www.Longfei-Taiji.co.uk	Longfei Taijiquan Association of Great Britain
		Longfei Newsletter Volume 7 Issue 1

China Trip 2006

Longfei's 2006 visit to China was our second trip; the first was in 2004. The 2006 trip followed a similar itinerary visiting many favourite haunts. For those who came on the last trip it was a chance to acquaint themselves with some of the wonderful historical and spectacular scenic sites. Those who were visiting China for the first time had the perfect opportunity to experience something they will probably never forget!

China is quickly becoming a popular place for tourists. In fact when I picked up my travellers cheques from the travel agent the lady in the shop told me it will be the most visited country in the world next year, and that's before the 2008 Olympics!

If you would like to know about the first week in Beijing check Issue 3 Volume 5 or look at our website. Rather than go over old ground, I would like to mention some of the new places we visited. These sites were a new experience for everyone on the trip.

Class of 2006: the 30 delegates of Longfei with Professor Li and Master Lieu and his son Mr Lieu

Wudang Mountain

We left Beijing by train to embark on a 22-hour train journey across central China. This was to prove a great adventure for everyone involved and we made the journey memorable and as comfortable as we could. Richard and I shared a cabin with Neil and Matt. Neil supplied the refreshment (a nice bourbon) and Matt brought his iPod, so after settling in we had a few whiskies whilst listening to Frank Sinatra's greatest hits (bliss). Looking out of the window of the train gave us all a great opportunity to take in the wonderful sights of rural China - something very different to the hustle and bustle of Beijing City. We made our own entertainment on the train playing games, exchanging stories etc. We were like a load of school kids again, it was magic. The 22 hours flew by and before we new it we had arrived at Wudang station.

Wudang is a famous Daoist mountain with a circumference of 400 kilometres which lies near Danjiagkou City. Most internal martial artists feel an affinity with this spectacular place because it is said to be the birth place of taiji. There are many myths and legends attached to the area. What is myth and legend is not important; this is a place of great spirituality and a significant land mark in Chinese culture.

Most of the buildings were built during Emperor Yong Le's reign (1403-1424) of the Ming dynasty and are still well preserved. More than 300,000 soldiers and civilians were involved in the massive construction on the mountain. Whilst on the mountain we visited many of these beautiful buildings and everyone made it to the highest point, Tianzhu peak which is 1612 metres above sea level to see the majestic "Golden Hall". It is indeed a rarely seen, immense experience.

Our visit was only for one night and in the morning we all got together to train with Yuan Li Min, a famous Daoist monk. He brought along with him two of his disciples and we spent a few hours being introduced to some basic internal training exercises that characterised Wudang qigong and martial arts. They also demonstrated a taiji form and some bagua that was very interesting. Next stop Shaolin temple.

Dick and Simon Watson lead the Longfei pilgrimage to the Golden Hall, the highest building on Wudang Mountain

Shaolin Temple

Shaolin literally translates as little forest and nestles among the pines and cypresses at the western foot of Mount Songshan, in Henan province and is one of China's five sacred mountains. In 495, Bodhidharma, a Mahayana Buddhist, left Sri Lanka for China in the 6th century and developed the Chan (Zen) Sect (a Chinese Buddhist school). At the time, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) ordered the establishment of a magnificent Buddhist temple (Shaolin) in honour of Bodhidharma, a knowledgeable monk who came from India to teach Buddhist scriptures to the Chinese.

The temple is a great tourist attraction, and as our coach drove closer we could see many martial arts schools on either side of the road. I believe there are as many as 40,000 students at the Shaolin temple.

It is said that Bodhidharma was accustomed to doing exercises by imitating a tiger, monkey, scorpion and mantis during the intervals in his meditation. Over time the original form of martial arts came into being.

At the time, the elderly disciples of Bada, Seng Chou and Hui Guang, were skilful in martial arts and are associated with starting the martial

arts tradition at the temple. After his arrival, Dharma advocated sitting absolutely still in meditation. The meditation would take place whilst facing a wall for long periods of time. This was to create tranquillity. However as the practice of the meditation led to the monks falling asleep, Bodhidharma created a set of exercises that was to energise them and prepare them for long hours of meditation. This led to the exercise developing into what we know today as Shaolin martial arts.

Simon Watson in training at the Pagoda Forest, Shaolin Temple

The Pagoda Forest

With a history of more than 1000 years from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) the Pagoda Forest has more than 230 pagodas for Buddhist abbots and is the largest one in China that has survived until now. It is a spiritual place of great beauty and although very crowded had a profound sense of stillness and peace.

Longmen (Dragon Gate) Grottoes

Located along the banks on the Yihe River in Luoyang, the Longmen Grottoes are important cultural relics now under the protection of the state. The carvings started in 493, and took more than 400 years to complete. Along the cliffs there are more than 2100 niches, 2800 inscribed stone tablets, Buddhist pagodas and nearly 110,000 Buddhist images and statues still exist today.

The Longmen Grottoes display the typical imperial style and combine features of numerous sects of Buddhism. They have the highest number of inscribed stone tablets among China's grottoes. This was an astonishing place to visit.

The amazing Longmen Grottoes on the banks of the Yihe River house 110,000 Buddhist statues

The Yellow River

Rising in Qinghai province in western China, the Yellow river is China's second largest river. It winds to the east, covering a staggering 5464 kilometres through nine provinces, draining an area of about 750,000 square kilometres. We were taken down the river on a hovercraft, a great way to experience this awesome river. The excursion proved to be great fun!!

Luoyang Peony

When we were visiting the grottoes I sat down with Dave (Spearing) just to chill and try to take it all in, when I noticed some beautiful flowers. I had never seen them before. Patrick, a keen gardener, told me they were peonies.

These are often depicted in Chinese paintings, calligraphy works, songs and innumerable poems. The peony is crowned "the king of flowers", for its gorgeous charm and prestigious reign in the flower world. The peony flower is traditionally a symbol of grace. Because of its unique beauty and dignity it has a reputation of being "the finest under heaven" for a thousand years. At present, the city boasts about 700 varieties.

Simon Watson

Longfei Newsletter Volume 7 Issue 1 Table of Contents