Fengdu - The Ghost City Fengdu, which also called the"City of Ghosts" on the
Ming Hill is far 170 km from the east of Chongqing, on the north bank of the
river with a history of 1,900 years. Why it has been regarded as the "City of
Ghosts"?
Situated on the northern bank of the river between Zhongxian and Fuling, the
city was depicted as the 'City of Ghosts' in two ancient, classic Chinese works
- "Monkey King" and "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". The origin of the
town's extraordinary reputation can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.
- 220 A.D.) when two officials, Yin and Wang, became Taoist recluses here and
eventually Immortals. Later in the Tang Dynasty, their names were combined to
mean "King of the Underworld".
Thereafter, Mt. Mingshan gained its reputation as the 'City of Ghosts' where
the king lived.
Today, the town throngs with many tourists who come to visit temples and
shrines dedicated to the gods of the underworld. Landmarks here bear horrific
names - Last Glance at Home Tower, Nothing-to-be-done Bridge, and Ghost
Torturing Pass - the three trials for ghosts who wanted to enter the nether
world.
It got its reputation as the "Ghost City" in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Two
officials from the imperial court: Wang Fangping and Yin Changsheng, got bored
with the political life in the court and came to Mt. Minshan outside Fengdu City
to practice Taoist teachings. Both of them later became immortals by carrying
out self-cultivation. This story widely spread and Mt. Minshan became famous.
When combined together, their surnames Yin and Wang, sound very much like "King
of Hell" in Chinese. Hence the people began to call Fengdu the "Ghost City".It
was the legendary capital of The Ghost King sculptured statue is 138 meters high
and 217 meters wide. The tongue only is 81 meters long and mouth 70 meters wide.
The pictures are carved in to the mountain for a depth of 26 meters. Visitors
can climb the body of the king to the top of the mountain. Guinness World
Records has listed it as the biggest sculpture carved on a rock.Ghost State by
Daoists.
With temples constructed on the Ming Hill by the river bank and many statues
of ghosts and devils molded in the temples, these terrifying statues describe
the after-life where people who disobey ancient Chinese morals are punished in
every horrifying way. By the standard of Hollywood movies, it should be rated
the highest level.
From the ship pier, you can climb the winding cobblestone road or take a
cable car to reach the 288 meter-high hill. Some ships arrange an early night
visit to the ghost city just to catch the terrifying effects.
To Chinese, the social structure in the hell is exactly like that in this
world. In hell, a sprit would go through a whole and complete bureaucracy to get
the final sentence. The pure spirits would be rewarded and the sinful ones would
be severely tortures. Different tortures would be given to different sins. The
Temple built on Mt. Minshan display instruments of torture and wide demon
images, which vividly depict the Chinese people's imagination of Hell. Landmarks
on the hill bear horrible name - Ghost Torturing Pass, Last-Glance at Home
Tower, nothing-to-be-done Bridge and the River of Blood.
Every Chinese Lunar March 3 to 15, merchants and businessmen gathered Fengdu
city. There were various folk culture activities. The ghost face is one
of pecialties.