Fengdu Ghost City is located on the northern bank of Yangtze River, having distance of 170 Km from the eastern side of Chongqing. Fengdu became the Ghost City during the Tang Dynasty when two officials of the Imperial Court married and settled on the Mt. Minshan which is just outside the city. On combining their surnames which is Yin and Wang, it sounds like King of Hell in Chinese. Later, both of them became immortals by carrying out the self cultivation. This story was later widely spread making Mt. Minshan a famous place. After that the people used to call Fengdu as “Ghost City”.
Fengdu, Ghost City
According to Chinese, the social structure of hell is just like that in this world. A spirit would go through the whole and complete administration of the government for getting the final judgment in hell. The honest spirits are believed to be rewarded whereas the criminal one would be punished. There are different punishments for the different crimes. The statues and drawings in the temple built on the Mt. Minshan represent the imagination of the hell by Chinese.
According to the superstition of Chinese people, the death come to Fengdu and the devils go to the hell. Since the period of Tang Dynasty, forty eight temples have been built here like Hall of Jade Emperor, Boundary Between the Living and the Dead, the palace of Hell, Balcony of Nostalgia and Ridge of Helplessness. All these temples are magnificent in their looks and the statues are lifelike.
Fengdu, Ghost City
Now days, Fengdu- Ghost city is visited by many tourist who come here to see the temples and shrines which are dedicated to the gods of underworld. The landmarks here also bear some horrific names like Last Glance at Home Tower, Ghost Torturing Pass and Nothing-to-be-done Bridge. These are the three trials for the ghosts who wanted to enter the nether world.
Fengdu has many historical sites which are linked with the culture of ghosts. Local government is also promoting the festival- ghost festival. However, it is investigated that a lot of superstitious activities were involved during the ghost festivals.