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SCMP Reporter

The Hong Kong Shaolin Wushu Culture Centre in Tai O is to be promoted internationally as a tourist attraction to lure martial arts fans to the city.

But the courses on offer at the centre, which will open in July, are to be made easier for local students.

The centre will offer martial arts training to locals and visitors, and showcase the history of Tai O, the historic fishing village on Lantau Island.

Master Yan Kang, who helped design the training courses, said he understood the constitution of local students after spending several training sessions in Hong Kong.

'Hong Kong students' bodies are relatively weak, and 70 to 80 per cent wear glasses, so the one-day training will be easier compared with that in martial arts schools near the Shaolin Temple in Henan .'

The cost for each person will be $120. Centre chairman  Jonathan Choi Koon-shum  said the target was to maintain balanced income and expenses.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Tourism Board said the centre would complement the village's natural landscape.

'The new attraction will be publicised on the board's website and its overseas offices will publicise it to potential tourists. Visiting overseas media will also be taken to visit the centre,' he said.

Tai O rural committee secretary Chen Jie-hua  said the centre would be of great benefit to the village. 'It is not only a school but a new attraction mixed with Chinese traditional culture and fishing village culture. The centre will also be opened to international tourists and students, so it will bring Tai O to the world.'

The centre aims to introduce young people and tourists to Shaolin culture and promote Zen philosophy and other traditional cultures. It will first enrol school students and charity organisation members to its one-day training programme, which will include a two-hour lesson in Shaolin martial arts by masters from the Songshan Shaolin Temple in Henan, a vegetarian meal and a visit to the village's historical heritage areas.

This programme will have two classes each day, each with a maximum of 30 people.

Centre executive director Jeanette Tam  said mainland masters Yong Xin and Yan Kang would conduct the martial arts lessons.



Wushu centre aims to strike a blow in the international arena