Inside the ghost city where the dead must pass over the ‘Bridge of Helplessness’

Fengdu Ghost City in China is a unique ancient site set in a mountain that commemorates both Heaven and Hell and has one of the world’s largest sculpture carved into a rock

A mazy complex of shrines, temples and statues along the banks of Asia’s longest river is dedicated to the afterlife and attracts masses of tourists each year.

Fengdu Ghost City, often known as the ‘City of Ghosts’, in south-west China at the top end of the Yangtze River is a place where people can learn about the significance of spirits in Chinese culture.

The city mixes the beliefs of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and dates back to the Han dynasty (206BC-220AD), where it is approximately 2,000 years old.

Legend says that two imperial officials called Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping ran away to Ming Mountain, where the city is located on.

They lived out the rest of their days there practising Taoism and eventually achieving immortality.

Their names were combined to form ‘Yinwang’, which means ‘King of Hell’, and the underworld has been associated with the city ever since.

Many colourful paintings and sculptures on display depict people being tortured for the sins they committed, including images of ghosts and devils, and the whole city is modelled after the capital of Hell in Chinese mythology, called Youdu.

In Chinese culture, there are three stages that the dead have to pass before they can move on to the next life.

First, they must cross the ‘Bridge of Helplessness’ that was built during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644AD) and tests ‘good’ and ‘evil’.

A demon allows the good to pass through the bridge’s middle arch and throws the evil into the water below.

Tourists are sometimes stopped by actors dressed as demons pretending to weigh up whether they can pass or not.

The ‘Ghost Torturing Pass’ is the next stage, where the dead must allow themselves to be judged by a deity called Yanluo Wang – this location of the city is covered in huge sculptures of demons.

Finally, at the entrance to Tianzi Palace the dead must stand on a certain stone on one foot for three minutes – those that cannot do it are said to be cast into Hell.

In 1985, the ‘Last Glance to Home Tower’ was built on the site to represent the place where the dead could have one final look back at their family and home.

The city, which is split into two halves of ‘Heaven’ and ‘Hell’, is also home to one of the world’s largest sculpture carved into a rock, called ‘The Ghost King’.

The giant white face and figure of the king is in the hillside at 138 meters tall and about 217 meters wide, making it unmissable for any visitors to the city.

Access to Fengdu Ghost City is often via cruises on the Yangtze River where people are then driven half way up to the mountain.

Visitors are often humbled by the unique structures and art that make up the city as well as the morals it teaches between acting good or evil.