Shaolin Temple in Guandu Ancient Town,Kunming

Shaolin Temple (少林寺), the famed temple in Henan province where kung fu is said to have been invented, is going into the temple management business, starting in Kunming.

The temple's abbot Shi Yongxin (释永信) signed an agreement earlier this week with Kunming's Guandu district to take over management of four ancient temples in Kunming: Miaozhan Temple (妙湛寺), Tuzhu Temple (土主庙), Fading Temple (法定寺), and Guanyin Temple (观音寺).

According to Kunming media reports, this new 'Yunnan Shaolin' is expected to serve as a platform through which the temple will transmit 'Shaolin Culture' to South and Southeast Asia. Ten monks from Shaolin Temple will be dispatched to the four Kunming temples, where they will manage business with the goal of attracting tourists.

The reported terms of the 20-year agreement between Shaolin Temple and the Guandu district are for Shaolin to take over management of the four Kunming temples in exchange for all the profits generated by the temples via ticket sales, sales of religious paraphernalia, religious texts and any donations made by visitors.

A pleasant enough temple managed by friendly Shaolin monks. Needs more spontaneous kung fu brawls. Shaolin Temple in Kunming City is nestled in the back of Guandu old town, which makes for a nice afternoon out of the city center, although it is surrounded by lots of "new" fake old shopfronts.

How to get there
Just take the 46 bus to the Guandu Dong Lu stop (官渡东路站) and you're pretty much there... a cab from the city center runs around 35 yuan.