On Mount Songshan, with its historic temples, cloud-crowned peaks and kungfu practitioners, the peace of real escape is a difficult goal to attain.

As the bus rolls into the outskirts of Dengfeng Town, a lush mountain range comes into view. The tranquility of that view is shattered, however, with a glance at the road that leads to the mountains. The mountain road teems with people, including bare-chested, muscular foreigners, wearing the identical robes of the Shaolin soldier monks, which can be purchased as tourist souvenirs at the Shaolin Temple.

Trees dot the landscape, along with a partly dried-up creek that winds its way to the top. Taxis honk loudly, as they herd tourists and backpackers up and down the mountain. Tractors and cow-driven carriages buzz through the crowds dangerously.

Upon arriving at the foot of the Mount Songshan, located a little more than 25 kilometers southwest of Henan's provincial capital, Zhengzhou, visitors will soon be engrossed in its bizarre rocks and stones, peaks hidden in wandering clouds and thriving trees. The central mountain of the ``Five Sacred Mountains of China,'' Mount Songshan consists of 72 peaks, half of which are within the Taishi Mountain range, which is magnificent and vast, while the other half are part of the Shaoshi Mountain range, which is steep and elegant. And every peak has a story.

Sites of historical interest and natural beauty abound on Mount Songshan, but there are six must-do destinations here: the Shaolin Temple, birthplace of Zen; Pagoda Forest, the largest assembly of stupas; Songyue Temple pagoda, the extant oldest pagoda; Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - A.D. 220) porticoes, the oldest ones in the country; ``General's cypress,'' the oldest cypress tree in China; and a Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) era star-gazing tower, the oldest in the country.

And the greatest of these is the Shaolin Temple. Mount Songshan is known for its Buddhist shrines, mainly because of the Shaolin Temple, which is sequestered at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain.

Established at the end of the 5th century, the Shaolin Temple is the earliest Zen Buddhist temple in China. It became famous, however, as the home of kungfu because 13 warrior monks from the temple saved Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) Emperor Li Shimin's life, and helped him establish his kingdom. When he took power, Li showered favors, land and wealth on the temple. He issued a decree allowing the Shaolin Temple to train 500 soldier monks. Shaolin then thrived as a center of kungfu masters from around the country. In its heyday, the temple housed more than 3,000 soldier monks. Kungfu students gathered here, and its fame spread throughout the country.

Built in A.D. 495, the temple was originally designed to house Batuo, a celebrated Indian monk, who, after many years of spreading Buddhism, settled here. In A.D. 537, another famous Indian monk, Boddhidharma, made his home at the temple, and as legend has it, created a sort of primitive bare-hand combat routine after he had sat meditating in a cave for nine years. That was the origin of the kungfu tradition at the temple.

Souvenir-vendors flank the path outside the Shaolin Temple, waylaying tourists and touting their raw, unrefined products.

Escaping the madness of the peddlers, the visitor enters the solemn gates of the temple, to the sight of towering ginkgo trees, one of which is 1507-years old. Upon close inspection, the barks of trees are marked with random scars -- made by monks practicing ``Yi Zhi Chan'' (one finger Zen Qigong). Ginkgo also features in the famous local soups, including favorites like the pepper-stirred cabbage.

The most valuable relics at the temple are the murals in the Eastern Hall, which depict groups of boxing monks.

Somber chiming from the Bell Tower resounds every now and again, sonorous reminder of its proud history.

The stone floor in the ``Qianfo Dian'' (Thousand Buddhas Hall) witnessed the assiduous perseverance of Shaolin kungfu. On the ground, 48 sunken spots line up in four ranks. Each spot maintains a two-meter distance from the others: these are the marks of soldier monks' feet, made over the past century.

Pagoda Forest, located about 300 meters away from the temple, displays 243 stupas or dagobas, each containing the remains of an Abbot from the Shaolin Monastery.

The first stupa ever created in the world was a mound that held the body of the Buddha Shakyamuni, which is located at Bodhgaya in India. Over the centuries, the form of the stupa became more stylized and eventually evolved in Chinese Zen Buddhism to the form seen in the Pagoda Forest. The first stupa at this site was built in A.D. 791 and the last dates from 1803. The distribution of these structures through the dynasties includes two during the Tang, three during the Song Dynasty (A.D. 916-1125), six in Jin (1115-1234), 40 in the Yuan (1271-1368) and the remainder during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The sizes of these dagobas range from seven stories, or 14.6 meters, to just a meter in height with many different styles. All are built in either stone or brick.

Dawn is the best time to appreciate the grandeur of the mountain. As day breaks, the world still sleeps, stripped of its daytime madness. Groups of kungfu-practitioners perform their morning exercises in the quiet. Finally, peace and escape on the sacred mountain.

( eastday.com September 20, 2002)