Editing Shaolin Monastery (section)

===Heritage culture===
Shaolin Temple has developed numerous complementary cultural aspects that permeate and mutually reinforce each other and are inseparable, when it comes to presenting the temple's material and intangible cultural heritage. The most prominent aspects are those of Chan ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=禅|p=chán}}), martial arts ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=武|p=wǔ}}), traditional medicine ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=中医|p=zhōngyī}}), and art ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=艺|p=yì}}). Shaolin culture is rooted in Mahayana Buddhism, while the practice of Chan is its nucleus and finally, the martial arts, traditional medicine, and art are its manifestations. Thanks to the efforts of the abbot Shi Yongxin, the monastic community, and the temple's disciples from all over the world, Shaolin culture continues to grow. During its historical development, Shaolin culture has also integrated the essential values of Confucianism and Taoism.

The contemporary temple establishment offers to all interested individuals and groups, regardless of cultural, social, and religious values, the chance to experience Shaolin culture through the Shaolin cultural exchange program. This program offers an introduction to Chan meditation, Shaolin kung fu, Chan medicine, calligraphy, art, archery, etc. Chan practice is supposed to help the individual in attaining calm and patience necessary for living optimistically, meaningfully, wisely, and with compassion. Ways of practicing Chan are numerous, and they range from everyday activities such as eating, drinking, walking, or sleeping, to specialized practices such as meditation, martial arts, and calligraphy.

[[File:Shaolin Temple Kick Statue.jpg|thumb|Statue depicting [[Shaolin kung fu]], outside the gates of the Kung-Fu Show theater]]

Shaolin kung fu is manifested through a system of different skills that are based on attack and defense movements with the form ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=套路|p=tàolù}}) as its unit. One form is a combination of different movements. The structure of movements is founded on ancient Chinese medical knowledge, which is compatible with the laws of body movement. Within the temple, the forms are taught with a focus on integration of the principles of complementarity and opposition. This means that Shaolin kung fu integrates dynamic and static components, yin and yang, hardness and softness, etc.

The Shaolin community invests great effort in safeguarding, developing, and innovating its heritage. Following the ancient Chinese principle of harmony between heaven and humans, temple masters work on the development of the most natural body movement in order to achieve the full potential of human expression.

Shaolin has developed activities related to the international promotion of its cultural heritage. In 2012, the first international Shaolin cultural festival was organized in Germany, followed by festivals in the US and England. Official Shaolin cultural centers exist in numerous countries in Europe, the US, Canada, and Russia. Every year, the temple hosts more than thirty international events with the aim to promote cultural exchange.