Wutangshan

"The popularity of Sungshan's western peak wasn't due so much to the scenery as it was to one particular Buddhist temple, namely, Shaolin, known far and wide as the home of kung-fu. Actually, the ch'i-kung exercises essential to all martial arts were developed much earlier by Taoist masters. And in the past, whenever martial-arts competitions were held between Buddhists and Taoists, the Taoists of Wutangshan invariably defeated the Buddhists of Shaolin. But Shaolin Temple had better PR, and it was located within a few hours of two major population centers, namely Chengchou and Loyang, whereas Wutangshan was in the middle of nowhere."

p. 108 Yellow River Odyssey by Bill Porter.

“Changes in the climate since the last ice age coupled with the constant warfare waged over the past 5,000 years between the Chinese and the various nomadic groups in the region had resulted in extensive deforestation and loss of ground cover. Areas that were green as recently as several hundred years ago were now desert. And new deserts were growing not only in the northwest, but in every province in China. Sixteen percent of all the land in China was classified as desert. Imagine 1.5 million square kilometers of sand, and imagine it spreading at the rate of 1% per year and in some areas at the rate of 10% per year. Desertification, as it was called, was clearly one of China's biggest problems.”

Yellow River Odyssey by Bill Porter, p. 223