Fanghu

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Fanghu is one of five magical mountains in the Bohai Sea in Taoist mythology. It is also called Fanghu Mountain or Fangzhangzhou. The emperor Qin Shihuang is said to have visited Fanghu to seek immortality.

In the Bohai Sea there is a place where all water sources meet, called Guixu Valley. There are five sacred mountains there: Penglai, Fanghu, Yingzhou, Daiyu, and Yuanjiao. The mountains are home to xian (immortals) and flying beasts. Their tops are imagined as wide and flat, with terraces of gold, jade, and onyx. Eating the fruits from trees on these mountains could grant immortality and eternal youth.

To keep the mountains steady, the heavenly ruler ordered Yuqiang to direct fifteen ao to guard them. The fifteen ao were divided into three groups that swapped shifts every 60,000 years. Giants from the Longbo Kingdom could reach the mountains and take six ao for divination, burning the bones of the ao. As punishment, Daiyu and Yuanjiao floated away and sank, and billions of xian had to evacuate. The Longbo people were cursed to shrink in size over time.

Some say Fanghu is where dragons and xian who do not wish to ascend live. It is described as a peaceful land with acres of farms tended by the xian.

Emperor Qin Shihuang and other rulers sent envoys to seek an immortality elixir on the three Pengbo Shenshan—Fanghu, Penglai, and Yingzhou. From afar the mountains look like clouds; up close they seem to vanish and blow away approaching ships.

Qin Shihuang spent five years searching for the elixir and died before reaching them. His quest inspired Chinese garden design: gardens began to imitate the Bohai Shenshan with ponds and islands. The Han Dynasty built Jianzhang Palace as the first garden to include all three Bohai Mountains, and later gardens used the “one pond, three mountains” system. Fanghu Wonderland is one of the 40 famous scenes of the Old Summer Palace.