China's most renowned Buddhist attraction, Shaolin Temple, is planning to open overseas branches "when conditions mature", according to the director of the temple.

Shi Yongxin, current abbot of the Shaolin Temple and deputy chairman of China's Buddhism Association, said that more than?1,000 overseas visitors per year stay at the temple to practice Buddhism and Chinese kungfu, and the number has been on the rise.

Another 200,000 foreign believers come to Shaolin every year for sightseeing, said Shi, who is also a?deputy to?the National People's Congress.