Fengdu – A Ghost City in China - By: Grace Fan

Fengdou is located on the bank of Yangtze River in Chongqing, which got its name in eastern Han Dynasty (25AD-220AD). When two people came and became immortals on Pingdu Mountain, this mountain got its reputation and Fengdu County became into being. Fengdu built 1,800 years ago modeled after the Chinese Hell in Taoist mythology. It is said that Fengdu is the home of spirit of the dead, so that it has the reputation of “Capital of the Spirit”.

As a cultural city in ancient, Fengdu is China’s most distinctive and famous historical and cultural town. There area many popular spirits legend circulating here. Some famous literary novels like Journey to the West and Zhong Kui Biography have a vivid description of Fengdu. Fengdu with its long ancient history, miraculous legends and unique cultural connotation displays special oriental verve to visitors.

Fengdu scenic area was constructed in imitation of human being judicial system with principle of “rewarding virtue and punishing vice”. Though the legend of the Hades, adjudicator and ghost is unreal, the social moralization of rewarding virtue and punishing vice is commended by people.

The whole area is separated into Ming Mountain, “Spirit Palace” and Shuangguishan Mountain. There are 75 Buddha and Taoist temples in the town of Fengdu and most of them gather on Ming Mountain. The famous spots include Naihe Bridge, Gate of Hell, the Way to Hell, Jade Emperor Hall, etc. In the underworld, soul of the dead is brought to Naihe Bridge where the dead drink Wengpo soup to forget their earthly existence. Inside of Gate of Hell was placed statues of Wuchang and Baoshan King. According to legend, Wuchang is the soldiers who capture the soul of the dead; Baoshan King takes charge of beasts in mountains and protects human beings. Jade Emperor Hall was rebuilt in 1666 and enshrines the statue of Jade Emperor with the height of 7 meters which is the largest statue in Ming Mountain.

Fengdu has a national forest park named “Shuangguishan Mountain”. This place has the most Han tombs in China.

When you visit Chonaqing, Fengdu is a place you don’t want to ignore.

About the Author

As an English editor, Grace Fan and her colleague work hard to provide the best services of China tour which includes, Beijing tour package, Chongqing tour packages, Silk Road adventures, Yangtze River Cruise, Tibet tour package, reservation of flights and hotels, etc

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