Fengdu Ghost City

Chinese folk belief pictures the afterlife as an administration, with courts, judges, clerks and punishments, and Fengdu became identified as its earthly capital, a place where the dead are processed. Temples were built on Ming Mountain over centuries, filled with statues of the Ghost King, the ten judges of hell, the demon guards and the punishments of each court, alongside tests the dead must pass: a bridge to be crossed in a set number of steps, a stone to be balanced on. The original town below was submerged by the Three Gorges reservoir, so the temples now stand above a rebuilt Fengdu, and most visitors arrive by cruise ship.

History

Legend says Fengdu became known as the Ghost City in the Eastern Han dynasty, when the immortals Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping practised Daoism on Mount Pingdu, and their joined surnames, Yinwang, came to be read as King of the Underworld. Early Daoist texts put the realm of Fengdu Dadi on the mythical Mount Luofeng in the far north, but by the Song dynasty popular belief had placed it here, so the county came to be seen as the earthly capital of the underworld and temples to its god and court, among them the Hall of the Son of Heaven, were built; the place appears in Journey to the West and other classic novels (Wikipedia, Fengdu Ghost City).

What's there

• The hell courts - statues of judges, demons and punishments in the halls.
• The tests - the bridge and stone the dead are said to face.
• The Ghost King carving - the vast face cut into the hillside.
• The river view - the Yangtze and the rebuilt town below.

When to go

March to May and September to November for comfortable weather; summer is very hot on the exposed steps. Cruise schedules dictate arrival times and the site is busiest when ships dock.

Good to know

Statues are largely modern and the presentation is theatrical rather than solemn. Many steps to climb, or a chairlift for a fee. Cruise groups crowd the halls in waves.

Nearby

Shibaozhai lies downstream; Chongqing is upstream.

Key facts