Monks undertake 500-mile journey on their knees

A pair of Buddhist monks are to are to make a 500 mile journey on their knees to the religion's holiest shrines in China.

Masters Zhiyuan and Hanliang will spend two months crawling to 99 temples on their way to the Putuo Mountains in eastern China until they reach a statue of Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.

Each night the pious pair will sleep under the stars in sleeping bags without even a tent to cover them, say helpers from their home temple in Ganlu, southern China.

"They will crawl and then every third step they will stop and bow as a sign of respect to the goddess," explained one.