Why is Fengdu called a "ghost town"?

Fengdu Ghost Town Famous Mountain Scenic Area is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River and downstream of Chongqing172km. It was called "Pingdu Mountain" in ancient times, named after Su Shi's poem "Pingdu is a famous mountain in the ancient world" in the Northern Song Dynasty. Fengdu Mountain is one of the 72 caves in Taoism. There are as many as 27 famous ancient temples; Fengdu ghost town is a treasure house of folk culture and art integrating Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. It can be called "the hometown of divine comedy in China", and its thought and function of punishing evil and promoting good are praised by the world.

Known as the "ghost country and secluded capital", Fengdu Ghost Town started from Pingdu Mountain. According to the Records of Fengdu County and Biography of Immortals by scholar Ge Hong, it is said that there was a king and Yin Changsheng as immortals in Pingdu Mountain in Han Dynasty, so Taoism set up a heavenly teacher in this mountain and listed it as "one of the 36 caves and 72 blessed places". Later generations attached "Yin Wang" as "Wang Yin", and the residence of Hades was "Ghost Capital". Pingdu Mountain has gradually become the "Yin Capital". Li Bai, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "Laugh at the scholars on earth and sink into Fengdu in the north", which made Fengdu a famous ghost town. After the rendering of Ming and Qing novels, it is more mysterious and grotesque.

The famous mountain of Fengdu Ghost Town was originally named "Pingdu Mountain" with an altitude of 287.3 meters. According to legend, in the Han Dynasty, there were two people, Yin Changsheng and Wang Zeng, who became immortals on Pingdu Mountain and soared in the daytime. Taoism lists this place as one of the "land of caves" in the Taoist capital. In the Tang Dynasty, some people mistakenly combined the surnames of Yin and Wang, so this famous mountain was gradually legendary as the place where (the king of the underworld) lived, that is, it evolved into the ghost capital of the underworld. Subsequently, many temples related to the underworld were built in Lu Xu. There are more than 30 temples, including Huma Temple, Gratitude Hall, Naihe Bridge, Jade Emperor Hall, Baizi Hall, Impermanence Hall, Daxiong Hall, Gate of Hell, Huang Quan Road, Wangxiangtai, Tianzi Hall, Erxian Building, Huangcheng Hall and Jiupython Hall.

Fengdu Ghost Town imitates the afterlife judicial system and creates a "underworld" with strict hierarchy and functions of arrest, detention, trial, judgment and enlightenment. Punish those who committed crimes before their death. Judge Yan Xiao Devil only tells lies, but his social education function of punishing evil and promoting good is praised.

Fengdu Ghost Town holds a ghost town temple fair every year on the third day of the third lunar month, which is full of surprises, humor and wit.