Folklore, Urban Legends, Myths, etc.

The last bus toBeijing's Fragrant Hills

On November 14, 1995, a dark night and possibly stormy night, a young man boarded the last bus heading to Beijing’s Fragrant Hills, located in Haidian District. 

Shortly after the man boarded the route 302 bus, two men tried to wave the bus down. The bus driver was initially reluctant to pick the men up because they weren’t waiting at a bus stop, however the driver decided to stop after the conductor reminded him that it was the last bus.  

Once the mysterious roadside men were on board, passengers were surprised to see they were wearing some pretty badass Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) robes and that there were actually three men – one, with long messy hair,  being supported by the two roadside creepers. 

As the story goes, the men’s faces were much whiter than a normal person’s and they didn’t interact with any of the passengers on the bus. Naturally, commuters were a bit uneasy with the whole situation, but the conductor cooled things over by telling them they were likely actors who had no time to change costumes before leaving work. 

Slowly the bus began to empty of passengers, until only an old lady and the young man remained inside with the mystery men. All was quiet until the old woman abruptly accused the man of stealing her wallet – a claim that resulted in an intense argument. The quarrel was resolved when the old lady insisted the pair get off the bus and go to the nearest police station. 

Once off the bus, the young man grew enraged with the old woman, realizing he had just got off the last bus and that there was no police station in sight. Fortunately for the young man, the elderly woman picked up on something he had missed – the three robed men did not have legs and, by default, must have been ghosts.

"The wind coming in from the window raised their robes, and I saw they didn't have feet!" the old lady told the man. The story never does divulge much about what happened to the pair after leaving the bus – but if what happens next is true, then the young man owes his life to the old women.

The following morning the 302 bus was reported missing and, according to some variations of the story, it would be three days until it was found. The bus was eventually recovered in a reservoir miles away from its final destination at Fragrant Hills and inside it were three heavily decomposed bodies – the driver, the conductor and one unidentified body with lengthy, unkempt hair. In some versions of this tale, police found that the gas tank was filled with blood instead of petrol.