The Chan Journey.

Spend the day at Shaolin Temple, focusing on its Buddhist history and the tradition connecting Bodhidharma with his successor Huike. Discuss the difference between a living monastery, its later buildings and the stories preserved around it. A longer walk towards the traditional meditation cave can be considered separately if access and your walking preferences allow.

1. Shaolin TempleThe Mount Song monastery associated with Bodhidharma and Huike, the first two Chinese Chan patriarchs.

Return by road to Zhengzhou for a suitable train to Nanjing. Keep this as a transfer day with a relaxed arrival. This eastern connection brings the Henan chapter into the Nanjing and western Anhui part of the journey.

Visit Dingshan Temple north of the Yangtze, associated with Bodhidharma. Revisit the tradition of his encounter with Emperor Wu of Liang and departure north, placing the story in Nanjing’s setting. The visit follows our geographical route rather than the chronology of his life.

1. Dingshan TempleA temple north of the Yangtze in Nanjing associated with Bodhidharma’s onward journey.

Continue towards Yuexi in western Anhui, combining rail towards the Anqing area and a private road transfer as appropriate for your dates. Allow the day for connections and a restful arrival before visiting Mount Sikong.

Explore the temple area of Mount Sikong associated with Huike, the second patriarch, and the transmission to Sengcan. Keep the focus on the place, the lineage tradition and the experience of mountain seclusion. Choose accessible visitor paths; an ascent to the summit is not required.

1. Mount SikongThe western Anhui mountain associated with Huike’s practice and the early transmission of Chan.

Visit Sanzu Temple near the foot of Tianzhu Mountain. Its association with Sengcan opens a conversation about the third patriarch and the text traditionally attributed to him, the Xinxin Ming. Explore the temple and pagoda setting before continuing by road to Huangmei.

1. Sanzu TempleThe Qianshan temple associated with Sengcan, the third patriarch, and the Xinxin Ming tradition.

Give Sizu Temple its own day. Learn about Daoxin and the development of settled monastic communities, following the tradition from individual mountain practice towards a more sustained shared life. Leave space for the courtyards, surrounding landscape and quiet observation of public areas.

1. Sizu TempleThe Huangmei temple associated with Daoxin, the fourth patriarch, and the growth of settled Chan communities.

Visit Wuzu Temple on Dongshan, associated with Hongren and the teaching inherited by Huineng. Discuss the accounts of transmission and the different approaches later remembered as northern and southern Chan. Keep the afternoon unhurried, with time for reflection rather than another distant stop.

1. Wuzu TempleHongren’s Dongshan teaching centre in Huangmei, also associated with Huineng’s inheritance of the teaching.

Travel south by road and rail via a suitable interchange, such as Wuhan, towards Shaoguan. Keep the day free of fixed sightseeing. Your guide can help connect the Huangmei story with Huineng’s later teaching at Caoxi, while allowing plenty of rest between connections.

Spend the day at Nanhua Temple in Caoxi, the key setting of Huineng’s teaching. Explore how the sixth patriarch’s legacy shaped southern Chan and the later traditions known around the world as Zen. Read selected ideas from the Platform Sutra with your guide, with room for individual interests and quiet time.

1. Nanhua TempleThe Caoxi monastery in Shaoguan where Huineng’s southern Chan legacy is celebrated.

Travel south to Guangzhou by a suitable rail connection and settle into your hotel. Keep the rest of the day flexible for rest or a gentle neighbourhood walk. Both Guangzhou temple visits follow over the next two days, keeping the Guangdong chapter together.

Visit Hualin Temple in Guangzhou’s old city. Local tradition associates the area known as Xilai Chudi with Bodhidharma’s arrival by sea. Now revisit the beginnings of the Chan story after exploring its northern and central Chinese settings, with time to enjoy the surrounding old neighbourhoods.

1. Hualin TempleThe Guangzhou temple associated in local tradition with Bodhidharma’s arrival from India.

Visit Guangxiao Temple, associated with Huineng, without fitting the visit around an intercity transfer. Bring together the themes of the six-patriarch journey, with room for reflection and time in Guangzhou before your departure.

1. Guangxiao TempleAn ancient Guangzhou monastery associated with an important episode in Huineng’s life.

Allow time for your airport transfer and onward flight from Guangzhou. If you would like to include Xi’an and the Zhongnan Mountains, we can plan them as a separate extension, preferably before the Zhengzhou arrival where onward connections suit your dates.