Maitreya Temple Shi Yanjun Sports and Culture Exchange Program facilities are located on the Jinping Mountain of the Happy Buddha Temple. They offer three different types of accommodation: hostel rooms (students sharing each room with own en-suite bathroom and Wi-Fi), hotel (twin rooms with en-suite bathroom and Wi-Fi), and family room (en-suite bathroom and Wi-Fi). The hotel accommodation can be booked if you wish to stay by yourself in the room. The family rooms can be shared by parents with kids. Each room has 24-hour hot water (solar panel and electricity) and Wi-Fi. The weather is mild in Mile, therefore, you will not require heating in winter or air conditioner in summer.

No matter the type of accommodation, you will have free of charge the following: bedding, linen, and towel. The use of automatic washing machines on the site is free of charge. Please make sure you book long in advance your accommodation. The Temple’s rooms are limited and they book very fast.

Kung Fu is part of life and nature so the training is adjusted accordingly to follow nature cycles. Morning classes start with meditation, Taiji, and Qigong. Each class starts with warming up session and flexibility exercises. When you arrive and have no previous experience in Kung Fu, you will be advised to follow for one week the timetable and decide what you like best so for the following week, you can focus only on the personal goals.

For advanced students, you will be tailored the timetable to follow your very specific goals. Each class (no matter the style) will consist of learning forms (set of exercises), stances, applications, techniques, and pair work (Duilian).

There is no limitation for each student's appetite for learning. Within one month, you can learn up to five forms. There will be no restriction if you are a beginner and wish to learn a particular form. One month is not enough for learning well but you can go home after and continue your practice. You will become very good and master the forms you learn.

Each class has about six to seven students. The classes will be specifically done to fit your own body quality and fitness. Students who wish to train during the weekends are free to do so. You can use the Academy equipment free of charge. If you think you wish to learn more, you can book extra classes with the masters.

Type of exercises you will do are circuit training, abdominal exercises, strength exercises (push-ups, squats, jumping, pull-ups, high knee run, dumbbells, barbell, press, mountain climbing, and so on.), flexibility exercises, self-defence techniques, hard Qigong (iron palm and iron body), Sanda (shaolin boxing and fighting in the ring), and many more. During the weekends, you have free time to rest or train more.This training type is also suitable for weight loss and improving the overall health condition.

The program takes place inside the Maitreya Temple. It is Buddhist Temple served by monks and nuns. Students can take part in the Buddhist ceremony every day starting 5:30 a.m. This class is optional but is part of Buddhist education. Formal training starts at 6 a.m. with Taiji and Qigong classes in the Temple. The timetable is very balanced and the teaching style follows the traditional way.

You will practice daily for more than seven hours. You will have four sessions of training guided by the shaolin masters. Each student goals are very important and the training timetable will be adjusted accordingly.

Typical daily schedule

• 05:30 Optional class: Buddhist chanting with the monks and nuns in Maitreya Temple
• 06:00 Taji Quan (Yang, Chen, Wudang styles) and soft Qigong class (Zhang Zhuang, Ba Duan Jin, and Yi Jin Jing)
• 07:00 Breakfast
• 08:30 Morning training (each day will be different and consists of kung fu basics, flexibility and stretching, traditional training on the Meihua poles and balance, forms with applications and techniques, and acrobatics)
• 11:30 Meditation (static and walking)
• 12:00 Lunch
• 14:00 Theory classes (Mandarin, culture, medicine, Buddhism, kung fu culture)
• 15:00 Afternoon training class (consists of shaolin boxing, Wing Chun, self-defence, free fighting, power training, and endurance)
• 17:00 Dinner
• 18:30 Evening training (competition forms with pair work, applications, and techniques)
• 20:00 Evening ritual in the temple (drums and bell ring with chanting)
• 21:30 Sleeping time

Course information

All the styles of Kung Fu offered by Songshan Shaolin Traditional Wushu Academy have formal certified courses. You can achieve a ranking in your Kung Fu if you train heard enough. The ranking system used by the Shaolin Temple has nine levels and by training intensively for at least three years you can achieve the fourth level.

The academy trains students on small groups. It trains Chinese apprentices on site as well. If you have outstanding attitude towards training and show a deep understanding of Kung Fu morality, you will be offered the opportunity to become Shifu Yan Jun disciple.

You will have a lot of time with your Shifu. You can have a peaceful lifestyle in a Zen Environment. However, if you would like to be more active, there are many opportunities for performances, competitions and other events. Songshan Shaolin Traditional Wushu Academy has a high level of success in competitive events held locally and/ or nationally.

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  Shifu Shi Yan Jun

  Shifu Shi Yan Jun, the headmaster of the academy, is the disciple of the current abbot of the Shaolin temple, Venerable Shi Yong Xin and 34th generation Shaolin Warrior Monk. His motto in teaching is: "Love Kung Fu and Kung Fu will love you back."

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  Shifu Shi Yan Peng

  Shifu Shi Yan Peng is the 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk. He studied in Shaolin temple from the age of nine until 17 and received the sixth Duanwei grading from Shaolin Wushu Association China. He teaches Kung Fu movie and Wing Chun classes.and has been working in the movie industry for more than 10 years under the famous directors Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo-Ping. Shifu Yan Peng worked for movies such as Fearless (Jet Li), Dragon Tiger Gate (Donnie Yen), Fist of Fury (Jet Li), The Forbidden Kingdom (Jackie Chan and Jet Li), and more.

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  Shifu Shi Heng Xue

  Shifu Shi Hengxue studied in Shaolin temple since the age of 10 under the direct guidance of Shifu Shi Yancheng until the age of 20. She is specialized in Shaolin Kung Fu fist forms and weapons and Taiji Quan (Yang and Chen style). Since the age of 15, she traveled intensively in China being part of the show team under the direct guidance of her master. Shifu Hengxue also participated in many national competitions where she achieved the first place in Shaolin fist forms and weapons. Since March 2017, she is teaching in the Academy under the guidance of Shifu Yanjun on the full-time basis.

Your training takes place at Maitreya Buddha Temple, located in Mile City, South of China in Yunnan Province. Mile City is one of the best cities in Yunnan Province called the "lucky place." The city received from the government the distinction of 5A touristic resort. It is forbidden to have any industry which might pollute the environment, therefore is considered the cleanest city with excellent air quality. Mile is very famous for his hot springs which have therapeutic properties. It is built on lakes and mountains which make Mile a very distinctive and exotic place to live.

During the retreat, you will be served three meals daily. The school chefs are educated to cook dishes with medical properties based on the Chinese traditional medicine principles. They cater for your needs: vegetarians, vegans, Muslim, and meat eaters. If you have specific requirements such as intolerance and specific allergies, please inform them in advance. The food provided follows the principles of Yin and Yang from. They do not cook using chemicals, enhancers, MSG (monosodium glutamate) or soy sauce.

If you wish to have soy sauce with your food, they can provide separately. Yunnan province is one of the most beautiful provinces in China. The climate is mild and the water abundant. The province is the most abundant in plant and animal diversity. The direct border of the province makes the food of Yunnan to be the ultimate foodie region.

If you wish to eat with the monks, you can as well. They have 100 percents vegetarian diet. However, when you eat with the monks you must follow their habits of eating. This means their meals are at set times: 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and they do not talk during meal time and are very grateful for their bowl of food.

Explore Mile

Maitreya Temple is located in an amazing area of Mile City, which is famous for its hot spring waters with therapeutic properties. In the city, there is also a fun water park with hot springs water. Around the city, there are many vineyards where you can have wine tasting, traditional villages with old style houses. The famous stone forest and Luxi with its famous orchards and therapeutic hot waters (for skin disease) are only 40 kilometers away from Jinping Mountain and Happy Buddha Temple. Traveling south, there are the famous rice terraces and mountains full of banana, mango, papaya, and many more exotic fruits.

• 3 daily meals
• 59 nights accommodation
• All training sessions and available classes
• Application fee
• Chinese traditional medicine and health recommendations
• Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner prepared following the Yin-Yang principles
• Daily meditation sessions and daily Buddhist Ceremony in the Temple
• Getting to know authentic Chinese traditions
• Learning to cook Yin-Yang meals: longevity, weight loss, beauty
• Learning the secrets of looking and feeling young
• Pick-up from Zhengzhou (Shaolin Temple) or Mile (Maitreya Temple)

• Drop off to the train station
• Extra Bedding
• Medical treatments
• Private classes
• Toiletries

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG). From the airport, you can travel to Mile either by bus or fast train. If you wish to book the drop-off to the bus or train station, Songshan Shaolin Wushu Academy charges a fee of 70 RMB. If you wish to book your drop-off to Kunming Changshui International Airport (KMG), they charge a fee of 120 RMB (taxi fee) and 10 RMB booking fee (call charge). Please note that the taxis in South of China are running on shared ride basis.