Shaolin Martial Arts Festival

Date: September 10-15
Venue: Zhengzhou (Henan)

The worldwide fame of the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple is attributed to its consummate martial arts dating back more than a thousand years to the Tang dynasty. During the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD), monks in the temple had already devised more than 100 styles of boxing. By the Ming Dynasty, the Shaolin martial arts reached its zenith. The city of Dengfeng, where the temple is situated, has become a center of martial arts.

In 1991 the first Zhengzhou Martial Arts Festival was held to carry forward the heritage of Chinese martial arts and promote local tourist and economic development.

The Festival is held once a year and has a good variety of Shaolin martial arts performances and contests, and exchanges between martial arts from around the world.