Practical nformation
When you are going to be on your way, there are several matters to consider about traveling in China before your departure. We have collected some information you might need, if you have any further questions about these matters, feel free to contact us at shaolinchina@outlook.com
Travel Information
You need to purchase the flight tickets on your own. Cheaper flight tickets and hotels than from your home country can often be found on this travelling website. From your home country, we recommend you to travel either over Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. From there, there are 3 ways to get to the academy.
By plane:
The nearest airport to the Shaolin Temple is Zhengzhou Airport (the former Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport), pickup service costs $65
By train:
The nearest train station to Shaolin Temple is Zhengzhou Train Station (郑州火车站) and Zhengzhou East Train Station (郑州东火车站).
There are two types of trains with two different sets of prices. There are the slow regular trains with beds, and a traveling time of 9-12 hours from both Beijing and Shanghai to Zhengzhou. It costs approximately 93-130 CNY (15$-25$) for a hard sleeper and 160-220 CNY (25$=40$) for a soft sleeper. Once you arrive at Zhengzhou station, we will pick you up and pickup service costs 65$.
The other option is the fast bullet trains that will take you the same distance but in only 3-5 hours in a speed of 300km/hour. The prices for those trains are a bit higher but the time is reduced and the comfort is increased. It costs 310-450 CNY (45$-65$) for a second class seat, and 495- 739 CNY (75$-110$) for a first class seat. Second class in the fast bullet trains are recommended.
The fast bullet trains travel from Beijing West/北京西 and Shanghai Hongqiao/上海虹桥 to Zhengzhou East station. There is one available every 15 minutes every day from 5am to 10pm. Please make sure you go by the East Exit when you arrive at Zhengzhou East Train Station. We will pick you up from Zhengzhou East Train Station and pickup service costs 65$.
There are two ways to buy a train ticket. You can just take your passport at the train station when you arrive and buy the ticket straight at the station, most likely you will just have to wait a few hours and then you will be on your way. However, this method will not work during Chinese national holidays where train tickets are completely sold out several weeks in advance.
The other option is to book a ticket in advance on this biggest Chinese traveling website, it has multiple languages available. You can also ask a Chinese friend or the academy to help you book the train tickets. If you book a ticket in advance make sure you have at least 4 hours from your plane lands until your train departs. It takes time to get from the airport to the stations, and at the stations you need to collect your ticket at a ticket office where the line very often is long and you need to check in for your train up to 40 minutes before your departure.
General:
It will be useful to bring one or two pairs of good running shoes for jogging and stamina training. For regular training, students usually wear a type of thin-sole shoes (called Fei Yue in Chinese), specifically used for kungfu, that can be bought easily after arriving at the academy.
For clothes outside training, 2-3 sets will be enough. Most students wear training clothes in the weekdays and regular clothes for when going to the city or on trips in the weekends
other items:
Power adapter, first aid kit, multivitamin, medicine(diarrhea, painkillers etc), books, etc.
A Chinese phrasebook will be a great help for you during both your journey to and from the academy but also when you are in the nearby city since most Chinese speak very little or no English.
Most of the things you will need can also be bought in the nearest city – Dengfeng, or in the academy’s market. If you are very tall or have bigger feet (largest size available is 47 EU). It might though be an idea to bring a little extra clothes and shoes since the sizes in China are smaller and a good fit might be hard to come by.
Money
Our Academy provides students full room and board, so it’s not necessary to bring a lot of extra money for spending unless you want to buy souvenirs, shop or plan to travel in China. All you need is some pocket money for food (snacks), a massage in the weekends, some clothes, etc. Students are likely to find that food and many other things are much cheaper to buy in China than in their home country. 100-200$ pr. month for long term students and 200-300$ pr. month for short term students are sufficient for most students.
You should bring your credit card or debit card to withdraw cash from the ATM’s at the local banks. There are many of them, e.g. Bank of China, ICBC, Bank of Construction, Bank of Communications, etc. It’s possible but unnecessary to open a Chinese Bank Account, if you need to transfer money from your home country to China, you can use the Academy’s account, and we will get the transfer in cash for you. Traveler checks can be cashed at the Bank of China, but may take a little while to process. It is a good idea to talk with your bank before traveling to ensure that your card will work in China and/or maybe to get an extra card with you as an extra safety precaution.
In China credit cards are only used very few places so you should always carry cash with you. When arriving in China it is a good idea to have around 1500 CNY (220$) on you.
You can check the exchange rate between Chinese yuan and other currencies.
Packing
This is not a complete list but it might help you when packing your suitcase. You can check out this packing list for reference. Please also remember to bring two passport photos for registration at the academy and the local police office.
Summer:
Bring plenty of training t-shirts and shorts. It can get very warm and most students sweat through their clothes in every training so 2-3 sets of clothes can be used in a day. High factor sunscreen to use in the first 1-2 weeks until your skin is getting used to the sun, most training is are outside.
Winter:
It can be very cold in winter so warm sweaters for both training and free time, a warm jacket, thermal underwear or a track suit is recommended. Hats and gloves are very used items as well. A fat cream for protecting hands and face from the cold is recommended as well.