You Can Learn Kung Fu at These Chinese Temples
If you want to learn kung fu at the source, these are the places that offer genuine training for foreigners — not tourist performances, but real martial arts education.
Shaolin Temple (少林寺), Henan: The most famous option. The Shaolin Monastery offers programs from 1 month to several years. You train with monks, follow a monastic schedule (5am wake-up, meditation, hours of forms training), and live in dormitories. The short-term programs are intensive but rewarding. Cost: about $1,000/month including room and board. The Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School nearby is a larger, more commercial option with 30,000 students.
Wudang Wushu Academy, Hubei: Located at the foot of the Wudang Mountains, this school teaches Tai Chi, Bagua, and Xingyi — the internal styles. The training is less brutal than Shaolin but more focused on meditation and qi development. The setting is beautiful — misty mountains, ancient temples, practicing forms at sunrise.
Emei Mountain, Sichuan: Less commercial than Shaolin or Wudang. Emei is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China and has several smaller kung fu schools. The training is more intimate (smaller classes) and the mountain scenery is spectacular. Programs are harder to find online — you may need to arrange through a Chinese contact.