As you cross the Gorges of the Yangtze River, you come across a beautiful small town, Fengdu, situated at the foothills of the mountains. It is called the Ghost Town.
Here situated on a hill called the Ming Mountain, is a graveyard of the Tao, and about 75 temples of Buddha and Tao. It is believed that the spirits of the dead gather here. The temples which are scattered all over the mountain have numerous statues. These statues guard this ‘World of Spirits’.
These temples were constructed between 265 to 420A.D. during the Western Jin period. They were again reconstructed during the Ming and Ch`ing Dynasty from 1386 to 1911 A.D.
The lunar month from the 3rd of March to the 15th, attracts many tourists and believers. This is the time for the temple fair when interesting “spirit shows” are held on the streets.
Other places of interest are the ‘Shuang Gui Shan’, the forest park, the finest Guiwang stone carvings in the world, and the Han tombs which are old graves ranging back to 206 A.D.
I t is believed that long ago there lived in the Han Dynasty, Wang Fangping and Yin Chansheng who had super human powers. After they united they merged their names to ‘Yin Wang’, meaning “The Ruler of Hell”.
And so this city of Fengdu came to be associated with Mysticism or Place of Spirits..