Guandu Shaolin Temple

[ShaolinDan]

For those of you who don't know, the Guandu Shaolin Temple is a new-ish (2008) project by Shaolin. Guandu is an 'Old Town' on the edge of Kunming, capital of Yunan Province in China.

As of 2008, Shaolin has taken over the management of a cluster of four temples there, now known collectively as The Guandu Shaolin Temple.

Though there is already some discussion of the temple on other threads, I'd like to dedicate this thread to any further discussion of the temple.

I am currently living in Kunming and training at the Guandu Shaolin Temple, so if any of you have any questions please ask. Hopefully I can be of service.

[ShaolinDan]

There has currently been some discussion of the Guandu Shaolin temple on the thread entitled "Economic State of Shaolin Temple Today" : http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42957&page=4
And on my thread about living in Kunming, "In Kunming" : http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64408

[ShaolinDan]

There is also an article about the Guandu Shaolin Temples in the current May/June Shaolin Special, "Shaolin in Spring City." This article includes an interview with Shi Yanbei who is heading the project. http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1088

And there is also an ezine article I wrote about my personal experiences training at the temple, entitled "The Shaolin Temple You've Never Heard Of," here: http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1092

[ShaolinDan]

Here are some links to other articles I have found about Guandu and the Guandu Shaolin Temple:

General Background
http://www.tour-yunnan.com/Item/826.aspx
http://www.chinakunming.travel/Show.aspx?aid=5193
http://www.gochengdoo.com/en/blog/item/1134/rebranded_shaolin_temples_open_today
http://www.yunnanexplorer.com/features/guandu/
http://www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/2338/getting_away_guandu_old_town

Shi Yongxin in Kunming
http://en.kunming.cn/index/content/2009-09/17/content_2681966.htm
http://en.kunming.cn/index/content/2011-03/24/content_2464868.htm

[ShaolinDan]

Guandu Ancient Town or Guandu Guzhen (官渡古镇) is Kunming's 'Old Town.'

For those of you who have not traveled in China, 'Old Towns' of varying size, beauty, and authenticity are common throughout China. Typically (as is the case with Guandu), the old town will be a sectioned off neighborhood of the city, blessedly free of cars (unfortunately not ebikes), consisting of old and old-style buildings. As tourist attractions you can count on an 'Old Town' to have lots of yummy food and lots of shopping, particularly small street-side venders selling local goods.

The Guandu Ancient Town is fairly small, but is pretty packed with temples, pagodas, and other old buildings. It's also a lot less expensive than downtown Kunming. For example I once had a five course dinner there (including four beers) with two local friends of mine for 85 RMB...about $13. The same meal in city center would have cost about twice as much.

Although frequented by local tourists, Guandu Ancient Town is off the map for western tourists. I've been spending one full day (early morning to evening) there a week for several months now, and have only once seen any other foreigners there (aside from the few I've brought to the temple with me).

Between the lack of cars, the lack of foreigners, and the traditional architecture, the Guandu Ancient Town feels more like the China of our period-piece-kung-fu-movie-tainted-minds than anywhere else I've been so far. Of course it doesn't hurt to have a kung fu temple there as well. :)

[ShaolinDan]

Here are some photographs I took in Guandu:

[ShaolinDan]

Here are pics of the four temples comprising Guandu Shaolin:
Miaozhan Temple (妙湛寺)
7413
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Tuzhou Temple (土主庙)
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Fading Temple (法定寺)
7416
Guanyin Temple (观音寺)
7417

[ShaolinDan]

A few Chinese news reports and one video montage:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTE5NTc3NzI4.html
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTk4NDY5MTI=.html
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTg1NzM2MzAw.html
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjExOTgyOTY=.html
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ1MDgyMDc2.html

[ShaolinDan]

Wow. I have a ton of photos to post. Not going to post them all today, need an excuse to ttt this thread after all, but here are some pictures from inside the temples.

[ShaolinDan]

And we'll finish off for today with some kung fu pictures. More to come later. :)
A young monk strikes a pose:
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Shi Heng Gang (释恒港) demonstrates Shaolin Taiji:
7424
And my teacher here, Shi Yanxun (释延讯):
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[GeneChing]

I love that Altar Weapon Rack in post 9 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1225611#post1225611). I've always thought there would be an interesting research piece in Altar Weapons, as they are symbolic, not practical, and probably the origin of many of the more exotic Chinese weapons (http://www.martialartsmart.com/weapons-chinese-weapons-exotic-weapns.html).

[mengfei]

Great photos...keep them coming!

[Brule]

I really enjoyed the article and that place looks amazing with great weather, man i'd love to be somewhere with decent weather right now....

[ShaolinDan]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, Brule, the weather here is really nice...dry though, need a lot of hand lotion and lip balm. :)

It's been wonderful to miss the Massachusetts winter.

[ShaolinDan]

Sometimes the temple is a very peaceful place (that's my knee):
7456



And sometimes it isn't :o:
7457

[GeneChing]

Taking pix of the freaky laowai, were they? Did they offer you a cig after? :p

I was at Longmen with this cute Shaolin sista, then a leggy blonde teenager, and the PRC tourists kept wanting to take pix with her, then they would offer her a cig after. I was trying to convince her that we should set up a photo booth, that we could easily make enough for some cold drinks, but she wouldn't go for it.

At least we got some smokes out of it.

[ShaolinDan]

Nope, no cigs. :( All I got was this funny picture. That was this Wednesday, it was the worst it's ever been. People always look and some take pictures, but this time there was some kind of a tour group--at least twenty people all taking pictures for about a half hour. Funny at first, but it got annoying when I started to take a rest and they said, "Train, we want more pictures." That's when I got my camera out and started fighting back.
You're lucky to be able to go incognito, Gene.

[Scythefall]

Congrats on being in an area that has gong fu training. I've been in China for almost two years and I was pretty surprised by what a barren wasteland this place is in terms of gong fu training. The local university has a wushu team and a taekwondo team so I can go workout and get sweaty but there is nothing in terms of Chinese gong fu.

I've been gracious about the picture taking but it's gotten to the point now where people recognize me because they saw my picture on Weibo and that's not really cool.

So are you taking an organized class from them or did you happen to learn they were martial monks and just start training with them?

[ShaolinDan]

Hey Scythefall, I see you've just started posting again after taking an 8 year hiatus, welcome back :)
Short story is I got the hook up about the temple from Gene, the long story is here: http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64408

There's actually LOTS of kung fu where I am, just most of it isn't very impressive--inefficient training methods IMO.

Where in Sichuan are you? I expect to be passing through in mid July or so...

[ShaolinDan]

Here are a couple videos I found on youku of Shaolin performances at the Kunming International Culture and Tourism Festival that just past (April 29 - May 1):
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTUxNTA4Nzcy.html
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTQ5ODI1OTQ0.html

[Scythefall]

Hey Scythefall, I see you've just started posting again after taking an 8 year hiatus, welcome back :)
Short story is I got the hook up about the temple from Gene, the long story is here: http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64408

There's actually LOTS of kung fu where I am, just most of it isn't very impressive--inefficient training methods IMO.

Where in Sichuan are you? I expect to be passing through in mid July or so...

I'm actually in Wenchuan which is a prefect in Sichuan. Closest major city is Chengdu which I go to whenever I need a taste of modern life.

The local university has a Wushu and Taequandao department. What they call "Gong Fu" is Chang Quan Wushu. It's really hard to wrap my head around it because it's got a lot of traditional stuff in it but also a lot weird "just put your fist there" kind of moves that just don't make any martial sense. No matter how hard you try you can't get power into the move.

There's a local martial arts competition here next month so they've invited me to compete. It's kind of an active participation event. Spectators will be taken off into groups and show basic kicks, punches, and drills. It's really a lot of fun even if the level of competition isn't spectacular.

If you're coming through Chengdu, I'll shoot you my phone number and we can meet up. I lived there for over a year so it's kind of a second home to me now.

[ShaolinDan]

Hey Scythefall,
Good luck in the competition!
I don't expect to have a phone with me when I travel (I borrowed an extra one from my aunt here), but I am PMing you my email address. I expect to be in Chengdu for a few days in mid-July.

[ShaolinDan]

Yesterday was the best day I've had training at Guandu Shaolin to date.
Last time I was there I gave them a few copies of the May/June Shaolin Special with my article on Guandu Shaolin Temple, and it worked like a charm. :D

As of yesterday I now have two teachers there. In addition to Shi Yanxun who has been putting me through grueling (though productive) hours of jibengong, I am also studying with Shi Hengbo.
They appear to be polar opposites, which makes them very complimentary teachers.

When I met him, Shi Hengbo asked me what I want to learn and how long I will be here to train. I told him I really like chinna and shuai jiao and that I'd only be here six more weeks. He said, "OK. In that time I will teach you AS MUCH as I can." Then Shi Hengbo, one other student (Chinese), and I spent the rest of the day drilling various chinna and shuai jiao skills. Yes, believe it or not, actual combat application partner drills! And not just Sanda either. :) It feels like a miracle. It was also very neat to actually practice gongfu with a Shaolin monk--not just practice in front of him, but hands on application work, both giving and receiving.

Anyway, just want to let folks know, that although it might take some guanxi to access, there is definitely real combat gongfu training going on in Shaolin, not just taolu and sanda. :):):)

[Scythefall]

Yeah, congrats on the one on one time with a monk. There's no words to describe how intense and meaningful that training is. I was always fortunate enough to have the time and the money to do private classes with my Shifu and everything from my jibengong to Mantis got worked over until I'd nearly pass out. Learning applications one to one was intense and I happily pass it on to my best friend and school brother who would then pass on what he learned in his private classes. THey're addictive too.

[ShaolinDan]

Cute picture of Buddhist Hell for you :) :
7533

[ShaolinDan]

Well, I had my last class at the temple yesterday before I start my travels. Really looking forward to the coming adventure, but it's a bit sad to leave and not know when I'll ever be back.

Shi Hengbo (释恒搏) is by far the best teacher I've managed to find in Kunming. Very enthusiastic and always happy to get personally involved in the training. Wish I'd had more than a few weeks to train with him.

[Patrice]

Hi Dan,

Great you have the oppurtunity to train with Shaolin monks! I read your all your stories with a lot of intrest!!! You still around and training in Kunming at the moment? Also do you speak (little bit) Mandarin with them because thee monks come from Henan or even the local Kunming dialect?

I have a question for for you, end of next month I with my wife, son and daughter will arrive in Kunming for several weeks to visit my parents in law.They live north west of Kunming in the area Puji Rd (G108) which should be close to Guanying temple? By car about 10 minutes so I hop by bike about the same.
Could you confirm in this temple it's possible to train Shaolin or even better of you still train Shaolin how to contact the monks by email or phone to be informed? My wife like to request lessons for me and my son.

We are living in the Netherlands and our Sifu is Fei Yuliang from Nanjing (youtube performing Zui Quan or Drunken Master) and 1 of the forms we are learning for this moment is Lo-Han and Pu Chi, Bagua, Qi Gong and Thai Chi.
Before I trained in Nanjing or trained by my self in Kunming but I need a teacher for my son. He is almost 7 years old and is in training for 1,5 years.
I hope he can train every day at least 2 hours to improve his basic (nothern style) and to learn a simple form.

For the future he can return to Kunming to train Wushu but also to improve his Mandarin. If you could help would be great....!!!!
And ofcourse, if possible I like come over to watch you training. No problem to come over to another temple even when it's very early in the morning.

[ShaolinDan]

Hi Patrice,

Actually I am leaving Kunming to travel for a while tomorrow morning, then I'll be going home to the States for a while at least--maybe to stay. So, sorry, won't be able to meet with you here.

Actually the Guandu Shaolin Temples are in the Southeast of Kunming--one of them is called Guanyin Temple, but probably there is another Guanyin Temple in the Northwest that is totally unconnected to Shaolin--it's a popular name for a temple here. Maybe it will take a lot longer than ten minutes to get to Guandu for you.

The monks there are from Henan. Some of them speak Mandarin, others speak Henanhua, but they all understand Mandarin. Not the place for your son to learn perfect Beijinghua, but he'll still be practicing his Chinese all the time--no one there currently speaks more than a few words of English.

Anyway, convenient or not, if you can arrange to spend some time training at the temple, it will certainly be a worthwhile experience. The atmosphere alone is fantastic.

Your wife can write to Master Yanbei (释延贝) at shiyanbei009@163.com

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask them here. As I will be traveling the next several weeks I may be a little slow to answer, but I'll do my best.

Good luck and enjoy your visit to Kunming!

[Patrice]

Thanks for your reply!!! A pitty you will leave today but I hope you enjoyed the time in Kunming and your trip in China before to return to the States.
Ofcourse, when you will visit the Netherlands feel free to contact me.

We will contact the shaolin monk to ask what is possible to arrange some training. Otherwise we need to search again.
There is park close to our appartement and a lot of people are training Thai Chi so maybe we can find a Shifu.

I will post our experience and some photo's of Kunming in time. Maybe other people like to visit Kunming and to train with the monks. It's a very beautifull city and area, nice food (spicy,) culture and after all the best weather conditions of China!:)

[ShaolinDan]

Thanks Patrice. Good luck. Love to hear how things go for you.

[GeneChing]

Read Shaolin versus Shaolin: Choosing Your Shaolin Experience (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1153) by Daniel Chase. In honor of our Shaolin Special 2014 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=1151).

[curenado]

An excellent thread. Perhaps training in Guandu will feature exceptional leg work and distance running capability, owing to the trotting distance between it's halls? :)

This was good:
"While Dengfeng in Henan Province is the center of the Kung Fu universe.."
and "The only thing truly special about Dengfeng is that it’s crawling with Kung Fu students and teachers. It’s a wonderful place to buy weapons, training gear, and Kung Fu uniforms."

And it is! I like the uniforms and service in Dengfeng. They got my business, extra shipping time and all.

[ShaolinDan]

Thanks! :)

[ShaolinDan]

I'm back! :)

Just vacation this time. Been hanging in Kunming the past week. Tomorrow I head for Guilin and Yangshuo for a week, then back to Kunming.
Met with Shi Yan Bei (acting abbot at Guandu Shaolin) today and he agreed to do another interview for the magazine. So hopefully I'll have a full report for you all in time for the next Shaolin Special. :D


No idea why picture is sideways. Forgive me. :D

[hskwarrior]

It must be those shaolin DO fools. hahahaha

[ShaolinDan]

Just to clarify, for anyone else who can't be bothered to read, I said "acting" abbot because Shi Yongxin sent Shi Yan Bei down to Kunming to run the temples for the duration of their 20 year contract with Shaolin Temple. ;)

[ShaolinDan]

So. It's been awhile since I read anything about Abbot Yongxin's troubles. I had thought they had blown over, but apparently the investigation continues.
Shi Yanbei does not want to do the interview until things have returned to normal with Shaolin. Right now their public image has been damaged, it's not the best time to answer questions about spreading Shaolin culture in Kunming. He (and my translator) have my questions and my email, hopefully they will be answered at some point. Not holding my breath.
The good news is, after giving the bad news, I was invited to stay and train that day. Couldn't refuse. Late in the day a familiar face appeared. We were both delighted and very surprised. It was Shi Hengbo, one of my old teachers when I was there a few years ago. I'd thought he'd returned to Songshan. He called it "fate," but, of course, all the monks say that. ;)
It was great to see him again. And train with him again. When I get back from Dali, I will head to the temple one last time to train with him again. :)

[ShaolinDan]

Tomorrow I leave Kunming. And China. Have a few days in Bangkok and a few in Bali. Then go home.
Spent most of the last two days at Shaolin Temple. Training with Shi Hengbo was once again a wonderful experience. He's an excellent teacher. And generous. When he teaches the children he pushes them hard, but also plays and makes them laugh.
With me he his totally hands on. Once again we trained real gong fu. Not taolu, not sanda. Striking and qinna and transitions between them. He gave me a lot to work on/think about. Hopefully I can refine it not forget it over the next few years...it will likely be that long before I come back. Sad once more to leave. A month in China went by so fast. But I know I will be back. Do you know they're giving Americans a 10 year visa now?! :D

[ShaolinDan]

So I was just poking around on the internet feeling nostalgic and I thought I'd look up the Kunming Shaolin Temple and see what's been going on there. A lot apparently:
https://shaolintemple.com/
Seems like they've really expanded and changed their marketing approach (by actually having one, besides asking me to bring people by :p). Looks like lots of offerings and lots of foreign students. Wish going back for a follow up article was in the cards... maybe next decade :(

Hope everyone is holding up ok these days.