Shaolin Temple: Getting There from Zhengzhou or Luoyang, Tickets and Kung Fu Show

The Shaolin Temple (少林寺, Shàolín Sì) is not in Luoyang. It is in Dengfeng (登封), a county-level city that belongs to Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, and the scenic area's own driving guide puts it about 86 km and 1 hour 23 minutes by road from Zhengzhou, or about 55 km and 1 hour 18 minutes from Luoyang. One ticket costs 80 yuan and covers the main monastery, the Pagoda Forest, the kung fu show, the Chuzu and Erzu temples and Sanhuangzhai up on the mountain. The scenic area is open from 8:00 to 17:00. From Zhengzhou there is a direct tourist bus, booked in a WeChat mini program; from Luoyang most visitors go by car or on a day tour. Either way, Shaolin is a comfortable day trip if you leave in the morning.

The short answer: where it is, what it costs, when it opens

• Where: the Songshan Shaolin Scenic Area (嵩山少林景区) on Mount Song, in Dengfeng, which is part of Zhengzhou, not Luoyang. The temple sits about 12 km west of Dengfeng's town centre.
• How far: about 1 hour 23 minutes by road from Zhengzhou and about 1 hour 18 minutes from Luoyang, by the scenic area's own driving estimate. Buses and traffic add time, so plan on roughly an hour and a half each way.
• Ticket: 80 yuan for the whole scenic area, including the monastery, the Pagoda Forest, Sanhuangzhai, the kung fu show, Chuzu Temple and Erzu Temple. The 80-yuan price applies when everything is open; when parts of the area are closed, the price has been cut to 70 yuan in the past.
• Kung fu show: free with your ticket, several times every morning and afternoon in the performance hall.
• Hours: 8:00 to 17:00, according to the Zhengzhou culture and tourism bureau; the last entry time is not published, so confirm it at the gate if you arrive after 15:00.
• Not included: the cable car up to Sanhuangzhai, which costs about 100 yuan return on top of the ticket (check the current price at the cable car station).

The full card with ticket, hours, show times and the official booking channel is in the tickets section below. If Shaolin is one stop on a longer trip, our Luoyang travel guide covers the Longmen Grottoes and how many days to give the area.

Getting there from Zhengzhou or Luoyang

Shaolin sits between two cities with high-speed stations: Zhengzhou to the east and Luoyang to the west. Neither has a train to the temple itself. The last stretch is always by road, so the real choice is which city you start from and whether you take a bus, a taxi or a tour.

From Zhengzhou: the direct tourist bus

Zhengzhou has a direct bus to the temple. Since September 2024 a service called the "Shaolin Temple Direct Bus" (少林寺直通车, Shàolín Sì Zhítōngchē) has run, booked in the Yuzhouxing (豫州行) WeChat mini program; at launch it ran 12 return trips a day, with the first bus at 7:45 and fares from 30 yuan, so check the current timetable and fare in the mini program when you book. A mini program is a small app that runs inside WeChat, so you need a working WeChat account; our WeChat setup guide explains sign-up and adding a foreign card.

The bus picks up in three places in the city, and none of them is Zhengzhou East, the big high-speed station:

• Zhengzhou Railway Station (郑州火车站), West Square
• Hanghai Road–Jingguang Road metro station (航海路京广路), Exit C
• Putianxi metro station (莆田西), Exit B

The bus drops you at the car park by the scenic area's ticket centre. Older guides and some blogs still say the Shaolin bus leaves from Zhengzhou East; that was an earlier route from 2023 that the 2024 service replaced. If you arrive at Zhengzhou East by high-speed train, take the metro or a taxi to one of the three pick-up points and leave enough time for the transfer. A first morning bus is hard to catch straight off an early train, so many travellers spend the night in Zhengzhou first.

The return times are in the mini program too. Note the last bus back before you set off, and plan to be at the car park well before it: the scenic area closes at 17:00, and if you miss the last bus your only options are a taxi or a ride-hailing car back to the city.

From Zhengzhou: via Dengfeng town

If the direct bus is full or does not suit your times, go to Dengfeng town first and change there. The Dengfeng city government's transport guide says to take the Dengfeng–Shaolin bus from Dengfeng West Bus Station (登封西客车站, Dēngfēng Xī Kèchēzhàn), and the Zhengzhou tourism bureau gives the same advice. Fares and times for this bus are not posted online, so ask at the bus station counter; it is a short ride, since the temple is about 12 km from the town centre. This route also makes sense if you stay overnight in Dengfeng to see the town's other World Heritage sites (see the section on adding a second stop).

From Luoyang

Luoyang is closer by road: about 55 km and 1 hour 18 minutes to the scenic area. Public transport from Luoyang is the weak point. Some local buses run towards Dengfeng and Shaolin, but their departure points and times change and are best confirmed by your hotel the day before. For most first-time visitors, one of these works better:

• Taxi or DiDi for the day. Agree the full price, including the waiting time at Shaolin and the drive back, before you leave. Your hotel front desk can help you find a driver. Our DiDi guide explains how to book a car as a foreigner.
• A day tour from Luoyang. Tours bundle the car and sometimes the ticket. Ask exactly what is included (ticket, show, cable car, lunch) and how long you get on site. You can compare day tours on Klook.
• Shaolin as a stop between the two cities. Leave Luoyang in the morning with your bags in the car, spend the day at Shaolin, and finish in Zhengzhou in the evening, or the other way round. It saves the drive back and works well if you are flying out of Zhengzhou.

If you are arriving in Luoyang by train, high-speed (G) trains stop at Luoyang Longmen station (洛阳龙门站), while the old Luoyang station mostly handles slower trains. Zhengzhou and Luoyang are close by rail: on one sample travel day (29 October 2026), 12306 lists 75 high-speed trains from Zhengzhou East to Luoyang Longmen, most taking 36 to 37 minutes, and second class costs 65 to 75 yuan depending on the train. That makes it easy to sleep in one city and visit Shaolin from either. Book on the official 12306 app or website with your passport, or on Trip.com; our guide to booking China train tickets with a foreign passport compares the two, and the high-speed train guide covers stations, boarding and luggage.

Driving and parking

If you come by car or a hired driver, you will meet the new Shaolin visitor centre, which has a car park with 5,589 spaces and has been in trial use since May 2023. In December 2025 the scenic area announced that from 1 January 2026 private cars would have to park there and visitors would pay 50 yuan for a return shuttle, but the plan was put on hold after public complaints, and as of October 2026 the shuttle is not running. Parking and walking in work as before; if you read about a compulsory shuttle, check the scenic area's WeChat account before you go.

Can you do it as a day trip?

Yes, from either city. Start early: leave Zhengzhou or Luoyang by 8:00, and you will reach the gate around 9:30, in time for a morning show. Give yourself three to six hours on site, depending on whether you go up to Sanhuangzhai, and head back in the mid-afternoon. From Zhengzhou the direct bus is the easiest; from Luoyang a hired car or a tour removes the bus timetable problem. If you also want the cable car and Sanhuangzhai, a day trip still works, but you will be watching the clock.

Tickets, opening hours and the kung fu show

What the 80-yuan ticket covers

One ticket gets you into the whole Shaolin scenic area: the main monastery (常住院, Chángzhù Yuàn, the "permanent residence" where the monks live and worship), the Pagoda Forest, Sanhuangzhai, the kung fu show, Chuzu Temple and Erzu Temple. Dengfeng's city government lists the same 80-yuan price and confirms that Sanhuangzhai is included. Inside the scenic area, the only extra you are likely to pay for is the cable car. The Shaolin cable car up to Sanhuangzhai is about 100 yuan return, based on a 2025 combined ticket of 180 yuan for the scenic area plus a return ride; confirm the price at the cable car station. Shaoshi Que (少室阙), Han-dynasty stone gate towers about 5 km west of Dengfeng town on the road to Shaolin, is a separate site with its own 50-yuan ticket. The scenic area's official FAQ page (in Chinese) lists what the ticket covers and the show times, and the visitor service phone line is +86 371 6274 5000.

The 80 yuan is the price when every part of the scenic area is open, and when parts close the management cuts the price: in 2021, with Chuzu Temple and Bodhidharma Cave closed, the full ticket was 70 yuan, and in 2023, when a landslide closed Sanhuangzhai and stopped the cable car, it was again 70 yuan. If the ticket window quotes you a lower price, it usually means something is closed, so ask which parts before you plan your route.

How to buy: official channels and your passport

The official ways to buy are the scenic area's WeChat shop, which the official website links to, and the WeChat official account "嵩山旅游" (Sōngshān Lǚyóu, "Mount Song Travel"), where tickets are booked in real name under "预订中心—门票预订" (Booking Centre – Ticket Booking); you enter with your ID document or the order's QR code. The ticket windows at the scenic area also sell tickets.

Bring your passport and be ready to use either the WeChat account or the ticket window. In July 2025 the scenic area posted a notice saying all tickets would move online and that foreign visitors would have to book online and then verify their passport at a ticket window, but the notice was deleted within a day and a follow-up said the existing ticket channels would stay as they were. In practice:

• Carry your passport. Tickets are real-name, and it is the document that matches your booking.
• If the WeChat booking accepts your passport details, book there and show the QR code at the gate.
• If it does not, go to a ticket window with your passport. On ordinary weekdays this is straightforward; on Chinese public holidays the queues are long, so arrive early.
• Buy from the official channels only. Sellers outside the gate offering "cheaper tickets" or "tickets plus a guide" are not part of the system.

Discounts: do they apply to foreigners?

The Henan provincial government's English website listed the Shaolin discounts in 2020: free entry for children aged 6 and under or shorter than 1.2 metres and for people aged 70 and over, and half price for ages 6 to 18 and 60 to 69. Do not count on these discounts with a foreign passport: ask at the window and confirm before you pay. China has no national rule on this; each scenic area sets its own, and many limit senior and student discounts to Chinese citizens. Budget for the full price if you are an adult.

Opening hours

The Zhengzhou culture and tourism bureau's Shaolin page lists the scenic area as open from 8:00 to 17:00; if you arrive in the afternoon, check the last entry time at the gate, and check for holiday changes before you go. Some older English pages give 7:00 to 18:00; the current Chinese official listing is 8:00 to 17:00. Arriving after 14:00 leaves you time for the monastery, one show and the Pagoda Forest, but not for the mountain.

The scenic area also closes at short notice for bad weather. In September 2025, heavy rain closed Shaolin and nine other scenic areas in Dengfeng at short notice, and the cable car stopped for several days of maintenance. In summer, check the "嵩山旅游" WeChat account or ask your hotel the evening before. Chinese public holidays, especially the October Golden Week, bring very large crowds; our Golden Week guide lists the dates.

The kung fu show

The show is included in your ticket; you do not pay extra. It takes place every day in the performance hall (演武厅, Yǎnwǔ Tīng), and the scenic area's FAQ lists three shows in the morning and three in the afternoon, with the times on the day posted at the hall. The current times are in the card above; check the notice board when you arrive, because times can change.

Follow the signs for 演武厅 to find the hall. The show is a staged performance by trained martial artists: forms, weapons work, and feats of balance and strength. Each show is short, so you can fit one in easily, but seats fill quickly: get there 15 to 20 minutes early for a seat with a clear view, especially for the late-morning shows when tour groups arrive. A good order for most visitors is a morning show first, then the monastery, then the Pagoda Forest.

Inside the scenic area: the monastery, the Pagoda Forest, Bodhidharma Cave and Sanhuangzhai

The scenic area is bigger than most people expect. The temple buildings are close together, in a core area of about 2.18 square kilometres, but the mountain parts are spread out across Mount Shaoshi. Here is where everything sits in relation to the main monastery, using the scenic area's own approximate distances:

The monastery

Start at the main monastery. It is a working Buddhist temple with a row of halls one behind another, climbing gently up the slope from the front gate. Walk straight through to the back halls rather than stopping at every incense burner near the entrance; the crowds thin out as you go further in. Monks live here, so keep your voice down inside the halls and do not photograph people praying. Give it about an hour.

The Pagoda Forest

About 300 metres west of the monastery is the Pagoda Forest, a field of brick and stone memorial pagodas built over the remains of eminent monks. The scenic area describes it as the largest surviving pagoda forest in China, with more pagodas than any other. It is a short, flat walk and the part of Shaolin most visitors remember. Allow 30 to 45 minutes. It is also the best place for photos; if you are staying in Dengfeng and not chasing a bus, the late-afternoon light here is the softest.

Chuzu Temple and Bodhidharma Cave

Chuzu Temple, the "First Patriarch Hall", is about 1 km northwest of the monastery on a small hill. It honours Bodhidharma, the Indian monk who, by tradition, founded Chan (Zen) Buddhism here, and it is far quieter than the main temple. Bodhidharma Cave, where he is said to have meditated facing a wall for nine years, is another kilometre or so further up, about 2 km from the monastery high on Wuru Peak. The path to the cave is a long climb on stone steps. Go only if you are fit, have good shoes and have at least two hours to spare; the reward is the view and the quiet more than the small cave itself. Both have been closed in the past, so ask at the ticket window whether they are open that day.

Erzu Temple

Erzu Temple, the "Second Patriarch Hall", sits on top of Boyu Peak about 4 km southwest of the monastery, at around 1,000 metres, the highest building in the scenic area. It is a half-day hike on its own. Most short-stay visitors skip it.

Sanhuangzhai and the cable car

Sanhuangzhai is the mountain part of the visit: cliff-side paths and long views across the peaks of Mount Shaoshi, at about 1,200 metres. Most people go up on the Shaolin cable car, which costs about 100 yuan return on top of the entry ticket (confirm the price at the station). The cable car stops for maintenance from time to time, and it was out of service in 2023 when a landslide closed Sanhuangzhai. Check it is running before you plan your day around it.

Should you go? If you have a full day and like mountains, yes: it is the part of Shaolin that has nothing to do with crowds or souvenir stalls. If you have only half a day, or you came mainly for the temple and the show, skip it. Budget at least three hours for the cable car, the paths at the top and the queue back down. Sanhuangzhai can also be reached from Dengfeng town by city bus 3 to Gengzhuang (耿庄) and then a taxi, but that is an outing of its own, not something to add to a temple visit.

Getting around inside

From the ticket gate to the monastery is a fairly long walk along a wide, paved road. Sightseeing carts run along the main road for a separate fare; check the price posted at the cart stop before you get on. They are worth it if you have small children, mobility problems or plan to go on to the cable car. Otherwise the walk is easy, and it is how most visitors arrive at the monastery.

How long to spend

• Two to three hours: the monastery, one kung fu show and the Pagoda Forest. This is enough for most visitors.
• Four to five hours: add Chuzu Temple, or a slower visit with lunch.
• A full day (six hours or more): add the cable car and Sanhuangzhai, or the climb to Bodhidharma Cave. Not both, unless you start at opening time.

Scams, incense and temple etiquette

Shaolin is one of China's best-known sights, and the road to it has the usual crowd of people trying to sell you something. None of it is dangerous, but it is good to know what is coming.

• Expensive incense. You do not need to buy incense to visit, and you never need a big bundle. The Henan provincial government's visitor notes say to follow Buddhist etiquette and that three sticks of incense are enough. If someone inside or outside the temple pushes "special" incense, a blessing ceremony or a fortune reading that ends with a large bill, say no and walk on. If you want to light incense, follow what the temple staff tell you on the day.
• Self-appointed guides. People near the car parks and the gate offer to be your guide or to get you "cheaper" tickets. Buy your ticket at the official window or on the official WeChat account, and if you want a guide, agree the price and what it covers before you start.
• Kung fu school pitches. The road to the temple is lined with private martial-arts schools, and some will invite you in to watch training or sign up for a class. Watching from the road is free and fine. Do not pay for a "short course" on the spot. If you are thinking about real training, read our guide to kung fu experiences in China, which covers classes and long-stay schools, and arrange it in advance.
• Taxis at closing time. Drivers waiting at the car park at 17:00 know you have few options. Book the return of a hired car in advance, or agree a price before you get in.

Temple etiquette is simple. Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered is a safe rule in the halls. Step over the raised wooden thresholds of hall doors rather than standing on them. Do not point your feet at statues if you sit down, do not touch the statues, and do not take photos inside halls where signs say no. A small nod or bow is a polite greeting for a monk; ask before taking a close photo of anyone. Our guide to temples and monasteries in China covers etiquette at Buddhist sites in more detail, and tourist scams in China covers the incense and tea-house tricks you may meet in other cities too.

What to add: Dengfeng's other sights and the Longmen Grottoes

Shaolin is part of a bigger World Heritage site. In 2010 UNESCO listed the "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Centre of Heaven and Earth'" (天地之中, Tiāndì Zhī Zhōng), eight sites with eleven monuments built from the 1st to the 20th century; the Shaolin monastery, Chuzu Temple and the Pagoda Forest are one part, and Zhongyue Temple and Songyang Academy are two others. Mount Song as a whole is managed as three scenic areas, Shaolin, Zhongyue and Songyang, and the other two are in and around Dengfeng town.

Songyang Academy and Zhongyue Temple

• Songyang Academy (嵩阳书院, Sōngyáng Shūyuàn) is one of the oldest academies of Confucian learning in China, with ancient cypress trees in its courtyards. The ticket is 30 yuan, it is open from 8:00 to 17:00, and city buses 2 and 6 from Dengfeng town go to the end of the line next to it. A combined ticket with nearby sights is also sold.
• Zhongyue Temple (中岳庙, Zhōngyuè Miào) is a large Taoist temple complex at the foot of Mount Taishi, very different in feel from Shaolin. The ticket is 30 yuan and it is open from 8:00 to 17:00, but a price review was held in 2022, so confirm the price at the gate; city bus 2 stops at Zhongyue Temple.

Both are quick visits of an hour or so each. With a car, you can fit one of them in on the way back from Shaolin if you leave the temple by 15:00. Without a car, the easiest way is to stay a night in Dengfeng: Shaolin on one day, the town sights the next morning. You can compare places to stay in Dengfeng on Booking.com; choose a hotel that confirms it accepts foreign guests. Our overview of China's historical sites covers more places with the same kind of ancient architecture.

The Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang

The Longmen Grottoes, thousands of Buddhist carvings on river cliffs just south of Luoyang, are the natural partner for Shaolin. Tickets are 90 yuan, booked in real name on the grottoes' official WeChat accounts, where foreign visitors book with their passport. The grottoes keep two sets of hours: in winter (1 November to the end of February) ticket sales stop at 16:30 and the last entry is at 17:00, and in summer (1 March to 31 October) ticket sales stop at 17:30 and the last entry is at 18:00. Luoyang Longmen high-speed station is only about 4 km from the grottoes. Our Luoyang guide has the full route through the grottoes.

How to combine them:

• Two days (recommended): Day 1, the Longmen Grottoes in the morning and Luoyang's old town in the evening. Day 2, Shaolin by car or tour, then on to Zhengzhou in the evening for your train or flight, or back to Luoyang.
• One very long day: possible only with a hired car. Longmen at 8:00 opening, leave by 11:00, drive to Shaolin, and see the monastery, a show and the Pagoda Forest in the afternoon. Skip the mountain. It is tiring, and you will rush both.
• Three days, slower: Longmen, Shaolin with Sanhuangzhai, then a morning at Songyang Academy and Zhongyue Temple in Dengfeng before heading to Zhengzhou.

A short history

The Shaolin monastery was founded in 495 CE, in the Northern Wei dynasty, and is known as the founding temple of Chan Buddhism (better known in the West by its Japanese name, Zen) and the place where Shaolin kung fu began. The monastery, Chuzu Temple and the Pagoda Forest became part of a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010. The scenic area was among China's first 5A-rated scenic areas, the top national grade.

Summary

The Shaolin Temple is in Dengfeng, under Zhengzhou, about an hour and a half by road from either Zhengzhou or Luoyang. One 80-yuan ticket covers the monastery, the Pagoda Forest, the kung fu show and the mountain sights when everything is open; the cable car is extra. Carry your passport and buy from the official WeChat account or the ticket window. From Zhengzhou, book the direct bus in the Yuzhouxing mini program and remember it does not leave from Zhengzhou East. From Luoyang, hire a car or join a day tour. For most visitors, a morning show, the monastery and the Pagoda Forest make a good half day. Add Sanhuangzhai if you have a full day, and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang to turn it into a two-day trip.

Last updated: October 2026