Dengfeng, China

DENGFENG is a small market town stretched along a valley at the heart of the Song Shan range, 13km east of Shaolin. One attraction are the numerous martial-arts schools, both actually in Dengfeng itself and lining the road between here and Shaolin – there's one where the road from Luoyang and Shaolin meets Zhongyue Dajie, where you can watch students training outside in the afternoons.

Dengfeng's bus station is about 3km southeast where the road from Zhengzhou hits the edge of town; bus #1 or #3 will get you to Zhongyue Dajie (¥1) or a taxi costs about ¥5. Arriving by local bus from Shaolin Si, you'll get dropped off at the Shaolin bus station towards the western end of Zhongyue Dajie; if you're coming on a long-distance bus from Luoyang, ask to be dropped off at the junction of the highway and Zhongyue Dajie, as you're fairly close to accommodation here.

The two best places to stay in town are the motel-like Shaolin Binguan at 66 Zhongyue Dajie (Tel:0371/60161616, Web: www.shaolinhotel.cn ; Price: ¥300-449), a great place amenable to bargaining; and the Gaotian Jiudian further east at 166 Zhongyue Dajie (Tel:0371/2885200, f2885201; Price: ¥140-199). If you're on a tight budget, it's cheaper to stay around Shaolin Si.

To head to Shaolin Si from town, walk west (uphill) along Zhongyue Dajie and look for buses marked "Shaolin" in Chinese hanging around outside the little bus station compound. Buses run from dawn until dusk and the ¥2 ride takes about twenty minutes. A taxi will cost ¥25 each way.