Today four temples in Kunming's Guandu district officially reopened under management by Shaolin Temple, the temple where kung fu is believed to have originated. The temples have been rebranded as "Guandu Shaolin Temples" according to a Shanghai Daily report.

Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin (释永信) signed a trusteeship agreement last November with Kunming's Guandu district government to take over management of four ancient temples in Guandu: Miaozhan Temple (妙湛寺), Tuzhu Temple (土主庙), Fading Temple (法定寺), and Guanyin Temple (观音寺).

Under the agreement, Shaolin Temple will operate the temples for 20 years. At present there are 46 Shaolin monks in the Guandu temples, which are now free to the public. Admission had formerly been five yuan.

In exchange for taking over management duties at the four temples, Shaolin Temple will receive all profits generated by the temples via sales of religious paraphernalia, religious texts and any donations made by visitors. Shaolin would also get all the money generated by ticket sales should it reinstate entry fees.

Image: www.xiwuhui.com

Shaolin Temple (少林寺), the famed temple in Henan province where kung fu is said to have been invented, is going into the temple management business, starting in Kunming.

The temple's abbot Shi Yongxin (释永信) signed an agreement earlier this week with Kunming's Guandu district to take over management of four ancient temples in Kunming: Miaozhan Temple (妙湛寺), Tuzhu Temple (土主庙), Fading Temple (法定寺), and Guanyin Temple (观音寺).

According to Kunming media reports, this new 'Yunnan Shaolin' is expected to serve as a platform through which the temple will transmit 'Shaolin Culture' to South and Southeast Asia. Ten monks from Shaolin Temple will be dispatched to the four Kunming temples, where they will manage business with the goal of attracting tourists.

The reported terms of the 20-year agreement between Shaolin Temple and the Guandu district are for Shaolin to take over management of the four Kunming temples in exchange for all the profits generated by the temples via ticket sales, sales of religious paraphernalia, religious texts and any donations made by visitors.

Eric Mu at Danwei explains that Shaolin's Shi is facing growing criticism for his business-oriented approach to running the temple.



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