The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple, the cradle of the famous Shaolin Boxing, was not disturbed by swarms of tourists, because the Henan Provincial government keeps regulating the tourism sector.

The temple was built in 496 in the period of Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-581) for the fabulous Indian monk, Bodhidharma, who came to China to spread Buddhism and introduced an Indian form of exercise. The Chinese monks combined Indian exercise with Chinese techniques and developed a unique form of "wu shu."

The temple was an important Buddhist shrine in China. It has a mountain gate, guest rooms, Dharma Pavilion, Baiyin Hall and a hall housing 1,000 statues of Buddha. Murals on the four walls of the Vairocana Hall depict monks boxing and illustrate weapons that they used.

The fame of Shaolin Temple has attracted numerous travelers. In 1999, 1.3 million travelers came to visit the temple, bringing some 550 million yuan (over US$66 million) to Dengfeng, where the temple is located.

To protect the ancient temple, the local government made special rules to regulate the shuttle bus service, opened hotlines and consultation centers for tourists and closed down travel agencies that operated disorderly. The tourist department also set a uniform price for every kind of service to protect tourists' interests.

Now, more than 5,000 tour guides, who can speak English, French, Korean, German or other languages, may offer satisfactory services to both domestic and foreign visitors.

(People’s Daily 12/28/2000)