Fengdu Ghost City day trip from Chongqing

Quick answer

Checked September 2026.

Fengdu Ghost City (the Mingshan scenic area) is on the north bank of the Yangtze, east of central Chongqing. It is a hill of temples about the Chinese idea of the afterlife, with more than 2,000 years of history. There are two ways to get there from the city. A private car on the expressway takes you straight to the gate in about 2–2.5 hours each way, so you can go and come back the same day. Or take a bullet train from Chongqing North to Fengdu station, about an hour, then a taxi across the river to the site. A loop of the hill usually takes about 3 hours, and it is nearly all stone steps. The site has cable cars or electric carts, which cost extra, and the guide plans around your energy and pace. If you are interested in Chinese folk belief and ideas about life and death, it is worth a day of its own. If you only want scenery, Wulong suits you better.

Want to go to Fengdu? We can put it into your private trip. Send us your dates and how many of you there are. We send one car, one driver and one licensed English-speaking guide. The car is yours until 23:00, and the guide stays with you for the whole agreed route. WhatsApp us

What is Fengdu Ghost City?

Fengdu Ghost City is a group of Taoist temples and shrines on Mingshan hill in Fengdu County, on the north bank of the Yangtze. Chinese folk legend says that after death, the soul must come here to report and be judged. It is not a haunted house, and it is not one of the empty “ghost cities” from the news, built but never lived in. It was among China's first national 4A tourist areas. It takes what Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism teach about good being repaid with good and evil with evil, and turns it into a string of halls, statues and “tests”.

• From the Fengdu County government's introduction: Mingshan has more than 2,000 years of history and is one of the Taoist “36 grotto heavens and 72 blessed lands”. In 1982 it was on the State Council's first list of key national scenic and historic sites, and in 2000 it was named one of the first national 4A tourist areas.
• Where the name “ghost city” comes from: the best-known story is that in the Han dynasty two men, Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping, practised Taoism on Mingshan and became immortals. Later people read their two surnames together as “Yin Wang”, which means “King of the Underworld”.
• The main building, the Tianzi Palace, was first built in the Western Jin dynasty. What stands today was rebuilt in 1664, the third year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty. It is the oldest, largest and best-kept temple on Mingshan.
• Today the Mingshan scenic area is made up of the Mingshan scenic zone, Shuanggui Mountain National Forest Park and the Xiaoguanshan old houses, covering almost 4 square kilometres.

How do you get from Chongqing to Fengdu Ghost City?

The easiest way is a private car straight to the Mingshan gate, with no changes, about 2–2.5 hours each way. On your own, the bullet train is fastest: Chongqing North to Fengdu takes 54–70 minutes, and on a sample weekday in October there are 12 trains a day. After the train, take a taxi or a bus across the river to the site. Yangtze cruise ships also stop at Fengdu, but that is one stop on a Three Gorges cruise, not a way of getting there.

Ways to get to Fengdu (checked September 2026)

• From the Fengdu County government's introduction: the county town is about 1.5 hours by road from central Chongqing. Mingshan is on the north bank of the Yangtze, and from a city hotel to the gate usually takes 2–2.5 hours, depending on where your hotel is and the traffic.
• From the Fengdu County culture and tourism commission's travel guide: from the Xialanxi bus stop in the county town, bus 109 goes straight to the site for 2 yuan. You can also take the ferry across the river from Fengdu port, straight to the main gate, also for 2 yuan. If you drive, after you leave the expressway, set your navigation to “Fengdu Ghost City” or “Fengdu Mingshan Scenic Area”; it is about 15 km more.
• From Chengdu: there are direct bullet trains from Chengdu East to Fengdu. The fastest takes about 3 hours 23 minutes (D2374, leaves 08:14, arrives 11:37). A same-day return from Chengdu is too rushed. It works better to stay in Chongqing first, then plan the Fengdu day on its own. See Chengdu and Chongqing itinerary.
• Train times change from day to day, so check 12306 before you go. When we plan your trip, we use the actual trains running that week. Chongqing North station has a South Square and a North Square, so before you head to the station, check which one your ticket says. See the Chongqing metro guide.

What is the best way to plan the day?

Leave your hotel in the city in the morning and reach Mingshan before noon, so you finish the hill before the cruise groups come ashore in the afternoon. Have lunch in Fengdu, head back in the afternoon and reach the city by early evening. You still have time for the Hongya Cave night view. If you have the time and energy, you can also add Xueyu Cave in the afternoon. Below is our sample plan; we adjust it to where your hotel is and how fast you walk.

Sample plan

• Tip: most Three Gorges cruise passengers come ashore to see the Ghost City in the afternoon, so the hill is quieter in the morning.
• If you would like to stay a night, tell us.

How much is the ticket, what ID do you need, and when is it open?

For the Mingshan ticket price, go by the scenic area's notice on the day. We book at the actual price with no mark-up, and list every item on the quote. Cable cars and electric carts cost extra. Be sure to bring your original passport. The site is only open in the daytime and stops letting people in fairly early in the afternoon, so we plan to arrive in the morning.

• Older travellers: across Chongqing, people aged 65 and over get in free and people aged 60–64 pay half price, both with valid ID. Whether a foreign passport counts is up to the ticket window, so bring your original passport and ask there. See the Chongqing guide for older travellers.
• ID: some Chongqing scenic areas sell tickets through mini-programs that only accept Chinese ID cards. If you have a passport, buy at a staffed ticket window. For the rules at each sight, see Chongqing attraction tickets and booking.
• Night tour: the Mingshan night tour does not run every day; check the scenic area's notice for the dates. The day ticket and the night tour are two separate things, so check before you go.

What is on the hill? These 8 places, in order

Mingshan is not about the scenery. It is about passing one “test” after another. From the gate you follow the stone steps up, and almost every stop matches a legend about what happens after death. They are listed below in the order most people walk them. The Tianzi Palace is the heart of it, and the others are all on the way up.

1. Hengha Shrine: the first stop on the way in, with two guardian gods at the door. Visitors shout “Heng!” and “Ha!” with them, which is said to scare off little ghosts.
2. Naihe Bridge: three stone arch bridges side by side. The middle one is the Naihe Bridge that, in legend, every soul must cross. There are rules about how many steps you take to cross it, and couples cross hand in hand.
3. Ghost Gate: the way into the underworld, lined with statues of ghost soldiers.
4. Road to the Underworld: a narrow stone path. Legend says you must not look back as you walk it.
5. Home-Viewing Terrace: at the end of the Road to the Underworld. Legend says souls take one last look back at home from here. Today you can see the Yangtze from here, with Fengdu's new town on the far bank.
6. Tianzi Palace: the heart of the hill, said to be the palace of the Son of Heaven of the underworld. It was first built in the Western Jin dynasty, and the buildings you see today were rebuilt in 1664.
7. Test Stone: a stone near the Tianzi Palace. Legend says a good person can stand steady on it on one foot, and anyone who cannot has something on their conscience.
8. Eighteen Levels of Hell: statues with sound and light effects act out punishments such as the mountain of knives and the pot of boiling oil. It is very graphic.

Without anyone to explain it, this is just a lot of statues. With someone telling the story, it becomes a whole account of how good and evil are repaid. That is why we send an English-speaking guide with you the whole way.

How many steps are there? Can older people and children go?

Mingshan is not high, about 287 m above sea level, but from the gate up it is almost all stone steps, and a loop usually takes about 3 hours. The site has cable cars or electric carts, which cost extra. Whether you ride up or take the steps, and which places you see, the guide plans around your energy and pace. The punishment statues in the Eighteen Levels of Hell are very graphic, and young children may find them frightening.

• Fast walkers take 2 hours; taking it slowly takes 4. We plan around the slowest walker in your group. We would rather skip a hall than rush you.
• Tip: there are a lot of steps, so wear comfortable shoes with good grip. In summer, go up the hill in the morning if you can.
• For a trip with older travellers, also look at the Dazu Rock Carvings: the paths are flatter than at Mingshan, which suits older people better.

Is Fengdu Ghost City worth visiting?

It depends on what you want to see. If you are interested in how Chinese people think about life and death, gods and ghosts, and cause and effect, Mingshan is the most famous place in China for these ideas, and it is worth a day of its own. If you want mountains and rivers, or you are expecting a haunted house with special effects, you will be let down, and your time is better spent in Wulong or the city.

Who this day suits

Was old Fengdu flooded? Is what you see today real?

What was flooded was the old county town at the foot of the hill, not the temples on Mingshan. When the Three Gorges reservoir filled, most of old Fengdu went under the river, and the whole county town moved to the south bank of the Yangtze. Mingshan stands high on the north bank, and its halls, such as the Tianzi Palace, the Naihe Bridge and the Ghost Gate, have all survived. Some English websites say “the whole Ghost City is under water”. That is not right.

• So there are two “towns” at Fengdu today: the Ghost City scenic area on Mingshan on the north bank, and the new county town on the south bank, where most of the hotels and restaurants are. A taxi or the ferry across the river will both get you to Mingshan.

When should you go? Temple fair, night tour and fireworks

Ordinary days are the quietest. For a lively visit, time it for the Fengdu Temple Fair in spring. It was added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2014. It is held every spring, on dates that follow the lunar calendar (the official dates in 2025 were 29 March to 6 April). For the next one, in 2027, the dates will come in a local notice. Mingshan also has the “Night Tour of Fengdu City”, with live actors who interact with visitors, and cold fireworks. It does not run every day; check the scenic area's notice for the dates.

• During the fair there is a grand parade, a sacred drum dance and blessing ceremonies. The parade is a street show in the county town, and there are events at the Mingshan scenic area too.
• The fair and night tour dates change every year. We check that year's notice before we plan your trip.
• Tip: the busiest times are around the Qingming festival and during the temple fair. For a quieter visit, avoid those days.

What else is there to see near Fengdu?

At the foot of Mingshan are Shuanggui Mountain National Forest Park and the Xiaoguanshan old houses, all in the same scenic area, so you can walk through them on the way if you have time. A bit further out, Fengdu also has Xueyu Cave: the youngest of China's developed show caves and still growing, with eight in ten of its stalactites white. Wulong is not far from Fengdu, but Wulong alone takes a whole day, so do not squeeze it into the same day as Fengdu.

• Shuanggui Mountain: a national forest park just across from Mingshan, full of trees and quiet.
• Xiaoguanshan old houses: old homes turned into a folk culture park.
• Xueyu Cave: a national 4A scenic area, named in 2005 as one of “China's most beautiful tourist caves”. If you want it on the same day as Mingshan, the guide fits it in around how the day is going.
• For getting to Wulong, see our Wulong guide.

Do Three Gorges cruises stop at Fengdu?

Many Three Gorges cruises from Chongqing to Yichang stop at Fengdu on the second day, so passengers can go ashore and see the Ghost City. But not every ship stops, and some list the Ghost City as an optional extra you pay for. If your ship already includes the Ghost City, there is no need to make a separate trip. If your ship does not stop, or you would rather not go round with a big group, plan a separate day before or after the cruise.

• For which ship stops where and how to board, see boarding a Three Gorges cruise in Chongqing.

FAQ