Mythical Lands
Mythical Lands articles and guides
Kunlun Mountain: The Paradise at the Center of the World
Home of the Queen Mother of the West, garden of immortality, and axis of the cosmos — Kunlun is Chinese mythology's most sacred mountain.
Penglai Island: The Legendary Isle of Immortals
Floating in the eastern seas, shrouded in mist, home to the immortals — Penglai is the most enchanting mythical place in Chinese tradition.
The Fusang Tree: Where the Suns Rise and the World Begins
A colossal tree in the eastern ocean where ten suns roost — the Fusang Tree is one of Chinese mythology's most spectacular cosmic images.
Mythical Lands of the Shanhaijing: Places That Should Not Exist
The Shanhaijing describes lands where people have no stomachs, where trees grow jade, where the sun rises from a valley of boiling water. These places are not real — but they tell us something real about how ancient Chinese people imagined the world.
The Ruomu Tree: Where the Suns Set
If Fusang is where the suns rise, Ruomu is where they rest — the western world tree of Chinese mythology.