According to legend, Fengdu got its name of Ghost City during the Eastern Han dynasty, when two imperial officials, Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping, came to Ming Mountain to practice Taoism and in the process became immortals. The combination of their names, Yinwang, means "King of Hell" and that was the beginning of the site's focus on the underworld. Many of the temples and shrines show paintings and sculptures of people being tortured for their sins.
