For our fifteenth episode we asked Jim Nobles, founder of Bizarre Beijing, to chat with us on some of China’s more haunting facets.
We cover a range of afterlife and ghoulish topics, from joss paper burnings going virtual due to growing awareness of environmental impacts to Chinese Ouija boards and supernatural beliefs, and of course there’s a smattering of local ghost stories woven in along the way. We hope you enjoy this seasonally-themed special: Beijing Ghost Stories and Chinese Supernatural Beliefs.
Listen to Episode 15:
Episode Overview:
- 02:41 – Mei’s go-to ghost
- 04:36 – Ghost culture in China
- 06:21 – Ghost marriages in China
- 07:19 – Chinese books that have influenced ghost stories
- 09:25 – Chinese Ouija board “bixian”
- 10:30 – Chinese burial traditions
- 13:43 – Chinese ghost festivals and supernatural beliefs
- 14:02 – Chinese joss paper burning
- 14:59 – Chinese vs Western supernatural beliefs
- 19:50 – A Chinese ghost story
- 24:03 – How Jim got interested in Chinese ghost stories and tales
- 25:38 – Haunted places in Beijing
- 27:23 – The story of Traveler Inn’s haunted restaurant in Beijing
- 28:28 – How local Chinese travelers feel about ghost tours
- 29:45 – What Bizarre Beijing is doing for Halloween in Beijing
You can also listen to The China Travel Podcast on:
Places, resources and tips mentioned in the podcast:
Ghost culture in China
- Liaozhai zhiyi (聊斋志异) – Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio
- Jiyi ji (集異記) – Records of the Collected Extraordinary written during the Tang Dynasty (9th Century)
- Bixian (笔仙) – Chinese Ouija board
- Some types of Chinese ghosts:
Hungry ghost – egui (饿鬼)
Female ghost – nvgui (女鬼)
Water ghost – shuigui (水鬼)
Weird ghost – yaogui (妖鬼)
Headless ghost – wutougui (无头鬼)
Beijing’s mass grave areas
- Fengtai (丰台区)
- Haidian ( 海淀区)
Related holidays in China
- Tomb Sweeping / Qingming Festival (清明节)
- Hungry Ghost Festival / Zhongyuan Festival (中元節)
Chinese supernatural beliefs
- Zhongshi (僵尸) – Chinese vampire/zombie
- Yaodao (妖道) – evil Daoist priest
Chinese ghost stories shared by Jim
- Beijing’s Bell Tower: the soul of the great bell from the Ming dynasty
- The Last Bus to Fragrant Hills
Haunted places in Beijing
- Southwest Beijing
- Caishikou (菜市口) – old execution grounds during Qing dynasty
- Xuanwumen (宣武门) – the gate of death
- Huguang Huiguan (湖广会馆) – opera guild hall
- Old Legation Quarter / The Badlands (as mentioned in Paul French’s book Midnight in Peking)
- 798 Art District
- Traveler Inn (华侨饭店) near Beixinqiao – listed in in the Michelin guide of haunted restaurants around the world.
