The central peak of China’s five sacred Daoist peaks, Song Shan (Mount Song) soars 1,492 m high. Its sights can be best explored by staying at Dengfeng, at the foot of Taishi Shan, where numerous trails lead past temples and pagodas, and offer splendid views around the valley. Just 3 miles east is the vast Zhongyue Miao (Central Peak Temple). Possibly China’s oldest Daoist shrine, it was consecrated over 2,200 years ago, although what exists today is more recent.

About 2 miles north of Dengfeng is the Songyang Academy. A Confucian college that was one of China’s four great centers of learning, its courtyard has two tall cypresses, said to have been planted 2,000 years ago by the Han Wu Emperor. Farther uphill, the 12-sided Songyue Si Pagoda, dating from the 6th century AD, is China’s oldest brick pagoda. Just 6 miles southeast of Dengfeng, the Gaocheng Observatory dates from the Yuan era. Its pyramidal tower is China’s oldest intact observatory. Shaolin, literally “Young Forest,” is the name of the fighting order of monks who reside in the Buddhist Shaolin Temple, 8 miles northwest of Dengfeng. Founded in the 5th century AD, it acquired its martial spirit under Bodhidarma, an Indian monk who arrived here in AD 527. He devised a system of exercises that evolved into Shaolin Quan, or Shaolin Boxing, the origin of all the great Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu). The temple has burned down repeatedly and today its mystique has been dulled by blatant commercialization. It remains, however, a place of pilgrimage for many martial arts fans, who still gather here to develop kung fu. The large temple has several halls. Toward the back, the Standing in the Snow Pavilion marks the spot where the monk Huihe chopped off his arm to commune more closely with Zen Buddhism. Behind, the Pilu Pavilion’s floor is marked with pits where monks practiced their footwork. Within the Chuipu Hall, terracotta figures depict various styles of Shaolin Boxing.

The Forest of Stupas, a short walk from the temple, is a large assembly of brick pagodas, commemorating renowned Shaolin monks. Each September, the famous wushu (martial arts) festival is held here. The cave where Bodhidarma reputedly sat in meditation for nine years is up the mountainside.