ZHENGZHOU, July 16 -- China's Shaolin Temple is going to send monks and other Buddhists in the footsteps of their ancient counterparts as it begins to organize tours of the Silk Road, it announced on Thursday.

As part of the temple's work to promote itself abroad, it plans to organize cultural exchange activities and shoot hundreds of videos while on the road.

The first stop of the tour is Thailand. Led by Shaolin Abbot Shi Yongxin, 42 monks and 45 other Buddhists will hold activities in Bangkok and Chiangmai between August 1 and 6.

"Ancient Indian monks used the Silk Road to travel to China and preach Buddhism, and Chinese monks traveled in the opposite direction in search of sacred Buddhist books. In a sense, the Shaolin Temple is a product of Buddhist cultural exchange," said Shi Yongxin.

The Shaolin Temple, built in the late fifth century and located in central China's Henan Province, is the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and the cradle of Chinese kungfu.