Perhaps shaolin temple at songshan will rise again in the future, but after the destruction and westernisation of this whole township, outside, up to and including on the mountain face of song herself, perhaps it's a very good thing that the land be weeded of such things and allowed to rest and recoup.....................

in the meantime, shaolin si Tianjin, the new nthrn temple is gearing to old day shaolin concepts, structures and operative methods to meet criteria for Unesco and protection under guidlines for official "living monument" status..............

the current temple and surrounding area, as Gene and others have previously mentioned, would just never ,make the grade and shaolin would continue to fight for its' existance..............you do what you must to keep shaolin beliefs and practices alive ...... and what better time or place to promote awareness of shaolin then to have the new temple opening coincide with the internation exposure of the '08 china / Beijing olympics when wushu makes it's debut on the world stage..............

sounds sound to me ;)

Ps. Masterkiller normally has quite good links to info regarding these things. If you Pm'd him I'm sure he'd be happy to give you what he can

reemul

07-09-2004, 10:23 AM

Returning the temple to its former glory?

Recognizing the Shaolin systems in exile since the 1950's would be a start.

Which is more important the message or the messenger?

"The Kingdom of God is inside/within you (and all about you), not in buildings/mansions of wood and stone. (When I am gone) Split a piece of wood and I am there, lift the/a stone and you will find me."

Can not the same be said of Shaolin Kung fu

blooming lotus

07-09-2004, 11:25 AM

look dude.........you obviously no nothing nothing about what you're speaking because in my days growing having catholism jammed down my throat for nearly 30 yrs and after, I have NEVER come across a more humble or ascetic life styled system of belief..........gong fu is an off -shoot..to facilitate mediatation.what don't you morons understand about that?????????????????

unkokusai

07-10-2004, 06:22 AM

Originally posted by blooming lotus
look dude.........you obviously no nothing nothing about what you're speaking because in my days growing having catholism jammed down my throat for nearly 30 yrs and after, I have NEVER come across a more humble or ascetic life styled system of belief..........gong fu is an off -shoot..to facilitate mediatation.what don't you morons understand about that?????????????????

hmmmm

anger

ngokfei

07-10-2004, 06:34 AM

I know I'm slow witted lately so clarify this.

The Shaolin Temple on Mt. Song is being moved to tianjin?

The Song Shan Temple is being demolished?

I can understand renovation and preservation but demolition.

Can't believe they would be so stupid, a 1500 year temple being torn down. No way.

Removal of recent renovations and additions, yes

How can a new temple be a unesco site? Something not kosher here?

boy I need a cup of java...

blooming lotus

07-10-2004, 06:50 AM

Originally posted by ngokfei
I know I'm slow witted lately so clarify this.

The Shaolin Temple on Mt. Song is being moved to tianjin?

The Song Shan Temple is being demolished?

I can understand renovation and preservation but demolition.

Can't believe they would be so stupid, a 1500 year temple being torn down. No way.

Removal of recent renovations and additions, yes

How can a new temple be a unesco site? Something not kosher here?

boy I need a cup of java...

It's not the temple that they're applying for protection for, it's the name of shaolin and it will be as "living monument".......as the branch of classification they will apply under. If you saw shaolin si today, you would understand that through the ravages of war and governmental monitoring and control, to begin with, there's not a great deal of the original temple left anyway and then you have things like the touro facilities littering the area, or I have this picture of "the temple of meditation" which I snapped because I thought it was a poiniant and quite sad moment for me where I could barely see the entrance for the hoards of stalls / shops/ visitors etc........then I also have a some pictures of Shi YongXins' house / room / dungeon whatever it is that is a dingey little cement room with bars on the doors and windows. These are conditions they were "allowed" to continue to operate or practice under. I also have a shot of the door to the small piece of the temple banned to visitors that houses the extremely little piece of truly functional shaolin where monks meditate and practice in peace. It is extreme xingku ( hard work) for them to practice under these circumstances and their peace has been disrupted for many yrs and many demands and restrictions have been placed on them. This is what they have and still are enduring. It is not the shaolin it used to be!!

You should know yourself that during a serious workout session, to be able to focus is not a luxury but a neccessity.and these boys and men meditate through it all to boot.........they haven't had that peace nor freedom of space and privacy for a long time............. and people make dissrespectful comments about why certain skills have become dormant or not as tuned as previously??.......and yet shaolin as an institution of belief and a method for non buddhists to continue to share its' gongfu still stands and will no doubt continue for another 1500 yrs and more!! :eek: :eek:

What awesome warriors

Royal Dragon

07-11-2004, 12:03 PM

So are they demolishing the ancient Shaolin Temple or not?

Will the ancient buildings be allowed to stand or not?

Serpent

07-11-2004, 06:08 PM

Yeah, does anyone have any official news about what's happening?

Brad

07-12-2004, 07:23 AM

I have a friend who visited the site and saw inscribed stone tablets in the Temple - in simplified Chinese. How stupid does someone think we are?
I was thinking that these things were openly sold for donations. Give the Temple a bunch of money, and you get a tablet. I don't think they're trying to trick people into thinking they're really old original tablets or anything like that. I'm sure some would view this method of making money just as bad though.

reemul

07-12-2004, 11:53 AM

I was not pushing Christianity

Is Shoalin about temples of stone and wood
or is it about knowledge developed by generations.

Serpent

07-12-2004, 08:41 PM

Originally posted by Brad
I was thinking that these things were openly sold for donations. Give the Temple a bunch of money, and you get a tablet. I don't think they're trying to trick people into thinking they're really old original tablets or anything like that.
Correct.

blooming lotus

07-15-2004, 04:34 AM

Originally posted by reemul
I was not pushing Christianity

Is Shoalin about temples of stone and wood
or is it about knowledge developed by generations.

exactly why the actual demolitionof the zhegzhou temple is really irrelevant.....I'm 17 hrs away at the mo, but try to keep me away. Rich from russbo.com is out there at present and I can't help myself, I 'll do one more visit beofre I leave.........if I get any official word prior I'll be sure to pass it on..........Gene 'll be back from hols soon anyway, and being that Rich Russell's Gene gongfu jididi ( young brother), he may have info before me...............

Toby

07-15-2004, 07:08 PM

Reemul,

booming lotus lol! Anyway, there wasn't anything wrong with your response. booming lotus is just a bit crazy. You've gotta learn to expect irrational attacks from her.

blooming lotus

07-15-2004, 09:07 PM

look.............I know you'll never agree because we come from 2 extremely different emotional, spiritual and intelectuall places and objective....................let's just leave it there ha............forget my phd movement, and we'll just go with what you said...........because obviously if soeone has a different viewpoint to share than your own, it's irrational and quite clearly sourced from a fabricated and uniformed piece of information...........peace

Serpent

07-17-2004, 01:44 AM

Originally posted by blooming lotus
because obviously if soeone has a different viewpoint to share than your own, it's irrational and quite clearly sourced from a fabricated and uniformed piece of information...........peace
No. If it comes from you it's almost certainly irrational and sourced from fabricated or uninformed information.

blooming lotus

07-17-2004, 03:33 AM

that's 3 posts for the day saying bobcus......having a slow one ha :p

Serpent

07-17-2004, 10:10 PM

Originally posted by blooming lotus
bobcus
:confused:

GeneChing

07-19-2004, 10:19 AM

Wow, when the cat's away... ;)

OK, let me clarify and we'll start from the begining. Just prior to my vacations, I heard from a fellow shaolin researcher that several of the new halls at Shaolin - the reconstructed ones - we being destroyed to make way for new larger ones. It's an upgrade, if you will, something that I reported on in an interview with the Abbot way back in our Shaolin Special 2000 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=153). At that time I didn't realise that the abbot was planning to replace what had been previously rebuilt, but it stands to reason, somewhat. My understanding is that all of the older buildings will still be left standing, although they might undergo some rennovation. Now FWIW, any ancient building must be rennovated from time to time or it collaspes from erosion (think about it - you gotta repaint your house every once in a while and that's probably not even more than a half century old) so this is nothing that new in the world of antiquities.

As for the temple in Tianjin for 2008, that is a separate project. The Songshan temple is not relocated there. I reported on that in my interview with the abbot in our Shaolin special 2003 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=398).

And the UNESCO progress, well, I've been reporting on that for some time now. The shift from bid for UNESCO Heritage Site to Intangible Heritage I reported in our Shaolin Special 2004 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=500) (sorry, that article isn't online, but that link takes you to the table of contents for your reference).

I haven't heard any more about what's happening at Shaolin right now, but I just got back in the office, so there's a lot of stuff for me to catch up on...

blooming lotus

07-19-2004, 04:53 PM

I can swear that I've heard that it will all be levelled. no idea where I got that and how I confirmed it but I know Rich is out there at the moment for another few days only......maybe he'd have some word???

Ps: welcome back :D

Serpent

07-19-2004, 10:53 PM

Originally posted by blooming lotus
I can swear that I've heard that it will all be levelled. no idea where I got that and how I confirmed it but I know Rich is out there at the moment for another few days only......maybe he'd have some word???

Ps: welcome back :D
Why do you refuse to change your perceptions in the face of contrary evidence?

:confused:

Toby

07-19-2004, 11:01 PM

Originally posted by blooming lotus
no idea where I got that and how I confirmed it ...Maybe your imaginary friend told you?

blooming lotus

07-20-2004, 03:59 AM

perhaps but I'd still like some solid and recent confirmation from a local source who has the "official" word, as in from shi yongxin or another.....???..sue me .I like thorough and sometimes it's the information you disregard that sets you behind the pace

GeneChing

07-20-2004, 09:47 AM

...it imploded while I was on vacation because of my auto-reply. Don't ask. I keep in touch with most of my Denfeng friends via email, so it may take a little longer for me to get to the bottom of this.

blooming lotus

07-20-2004, 04:45 PM

we stay in touch often and not more than 5 minutes ago, I sent him one myself...........might take him a little while to squeeze us in , but I'm sure he'll come through.......

cheers

oh, while we're on the subject, I reconsidered this last night, and it's more than possible I had my wires crossed with relation to concurrent shaolin temple / terracotta warrior discovery sites.......if I'm wrong, I look stupid and we can forget it, but I'd rather reconfirm. I'll let you know :cool:

GeneChing

07-21-2004, 10:02 AM

The temple IS undergoing major rennovation right now. The post-CR rennovations are torn down and being replaced. The next time you go back, expect to see something completely different. I can barely wait to see it.

Same goes for the Wushuguan, but I reported on that in our Shaolin special 2003 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=397), so of course, you already knew. ;)

norther practitioner

07-21-2004, 02:33 PM

I heard the wushu guan is going to be a lot larger (hotel wise and training space)....

The temple it sounds like they are making all the "new" buildings a lot bigger.

GeneChing

07-21-2004, 04:02 PM

Some claim that the temple as it stood before this most recent rennovation is only a 10th of it's former size.

And as for the Wushuguan, they're putting in a new hotel with a higher star rating, plus a better restaurant, etc. We printed a shot of the proposed new theater, which is complete now. I had shot the theater in construction last year, but the pictures didn't really capture it, so we used a painting that was outside the constructions site.

blooming lotus

07-21-2004, 04:28 PM

Originally posted by GeneChing
Some claim that the temple as it stood before this most recent rennovation is only a 10th of it's former size.

I understand....dong.....sad but true......

And as for the Wushuguan, they're putting in a new hotel with a higher star rating, plus a better restaurant, etc.

yay......their soup at the moment s*cks a big one..............

anyway, our friend and resident Las Vegas disciple , Rich Russell from www.russbo.com has advised me that he's onto it and has a shaolin journal of his own at the russbo.com forum.

Don't have a sec myself at the mo, but no doubt if you check that out you'll get an answer.......for those of us time-deprived , a summary wouldbe appreciated ;)

cheers
bl

GeneChing

07-26-2004, 05:33 PM

...I am not, I repeat, NOT going to paraphrase Doc's website. That would be way too much work and I couldn't begin to capture what goes on there. :eek:

But suffice it to say that someone posted about this thread over there, to which Doc reacted initially by blowing it off saying that's been going on for years. That was until he got there. ;) This is a new development. I think he's trying to get on top of it too. But FWIW, the monks at Lipeng's tournament (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=31465) last weekend were all aware fo the situation and fairly non-plussed. See, we have this image of Shaolin, modern Shaolin. They all know what it looked like prior to the 80's so they've already accepted change. And for the most part, they all seem pretty supportive of it all. They seem to view it as more improvements.

Some are comparing it to Disneyland again, but to be honest, it was more like Disneyland before with the house of horrors, the roller coaster simulator, that fat milofo building in Taguo village. Plus most of those people haven't been to Disneyland recently, so they don't really know. ;) If anything, it's becoming less like Disneyland.

blooming lotus

07-27-2004, 06:24 AM

and pre-that/ pre-CR shaolin?????

Ps........I think my dissertation on Ch'an and it's moden interpretation and progress to, is going to be more intersting than I thought ;)

GeneChing

07-27-2004, 09:19 AM

The Cultural Revolution wasn't that long ago - the last sixties, early seventies. There are plenty of people who remember times prior to the CR.

blooming lotus

07-27-2004, 05:21 PM

and because of restrictions of space and freedom and international idealisms etc since, particularly chinese society has unddergone changes and naturally contrastual to pre cr practice, chan in both practice and interpretation has changed with it...dong.bu dong.....tong yi.bu tong yi???........

GeneChing

07-28-2004, 12:18 PM

Here's the situation at Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin is having its largest scale of restoration because the Iron Lady Madame Wu Yi's inspection. Iron Lady Wu Yi, if you don't know anything about PRC, was minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation from 1993 to 1998. She is the most powerful woman in PRC today. The provincial government invested RMB40,000,000 for this restoration project.

All of the old brick walkway laid in the previous restoration will be replaced with large limestone blocks. The center passway of the temple will use blocks engraved with loti.

All the side halls behind Daxiongbadian that were restored in the 1908's from the fire in 1928 were torn down. These early reconstruction efforts where executed without reference. In 1992, Abbot Yongxin acquired many photos of the temple taken in 1922 by a Japanese photographer and the new reconstruction is based on these photos.

To expand the space for visitors, and for security reasons apparently, the side buildings have been moved back 3 meters on both sides.

Some new buildings will be added: a performance hall, something called ganlutai, the dew platform, to be built near the temple. I'm not clear on this part.

Suxi's quarters, along with most of the monk's residences, were torn down. They moved to the houses in the valley in the front of Shaolin, an area that I discussed on page 36 of my report in our Shaolin special 2003 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=397).

This restoration project is scheduled for completion by October, just in time for the 1st World Traditional Kung Fu Championships in Zhengzhou (10/16/2004).

ngokfei

07-28-2004, 04:43 PM

Gene

what a shame though.

Newer is not always better. Also its all being done at one time.

Alot of the restorations have history in them. The donations and labor came from many sources both from the Gov't and the local as well.

The abbott's building looked fine to me.

Just goes to show how lack of respect for history is spreading.

The US was always being criticized for tearing down buildings less than a hundred years old.

Europe didn't tear their old structures down, they were blown up during WWI & II.

Just a sad thought

blooming lotus

07-28-2004, 05:20 PM

Originally posted by GeneChing
Here's the situation at Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin is having its largest scale of restoration because the Iron Lady Madame Wu Yi's inspection. Iron Lady Wu Yi, if you don't know anything about PRC, was minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation from 1993 to 1998. She is the most powerful woman in PRC today. The provincial government invested RMB40,000,000 for this restoration project.

All of the old brick walkway laid in the previous restoration will be replaced with large limestone blocks. The center passway of the temple will use blocks engraved with loti.

All the side halls behind Daxiongbadian that were restored in the 1908's from the fire in 1928 were torn down. These early reconstruction efforts where executed without reference. In 1992, Abbot Yongxin acquired many photos of the temple taken in 1922 by a Japanese photographer and the new reconstruction is based on these photos.

COLOR=darkred]but even in '92 it was hardly an "original shaolin " set-up....... [/COLOR]

To expand the space for visitors,

[tranlation: to rob the poor guys of even more space to present a publicly acceptable image in effort to regain freedoms of practice of times past..........

Some new buildings will be added: a performance hall, something called ganlutai, the dew platform, to be built near the temple. I'm not clear on this part.

Suxi's quarters, along with most of the monk's residences, were torn down. They moved to the houses in the valley in the front of Shaolin, an area that I discussed on page 36 of my report in our Shaolin special 2003 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=397).

call it wht you want..shi yong xins' residence is a barred prison cell come monkey cage..........

This restoration project is scheduled for completion by October, just in time for the 1st World Traditional Kung Fu Championships in Zhengzhou (10/16/2004).

:( .so October it is ha???...and the shaolin festival date???

GeneChing

07-29-2004, 09:10 AM

I'm waiting to see it to before making any judgement. Some of the earlier restoration was a bit cheesy, especially the fighting monks statues in the first left courtyard. Talk about Disneyland. The initial reconstruction had a clear tourist agenda - tourists as they were perceived in the 80's - now tourism still plays a factor, but Shaolin has gotten a bit more savvy about it. What troubles me the most is the relocation of the monk residences. I'm curious if that is temporary or what. We'll soon see. Our publisher, Gigi Oh, will be going to the festival and will hopefully be able to bring back a full report with the unveiling of the new reconstruction.

norther practitioner

07-29-2004, 11:25 AM

Gene,

They wanted to charge your cover boy master (http://store1.yimg.com/I/martialartsmart_1800_5006166) :D ;) to get into the temple..

Posted by Doc over at www.russbo.com

The police, yes, police, working the main gate wouldn't let us in without tickets. Wouldn't let Shi De Cheng in either.

GeneChing

07-29-2004, 03:53 PM

... the key point here is that they came with journalists and knowing Doc, they probably didn't get clearence. I'm a journalist. You have to go through proper channels in China now, even at Shaolin. With so many hacks trying to do some sort of expose at Shaolin, especially during vulnerable times like a reconstruction, the idea was ill advised. I could see where the petty bureaucrat at the door would probably charge anyone coming in with journalists, just to stall. It's a pity that our master lost face - they should have been more careful with what they were doing. We all remember what happened to Shi Wanheng when he came in with a camera crew without getting clearence. I just hope, as always, that Doc knows what he's doing. He's walked into unsavory positions before when it comes to Shaolin publicity. Why is that, do you think?:confused:

And hey! Do I call your master 'boy'?! whassup with that?

blooming lotus

07-29-2004, 04:58 PM

beauracracy aside.fact is DeCheng is still a monk and it ( the temple ) is his home of homes..you think the guy 'd be entitled to bring a guest ................

understand as I might...........see the smal prices these guys pay in this most fabulous reform!!!!

GeneChing

08-02-2004, 02:40 PM

After Wanheng's incident, press is more restricted, but then again, press can often be restricted throughout China. You can get clearence pretty easily actually. You just need to ask nicely. Nobody likes uninvited press, but invited press is typically welcomed with open arms. At least, that's been my experience as a press reporter.

norther practitioner

08-02-2004, 04:09 PM

And hey! Do I call your master 'boy'?! whassup with that?

:D
Coverboy Gene, Coverboy...

lol,
sorry about that. I was just trying to make light that he was on a recent cover, and well, covermonk and coverman just don't have the same ring to it.

GeneChing

08-02-2004, 04:34 PM

And you'll have to teach us all your gold medal winning dao variations. :p

blooming lotus

08-02-2004, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by GeneChing
After Wanheng's incident, press is more restricted, but then again, press can often be restricted throughout China. You can get clearence pretty easily actually. You just need to ask nicely. Nobody likes uninvited press, but invited press is typically welcomed with open arms. At least, that's been my experience as a press reporter.

I'm inclined to take your word for it...but pls do tell because I'm tossing up staying and language aside, how exactly do I go about a temple entry permit????

norther practitioner

08-03-2004, 08:43 AM

Buy a ticket.

GeneChing

08-03-2004, 09:40 AM

To be honest, you got to do something wrong to get denied entry to the temple. That's what makes me a bit upset about this faisco with Doc and our master. Of course, we weren't there, so who konws what really happened. But to get him in such a situation to lose face like that, with press, that's pretty bad. FWIW, I have never paid for a ticket to get into the temple. I've always had good guanxi, which is key to anything in China (and for most of Asia for that matter). I also snuck in once, before it openned, and before I was established as a reporter. But now that I am press, I've been very welcomed, as long as I let them konw when I'm coming.