Spirituality in China

Although China is declared officially as an atheist country, spirituality plays an important role in the lives of many Chinese people. The major three religions in China are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Spirituality is among the elements that grab the attention of many tourists who travel to China.

Who would believe that only a few decades before the beginning of the 21^st century, most the religious establishments including mosques, monasteries, and temples were destructed by the Zealots who tried their best to get rid of any effect of the major religions in China.

However, all those days are now over and the freedom of religion is now spread all over the country. China now enjoys a large diversity of religions all living together side by side. This variety of life, generally speaking, are among the elements that tourists who spend their vacations in China enjoy.

The most common and widely spread religion in China nowadays is Confucianism which stresses the importance to create strong bond with the community around and to have the best manners of course. The ideas of Confucianism are spread all over a large area of Asia as well.

Another important religion in China is surely what is called Taoism which is associated with the teachings of Tao Te Ching, treatise that were written and adopted as early as the 6^th century BC. Many Europeans travel to China to learn the way how Taoism affect the lives of people.

During the 1^st century AD, Buddhism entered inside China coming from India. Afterwards, during the Middle Ages it became a major force in the country. a number of China travel package include visiting some of the Buddhist historical sites in the country.

Buddhists believe that suffering is the outcome of attachments. This is why among the most important teaching of Buddhism, there is the attempt to always free the soul from all sorts of attachments to any materialistic matters.

Visiting a temple is one of the most remarkable things to do while having a vacation in China. Many visitors who explore the temples in China they notice the distinctive incenses in the place.

The main reason behind these unique and wonderful smells is that Chinese, since ancient times, used to burn sacrifices as offerings to the god and in also communicating with spirits and forbears. Tourists who visit China are usually fond of the marvelous incenses of the country.

In a Taoist temple, one of the main components is a Bagua. This octagonal shaped diagram would show the directions towards the eight cardinals’ direction. Several tours to China including exploring some Taoist temples and historical sites.

A famous tradition that is carried out in Taoist temples, other than burning incenses, is to burn money! Yes, in order for one to purify himself, he burns ghost money as they call it, pieces of papers resembling money.

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