Shaolin Temple Abbot Shi Yongxin. [Photo/ CNS]

Shaolin Temple plans to hold a world-level martial arts conference sometime in the future, says Abbot Shi Yongxin.

At the closing ceremony of its annual Zen Buddhism event on Monday night, Shi said the temple wants to invite world martial arts masters to an assembly that would include competitions on sets of movement, special skills, free boxing, as well as a forum on martial arts itself.

Shaolin Temple, built over 1,500 years ago in Dengfeng, Henan province, is China's best-known Buddhist monastery and the birthplace of kung fu, or the Chinese martial arts.

Shi hopes the assembly could boost exchanges among different martial art

The Zen event, first held in 2006, included several rounds of debate on Zen wisdom. It attracted thousands of attendees, including a UNESCO ambassador, Buddhism researchers and devotees from various institutes and temples.

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