Located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, Fengdu is an ancient city with a long history, known as the “Ghost City” to most Chinese people. It got its reputation as the “Ghost City” during the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 25 – A.D. 220). Two officials from the imperial court: Wang Fangping and Yin Changsheng, got bored with the political life in the court and came to Mt. Minshan outside Fengdu City to practice Taoist teachings. Both of them later became immortals by carrying out self-cultivation. This story widely spread and made Mt. Minshan become 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 and the devils go to hell.” Since the Tang Dynasty, forty-eight temples have been built in this 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.
The last pictures shows Naihe Bridge, which according to the legend is the road that all souls after their death must take; For evil souls, they will fall into the Bloody pond and be subjected to the bites of vipers and ants, however, good ones can pass through it without any problem in just three steps. As the saying goes, ‘God always blesses those who did kind deeds, however, the evil ones can not pass through the Naihe Bridge.