How to Plan Shaolin Temple Tour - Shaolin Temple Trip Planner

A normal visit to Shaolin Temple simple and easy to go. It can be done in a half day or a full day, depending on your time and interest. Walking along the road from the entrance of the scenic area, you will pass through the Shaolin Martial Arts Hall where you can take a stop to enjoy magnificent Shaolin Kung Fu show performed by Shaolin temple monks. Then you will visit the temples and halls of Shaolin Temple, and lastly get to the most famous Pagoda Forest. Lastly, return the same way to exit Shaolin Temple. This is the most classic Shaolin Temple. It takes several kilometers to walk the whole journey. If you want to save time, you can take the sightseeing bus. The most popular way is to walk in and take sightseeing bus out.

• Recommended Tour: ✔ 2 Days Shaolin Kung Fu Tour from Zhengzhou

Shaolin Temple Visit plus Mount Song Hiking

Normal Shaolin Temple visit can be done in a half day. If you have more time, you can go to hike Sanhuang Village on Mount Song which is has many beautiful mountain trails hanging in the air. The “book lined rocks” views are incredible. For a leisure and time-efficient experience, you can take cable car to ascend and descend the mountain. If you prefer more hiking experience, you can take cable car up to the mountain, then hike about 2hrs down to the foot of Mount Song.

• Recommended Tour: ✔ 3 Days Shaolin Temple Mount Song Hiking Tour

Shaolin Kung Fu Class Plan

After visiting the temples and pagodas, you can go to take a Shaolin Kung Fu class in a local school. The Kung Fu training programs can be as short as an hour, or as long as 3 or more years, depending on how much you want to learn. If you only want to explore the Kung Fu culture and study some basic Kung Fu skills, the 2-hour Kung Fu class is recommended. Longer-termed Kung Fu training can also be organized.

• Recommended Tour: ✔ 3 Days Shaolin Kung Fu Tour including Luoyoang Highlights

Shaolin Temple cannot be reached by flight, train or subway directly. It is located at the foot of Mount Song, about 55 km from Luoyang City and about 90km from Zhengzhou. The nearest city is Dengfeng which is about 30mins’ drive away.

To get to Shaolin Temple, you need to take a flight or train to Luoyang or Zhengzhou first, then transfer to Shaolin Temple by taxi or public buses. To get rid of crowded and time-consuming public transportation, you can take our worry-free private transfer to Shaolin Temple which is included in our Shaolin Temple tour packages. You can be picked up at the airport, train station or hotel according to your own time and interest.

▶ Learn more about: How to Get to Shaolin Temple

• Recommended Tour: ✔ 3 Days Shaolin Temple Longmen Grottoes Tour from Zhengzhou

Shaolin Temple visit is usually a part of Luoyang trip. Luoyang was capital city of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties including the most famous Tang Dynasty, which makes it full of cultural relics and history. It is home to the famous Longmeng Grottoes - one of the most significant masterpieces of Buddhist rock carving and sacred White Horse Temple - China's first Buddhist temple. A classic Luoyang Shaolin Temple usually needs 3 days (can be shortened to 2 days) as below:

Day 1 Take a high speed train to Luoyang from Xian, Beijing or other cities, and get picked up by local tour guide at train station;
Day 2 Drive about 1.5hrs from Luoyang city to Dengfeng to visit Shaolin Temple and return to Luoyang. Visit White Horse Temple on route;
Day 3 Visit Luoyang Museums and Longmen Grottoes, then go to catch your departing train/flight.

▶ Find more Luoyang Shaolin Temple tour here >>

Shaolin Temple is located between Beijing and Xian. It is strongly recommended to take a stopover for 2 days in Luoyang to visit the legendary Shaolin Temple and magnificent Longmen Grottoes. You can easily transfer between 3 cities by direct high speed trains. A Beijing Luoyang Xian tour is the unique tour of ancient capitals during which you will explore many World Heritage Sites. Below is the suggested itinerary:

Day 1 Beijing arrival. Be picked up by local tour guide;
Day 2 A leisure day tour of Beijing city, including Tian’anmen Square, Forbidden City and Summer Palace;
Day 3 Enjoy a special hiking on the Great Wall of China;
Day 4 Visit Temple of Heaven and take a rickshaw in Hutong, then take a high speed train to Luoyoang;
Day 5 Sidetrip to Shaolin Temple from Luoyang;
Day 6 Visit Longmen Grottoes then take a high speed train to Xian;
Day 7 Xian historical tour including Terracotta Warriors, Ancient City Wall, Snack Street;
Day 8 Visit educational Shaanxi History Museum and ancient Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and leave Xian.

▶ Learn more details about 8 Days Beijing Luoyang Xian Tour

As one of the leading travel agencies in China, we always master the most up-dated travel information and are specialized in offering tailor-made China travel experience. Before your trip, our travel consultants will communicate with you one to one and make an itinerary according to your own travel length, interest and budget. As your itinerary is settled, we will book hotel, flight or trains for you. During your trip, our local travel guide will deal with all details for you and you just need to focus on sightseeing.

For more about private tour with China Discovery, you could contact us to tailor-make the best tour you want.