China

Putin tastes Shaolin kongfu in Henan

(AP/Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-03-22 22:19

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, holds a young monk on shoulder, as he is surrounded by a group of monks after watching their demonstration of Shaolin Kung Fu in Shaolin Temple in central China's Henan Province, Wednesday, March 22, 2006. Putin arrived here on Wednesday for a taste of Buddhism and martial arts. Established about 1,500 years ago, Shaolin is famed for the great combination of martial arts skill and Zen, a sect of Buddhism, that features long meditation sessions to purify the mind. [AP]