Fengdu Ghost City (, originally ) is a large complex of shrines, temples and monasteries dedicated to the afterlife located on the Ming mountain, in

Fengdu County Fengdu County (; formerly ) is a county located in Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China. The county was established as Fengdu County () during the Sui Dynasty. The name was changed to Fengdu County () during the Ming Dynasty. In 195 ...

, Chongqing municipality, China. It is situated about downstream from Chongqing on the north bank of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

. The city consists of buildings, structures, dioramas, and statues related to

Diyu Diyu () is the realm of the dead or "hell" in Chinese mythology. It is loosely based on a combination of the Buddhist concept of Naraka, traditional Chinese beliefs about the afterlife, and a variety of popular expansions and reinterpretations o ...

and

Naraka Naraka ( sa, नरक) is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to some schools of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian and Malay ...

, concepts from

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

that signify the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

or hell. It is modeled to resemble Youdu, the capital of

. After the building of the

Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...

and the rising of the water level of the river it became separated from the city of Fengdu, which was rebuilt higher up the mountainside on the south side of the river. In recent years, Fengdu Ghost City has become a tourist attraction. Cruise boats carrying tourists up or down the river stop at the docks and tourists are taken in vehicles halfway up the mountain. From there, there is an open-air escalator up to the complex or the visitor can climb up on foot. The site's history goes back nearly two thousand years, at least in legends. It focuses on the afterlife and combines the beliefs of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

and

. It is mentioned in several classic Chinese works of literature like ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popul ...

'', ''

Investiture of the Gods ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

'' and ''

Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio ''Liaozhai zhiyi'', sometimes shortened to ''Liaozhai'', known in English as ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' or ''Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'', is a collection of Classical Chinese stories by Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling, c ...

''. 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 of the temples and shrines show paintings and sculptures of people being 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 The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

and is a test for 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, marital status. At the bridge, demons allow or forbid passage. The good are allowed to 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 In Chinese mythology and religion, King Yan () is the god of death and the ruler of Diyu, overseeing the "Ten Kings of Hell" in its capital of Youdu. He is also known as King Yanluo (), a transcription of the Sanskrit for "King Yama" (/, ). K ...

. 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 certain stone on one foot for three minutes. According to legend a virtuous person will be able to do it while an evil person will fail and be condemned to hell. Tianzi Palace is the largest and oldest building and it is three hundred years old. A more recent addition is the Last Glance to Home Tower (also called Home Viewing Pavilion) which was built in 1985 and is placed where according to legend the dead could have one last look towards their home and families.

References

External links

* {{Chongqing Tourist attractions in Chongqing Buildings and structures in Chongqing Religious buildings and structures in Chongqing Yangtze River Visionary environments Chinese ghosts Hell

See also

References

External links