Ask most people where kung fu comes from and they will name this temple, even if they have no idea where it is. The Shaolin Temple stands at the foot of Mount Song in Henan province, central China, near the city of Dengfeng. It was founded at the end of the fifth century for an Indian monk, and tradition says that Bodhidharma, the legendary founder of Chan, or Zen, Buddhism, meditated in a cave on the mountain above for nine years. The monks' martial arts became famous over the centuries, and today Shaolin is as much a brand as a monastery.
The temple complex includes halls, courtyards, ancient trees and the Pagoda Forest, a remarkable collection of hundreds of brick and stone tomb pagodas of eminent monks, built over more than a thousand years. Together with other buildings around Dengfeng, including an ancient academy and an astronomical observatory, it was inscribed in 2010 as the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in the Centre of Heaven and Earth. The area around the temple is full of martial arts schools, and you will see thousands of students training in the open air.
Mount Song is one of the five sacred mountains of China, a range of steep, rocky peaks with temples, paths and cable cars. The scenery is dramatic, with cliffs, forests and views over the plain. Spring and autumn are the best times to visit, as summers are hot and humid and winters cold and dry.
Riding in China requires preparation. Foreigners need a Chinese licence or a temporary permit, and bringing a foreign bike usually requires an agency and a guide. Motorcycles are banned or restricted in many cities, and highway access for bikes varies. In the countryside of Henan, roads range from modern highways to narrow village lanes, with heavy traffic, trucks and electric scooters everywhere.
Songyang, part of Dengfeng and ten kilometres away, is where to find fuel, beds and a bowl of noodles. Henan's food is hearty and wheat-based: noodles, steamed buns and the famous Henan hui mian, a stewed noodle dish. The Longmen Grottoes, with their thousands of Buddhist carvings, are a couple of hours west near Luoyang and make a natural companion trip.