Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, Fengdu is an ancient city with a time-honored history, known as the 'Ghost City' to most Chinese people.
Fengdu got its reputation as the 'Ghost City' in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 A.D. - 220 A.D.). Two officials from the imperial court named Wang Fangping and Yin Changsheng, got bored with the political life in the court and came to Mt. Minshan outside the Fengdu City to practice Taoist teachings. Both of them later became immortals by carrying out self-cultivation. This story widely spread and makes Mt. Minshan 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'.
According to superstitious legend, the dead come to Fengdu Ghost City and the devils go to hell. Since Tang Dynasty, forty-eight temples have been built in the place, such as the 'Hall of the Jade Emperor', 'the Palace of Hell', 'Boundary Between the Living and the Dead', 'the Ridge of Helplessness' and 'the Balcony of Nostalgia'. All of the temples there look quite magnificent while statues are extremely lifelike.
