Fengdu Ghost City is a large complex of shrines, temples and monasteries dedicated to the afterlife located on the Ming Mountain near Chongqing, China. The city has statues related to Diyu and Naraka, concepts from Chinese mythology and Buddhism that signify the underworld or hell.
According to legend, Fengdu got its name of Ghost City during the Eastern Han Dynasty, when two imperial officials, Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping, came to Ming Mountain to practice Taoism and, in the process, became immortals. The combination of their names, Yinwang, means “King of Hell”, and that was the beginning of the site’s focus on the underworld. Many temples and shrines show paintings and sculptures of people tortured for their sins.
According to Chinese beliefs, the dead must pass three tests before passing to the next life.
First, they must pass the “Bridge of Helplessness”. This stone bridge was built during the Ming dynasty and is a test of Good and Evil. It has three arches, and only the middle one is used for testing people. There are different protocols for crossing the bridge depending on sex, age, and marital status. At the bridge, demons allow or forbid passage. The good can pass while the evil will be pushed to the water below. This is now done as a tourist attraction, and performers characterised as demons momentarily stop tourists on the bridge but finally allow them across.
Then the dead must proceed to Ghost-Torturing Pass, where they present themselves for judgment before Yanluo Wang. This is the second test. In this area, there are large sculptures of demons.
The third test is done at the entrance to Tianzi Palace, where the dead must stand on a particular stone on one foot for three minutes. According to legend, a virtuous person can do it, while an evil person will fail and be condemned to hell.
Tianzi Palace is the largest and oldest building, three hundred years old.
Visit the Fengdu Ghost Town on the day 2 of Yangtze River Cruise from Chongqing to Yichang.
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