The Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng city, about 70km from Zhengzhou city centre, is the best-known tourist attraction in the region, attracting 1.5 million visitors a year.
Located at the base of the Songshan Mountains, the Shaolin Temple is one of the world's most famous, more for the martial arts taught there for centuries than the Zen Buddhism, which arose out of it 1,500 years ago.
Thousands of people have studied under the martial arts masters who live and teach there year round.
The temple first gained prominence in the late 6th century with the arrival of Bodhidarma, the legendary Indian monk who stayed there and meditated in a cave for nine years, whereupon he arose and taught the Shaolin monks Zen Buddhism and martial arts.
The story of his meditation, and the dedication of his first Chinese follower, Huike, have inspired martial artists and Zen practitioners for centuries, leading to a cult-like following of the monk.
The temple complex is a Unesco World Heritage Site.