Later this year, the monks will, at least temporarily, abandon the solemn asceticism of yore and throw themselves into the promotion of a glitzy audition for the kung fu stars of the future. Thousands of aspiring martial arts practitioners from around the world will be invited to show their best moves in the early stages, where they will have to impress a panel of judges. Through a process of elimination, the competitors will be whittled down first to 18, before a final contest between the top three to decide the winner. The top prize will be a leading role in a new series of kung fu epics that the monastery plans to film from the beginning of next year.
