Not all forests are created equal

Just outside the Shaolin Temple we walked out to a very different type of forest. One I have never seen before, this one was a pagoda forest. In an area roughly the size of a football field stands 228 stone or brick pagodas built as far back as 791 AD. One interesting fact is that the levels on the pagodas are always odd numbers (from 1 to 7) They are based on the achievements of the Buddhist masters they were built for over spanning 5 dynasties. It sort of had this mystical vibe that's hard for me to explain with words.

After the forest we took a chair lift to one of the mountains peak for a view of the temple's grounds and the pagoda forest. Unfortunately, the view was hazy and not as impressive as it could have been. I'm not sure we even really wanted to go to the top but we were trying to lose this Chinese guy who wanted to be our personal guide. It worked, but probably cost us way more than just paying him for his effort.