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| Tourist
Guides for China |
Kung Fu Tourist
Guide |
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Kung Fu in China:
Foshan is China's leading city and Worldwide Centre
for Kung Fu, locally known as 'Gongfu'. It is home to
the legendary Huang Fei Hong (Wong Fai Hong), who's
Father fled Imperial persecution from The famous Shaolin
Temple in Fujian Province. He and other survivors settled
at a sacred hill in Foshan called Xiqiao, and later
gave birth to not only Huang Fei Hong Gongfu, but also
a new form of Martial Art. Some Western schools may
know this as 'Hung Ga' system Kung Fu
Serious students of Kung Fu who are looking for specific
information about visiting major training centres should
leave now and see our highly related page: Kung
Fu in Foshan which offers much practical advice.
Please also see our new page Wing
Chun Schools in Foshan for details of training cources,
fees and all inclusive packages
Tourists with a passing interest should read on...
If you are not a serious student of
Chinese Martial Arts, then you should know:
• Kung Fu and Buddhism are closely linked (Generalised
statement)
• Kung Fu is a name for a group of Chinese Martial
Arts, which include:
Kung Fu Fighting Skills, Lion Dance, Acrobatics, Sword
Skills, Spear and other hand fighting skills, Mental
Skills and Disciples
• Students of Kung Fu will need to master all
of the above skills and more to advance
• Some schools may specialise in a specific disciple,
such as Lion Dance
• Kung Fu fighting skills come in a variety of
flavours:
• Huang Fei Hong style is considered the highest
form today, and was the style used and developed by
the legendary Bruce Lee.
• Jet Li originally used this style, and has since
greatly developed and combined with other styles. He
is star of over 30 Chinese language films, the majority
of which feature the entirely fictional cinematic exploits
of Huang Fei Hong
• Another popular style is called 'Wushu', which
is easier to learn the basics, and more flamboyant.
Jackie Chan is expert at developing this style, especially
with his unique capacity for adding slapstick humour.
Jackie Chan has recently opened a Kung Fu school in
Hong Kong, basically for teaching Actors
• There are short and longer more serious courses
for both Huang Fei Hong and Wushu styles available in
Foshan, each taught in dedicated Martial Arts Schools
by Masters
If you are a serious student of Kung
Fu, then Foshan can offer you personal and group holiday
courses, and also long term training programmes at one
of the many centres
A Conundrum - Here is China!
• Worldwide, the names: Huang Fei Hong, Foshan
City, and Kung Fu are interwoven to the point of being
inseparable in International Martial Arts circles
• Locally Foshan people are very knowledgeable
and proud of their Kung Fu heritage
• Specialist Kung Fu general tours and various
courses can be booked locally in Foshan - either with
local travel agents, or directly with the schools themselves
• There is absolutely no International sales office,
tour company, or marketing and publicity body to promote
these courses on the World Stage!
• Any foreign company claiming to do this will
have someone like myself on the ground here to 'make
it so'
• Foshan Government official website and Tourist
Information Centre used to have an excellent Tourism
section. This is currently only available in Chinese,
and many pages are years out of Date. Even in Chinese
language, the Kung Fu pages seem to have totally disappeared.
I understand these pages are being remodelled, and will
provide links here in due course
How to Book a Kung Fu Tour in Foshan
General:
• Find a local Foshan travel agent and make the
booking yourself. You will need to speak Cantonese to
do this
• Find a local Foshan Kung Fu school and make
the booking yourself. This will normally be the teaching
only, and without hotels and transfers. You will need
Chinese language to do this
• You can get on a plane to Guangzhou (Canton),
and get a taxi. I know of an American who actually did
this. After 3-days he ended up in Foshan and hired a
student to interpret for him. Late on day 4 he actually
found the Huang Fei Hong Memorial and associated school
What China Expats can do
We can arrange bespoke Kung Fu tours for you. All you
have to do is book the International flights to Guangzhou
(Preferred), Hong Kong, or other nearby airport. Shenzhen
airport is a lot cheaper if you are already in China.
Foshan has a very small airport for light private airplanes
only.
We will take care of the rest for you:
• Airport transfers (Meet and Greet + Goodbyes)
• Hotel (Selection)
• Booking courses or tours locally
• Tours normally include all food and entrance
charges
• Arrange tours and activities for companions
and spouses who are travelling with you, but who are
not interested in Kung Fu
• Arrange general sight-seeing and evening entertainments
• Look after your particular personal needs =
vegetarians, special diets or meat preparation (Halal),
religious practices, etc
• Provide translators and Chinese companions for
you as required
Note: This is a personal service, not
a business. We will only charge to cover our immediate
expenses
Example Tours and Courses:
• 5 or 7 days short introductory
courses. Visit several Kung Fu schools in Foshan and
have 5 half-days study with Masters. Xiqiao is always
included, but other destinations can be specified. Usually
cultural elements such as a visit to Foshan Folk Arts
Centre and Zumio Ancestral Temple are standard, but
it is up to you. Options for non Kung Fu companions.
All inclusive from arrival to departure Guangzhou airport.
Rough price guideline per person guesstimate $ 1, 000
per week (¥ 6, 000 RMB) staying at the very best
hotel
• Similar sort of price for:
additional weeks, Kung Fu intensive courses only, sight-seeing
only, etc
• Discounts for groups (Usually
8 or 10 people).
• Airlines will usually offer a free place for
group bookings of 15 people. Some offer a free place
for only 8 people (Malaysia air), or ten (One of the
Middle Eastern airlines, possibly Emirates?)
Note: We are not a travel agency. We
are ordinary people who live here and know exactly what
to do and who to contact. These details are provided
to us by one of Foshan's leading regional Travel Agents.
Sample 7-day Kung Fu Itinerary (From Local Foshan
Travel Agent):
Key: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner
7-Days Chinese Martial Arts Study Tour in Foshan
– the Home of Southern Chinese Kung Fu
Day 1: Guangzhou - Shiwan -Foshan (D)
Tour groups arrive in Guangzhou International Airport
or Foshan in the evening, met and transferred to Foshan
City – a famous cultural and historical city of
China.
Stay overnight at Foshan (3 stars)
Day 2: Foshan (B,L,D)
After breakfast in hotel, visit Huang Fei-hong Martial
Art Museum, and enjoy an excellent and brilliant performance
of Chinese Martial Art. Later visit Foshan Ancestral
Temple (Zumio) with good reputation of “Oriental
Folk Arts Palace”. In the afternoon, visit the
master of Huang Fei-hong Martial Art Museum and learn
to play Chinese Kung Fu.
Stay overnight at Foshan Jindu Hotel (3 stars)
Day 3: Foshan (B,L,D)
In the morning, visit Foshan Hongsheng Martial Arts
Centre, which was established in 1851 by Zhang Yan-a
famous martial arts master in Xianfeng reign of the
Qing Dynasty. Hongsheng Martial Arts Centre boasts a
lot of followers. They played a very important positive
role in the past struggle anti-feudalism and imperialism.
In the afternoon, learn to play Chinese Kung Fu in Huang
Fei-hong Martial Art Museum.
Stay overnight at Foshan Jindu Hotel (4 stars)
Day 4: Foshan (B,L,D)
In the morning, go to Luzhou Village (the birthplace
of Huang Fei-hong) at the foot under Xiqiao Mountain.
Visit Huang Fei-hong Lion Dance and Martial Arts Academy
there. Inside there are Baozhilin, Baicao House, Huang
Fei-hong Historical Relic Exhibition Hall. In the afternoon,
visit Xiqiao Mountain – one of the four most famous
mountains in Guangdong Province.
Stay overnight at Foshan Jindu Hotel (4 stars)
Day 5: Foshan(B,L,D)
Begin to learn the most typical and popular Southern
Chinese Kung Fu – Foshan Yongchun Boxing in Huang
Fei-hong Martial Art Museum.
Stay overnight at Foshan Jindu Hotel (4 stars)
Day 6: Foshan(B,L,D)
In the morning, continue to learn Foshan Yongchun Boxing
in Huang Fei-hong Martial Art Museum. In the afternoon,
visit Shunde Qinghui Yuan – one of the four most
famous traditional architectural garden in the Qing
Dynasty, visit Shunde Bijiang Golden house which was
built more than hundred years ago, during the Jia-qing
reign of Qing Dynasty. In the evening, visit Nanhai
Guicheng Thousand Lanterns lake Park.
Stay overnight at Foshan (43stars)
Day 7: Foshan-Guangzhou (B,L)
In the morning, visit Foshan Folk Arts Studio. Foshan
Folk Arts have a great variety including paper-cut,
tying, coloured lantern, wood board painting, calligraphy,
etc. Then, transfer to Guangzhou city and visit Yuexiu
Park with the Guangzhou City Symbol -Five Goats Stone
Sculpture. After the lunch, visit Liu-hua Tee house.
At last, go to the airport and take an international
fly leaving Guangzhou in the afternoon.
Group Package Tour Quotation: RMB /p.p.net
Single-room Supplement: RMB net
Quotation Inclusive:
1) Hotel accommodation based on sharing twin daily breakfast.
2) Meals as indicated as above.
3) Sightseeing with English/German/Japanese or Cantonese
speaking guide and translator.
4) Admission Visiting Points tickets.
5) Chinese Martial Arts Training Cost (tuition).
6) Domestic tourism insurance.
Quotation Exclusive:
1) Entry and exit Guangzhou international air ticket.
2) Chinese Visa and airport tax.
3) Personal expenses such as drinks, telephone call,
laundry, etc...
Tipping Gratuity.
Note: I have left this largely unaltered,
and as given to me recently. It shows a real offer from
a local travel agent. The price was not quoted, but
is in line with that given above. The Jindu hotel does
appear to have an interesting star-rating system? It
is actually Chinese 4 star, International 3 star - hence
the confusion I guess
Kung Fu Masters
- Fact and Fiction
Huang Fei Hong
Huang Fei Hong was a real person who as a boy fled The
Shaolin Temple in Fijian Province with his Father and
other disciples and their families. His Father was actually
one of the Junior Masters, and others far more distinguished
also accompanied them on their journey. They settled
in Nanhai, which is nowadays the name of 1 of 5 Districts
of Foshan Metropolitan County, and definitely the most
powerful. For long periods of history, Foshan City has
also been called Nanhai Prefecture - depending upon
political winds no doubt. Please know that if you are
not local to this area, you should consider Nanhai and
Foshan to mean exactly the same thing.
Huang Fei Hong's Father settled in Luzhou Village, which
lies at the foot of Xiqiao Mountain. This is in the
modern City District of San Shui (Sam Soi).
My understanding is that Huang Fei Hong was actually
a young boy when he arrived in Foshan, then known as
Nanhai Prefecture; and was not actually born here.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (aka Lai Siu Long) is the first actor and
an exceptionally skilled Martial Arts disciple, who
popularised Kung Fu in Western cinemas during the 1970's.
He was born in California, but does have extremely strong
links with Hong Kong and Foshan. His Father was born
in a village, which is now a part of Daliang City, the
Capital of Shunde District, and another of the 5 Districts
of modern Foshan. Bruce Lee did visit his ancestral
home there once. This is now a working museum and Martial
Arts school. This can be included in tours of course
Bruce Lee's Master was called Master Man. He spent the
last 20 years of his life in The Ancestral Temple right
in the city centre of modern Foshan. It is also known
as 'Zumio'. Bruce Lee did visit his Master there on
many occasions, and there is a museum and halls dedicated
to Bruce, Master Man, and other Kung Fu Masters within
the temple complex. From memory, one of the acclaimed
is called Master Ip.
Jet Li
Jet Li (aka Lai Li-en Gi, Cantonese name) is arguably
the best current exponent of this art in modern mass
cinema. Jet Li is very highly respected in Foshan, and
an adopted son of the city fathers because of his excellent
Huang Fei Hong style Kung Fu skills. I am pretty sure
some of his films have been made at Foshan TV Town in
Nanhai District. He often plays the character of Huang
Fei Hong in his Chinese language films
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan (Sing Long) is highly revered for his skills
in Gongfu, and apart from his comedy, and projects for
less fortunate in HK, he also employs Wushu techniques
in some of his films. Jackie has recently opened an
academy in HK for teaching 'Gongfu for actors', and
is a child from Cantonese Opera and Drama backgrounds
= hence his unbelievable flexibility, speed, and spatial
awareness
Wushu style Kung Fu is a modern interpretation, made
famous in films. Wushu means 5 Ways, Books or Lessons;
and embodies ancient teachings into a new methology.
Wushu is largely castigated by traditionalists, whilst
being very popular with younger Chinese students who
cannot spare the time for complete studies of Martial
Arts
Wushu displays, performances and Teachings are also
available in Foshan
For serious Western students of Kung Fu and
Hung Ga, then this link may be of interest:
Reference:
This morning I read your article by Tim Louie
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=655
"About Tim Louie:
Tim Louie is a Hung Gar Practitioner, a Shorin-ryu Okinawan
Karate 5th Degree, a Kajukenbo Karate 6th Degree and
also studies Northern Kung-Fu, Tai Chi and Contemporary
Wushu. He is the creator of Thunderkicks shoes. This
article is a companion piece to In Search of the Real
Wong Fei Hung: The Wong Fei Hung Museum in Foshan, Guangdong,
China, in the May June 2006 issue of Kung Fu Tai Chi."
Summary
Perhaps what you really need to know is that Foshan
is the modern home for Gongfu Wong Fei-Hong style, and
a 'Must Visit' for any serious practitioners of Kung
Fu
Please also remember, this is a general page for all
levels of understanding, on one small website. It is
written by an Englishman who lives permanently in Foshan,
and has no idea what Gongfu is really all about - I
do like the films though!
Brief Introduction of Foshan City:
Foshan lies in the heart of the Pearl River Delta, neighbouring
Hong kong and Macao, and bordering Guangzhou to the
East. Foshan boasts a long history. Ancient people
began to cultivate and make pottery here as long as
3000 BC. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Foshan
was already marked for it’s flourishing handicraft
industry, business and cultural activities. In Ming
and Qing Dynasties, the city expanded it’s role
as one of the “Four Well-known Towns” of
China.
Foshan is the showcase of the Lingnan culture, the cradle
of the Cantonese Opera, and the home of Chinese Kung
Fu. It is honoured as a State Historical and Cultural
City. |
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This information is as supplied by the Chinese Embassy
in UK, as dated 25th August 2011, and/or other reliable
sources. Please check this information yourself as it
may alter without notice, and whilst we try our best
to ensure it is correct, please do not hold us responsible
for any errors - this is intended as a simple guide
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