Day 1: Monks from the Shaolin Temple in Henan province perform kung fu for the boys and girls at the camp on July 28, 2013.[Photo by Yang Jian/ for chinadaily.com.cn]

A group of boys and girls ranging between the ages of 8 and 15 attended a kung fu summer camp that began on July 28 and ran through August 5 at the Shaolin Temple in Henan province.

Over the course of nine days, the camp attendees studied kung fu, took Buddhism classes, enjoyed Zen music performances, climbed Songshan Mountain and attended a lantern festival.

According to Yang Jian, the summer camp’s organizer, the children who attended were from Beijing, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Most of the camp attendees were boys, and even though there were people speaking different dialects or languages, everyone still got to know each other through everyday activities and finally became good friends.

Experiencing temple life has become popular over recent years. In July, the Ci’en Temple in Zhejiang province offered visitors the experience of living temporarily as a monk or nun, with over 1,000 people signing up.

"To purify the soul and find myself," "To strengthen the will and tranquilize the soul," "It can correct bad habits," have been some of the most frequently mentioned reasons among Internet users when discussing the topic of living at a temple.

Living as a monk, temporarily

Buddhist life attractive to people

Child training highlights tradition