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The Wonderful Show of Shaolin Kung Fu on International Festival of Egypt

Splitting steel plate, breaking the stick with all over the body…These days, at a open-air theatre in Kom Ombo, over 50 kilometers from the southern Egyptian city named Aswan, the magnificent performance gave by the kungfu monks from Dengfeng Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou nearly brought down the house.

 “It is really impressive, and we hope that the performance time could be extended.” Though having watched performances of Chinese kungfu for several times, Ali, over 50 years old, expressed his longing for more.

The 7th Aswan International Festival of Culture and Arts kicked off grandly on the 17th day of this month in Aswan City, capital of the Aswan Governorate. On the opening ceremony, the kungfu monks from Dengfeng Shaolin Temple put on a grand finale to show Chinese culture. On the next day, they showed the charm of Chinese kungfu again.

According to Shi Yanxuan, the team leader, in addition to the hard qigong, they have shown the skills to use weapons like the nine-section whip, double broadsword, podao (or pudao, a Chinese edged infantry weapon), double hammers, etc. “Plain as the venue is, we have won overwhelming applause.”

The sponsor of this event introduced that 23 cultural and art teams from 13 countries, namely China, Sudan, Algeria, Poland, etc. had staged brilliant performances on the opening ceremony. This festival, lasted to the 22nd, would bring over 20 cultural exchange activities in addition to the opening ceremony.

This delegation of over 20 kungfu monks sent by the Shaolin Temple would give many rounds of performances in Aswan Governorate and Cairo, the capital of Egypt. “People in Egypt are very enthusiastic, and many of them asked to take photos with us; they also showed great interest in Chinese kungfu,” said by Shi Yanguang, a member of this delegation.

Mumin, a 23-year-old young fellow, said that he liked watching the performance of the Shaolin kungfu monks so much, which was in order and showed excellent skills. “While they were posing the same gesture, it was so uniform and seemed as if the gesture had been posed by one person.”

Ahmed Ibrahim, Governor of Aswan Governorate, a new fan of Chinese kungfu, said, “The performances of those kungfu monks have reinforced the friendship between the two countries, and I hope to enjoy this kind of show every year.”

Ibrahim has been to China for many times, who adores Chinese culture so much. “It is a very beautiful country with gorgeous culture,” he told the reporter, “We are looking forward to welcoming more Chinese visitors in Aswan.”

In recent years, as the Shaolin Temple is gradually known by people around the world, Shaolin kungfu is becoming more and more popular. According to Shi Yongxin, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, with this delegation to Egypt, Dengfeng Shaolin Temple has already set up Shaolin Chan Wu Centers and other related branches in over 200 cities around more than 50 countries in five continents. Shaolin Temple also sends over 400 representatives to other countries, including kungfu monks and chan masters, every year. Meanwhile, over 1,000 foreigners choose to experience the unique culture in Shaolin Temple by themselves.

 “We pay visits to over ten countries every year, shouldering the mission to promote Shaolin culture and popularize our lifestyle; we also hope to share the wisdom of the Chan sect and philosophy of Shaolin with people around the world,” Shi Yongxin said.

Copyright by Zhengzhou Municipal Tourism Administration