The hanging coffins

The suspended coffins are the coffins hung on the bluff of the precipice. The coffins are usually hung 33 to 164 feet high and some even as high as 328 feet above the ground. Along the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and the Three Little Gorges of the Daning River, the ancient suspended coffins can be commonly seen. Like the ancient plank road, it is also a mystery that puzzles numerous people.

The coffins are usually built in three ways. One is the stake style. Two or three holes are chiseled on the bluff in which stakes are inserted to support the coffin. A second way is to chisel caves on the bluff and put the coffins in directly. And another is to put the coffins directly in the natural caves or cracks between the two cliffs.

The coffins are usually built in three ways. One is the stake style. Two or three holes are chiseled on the bluff in which stakes are inserted to support the coffin. A second way is to chisel caves on the bluff and put the coffins in directly. And another is to put the coffins directly in the natural caves or cracks between the two cliffs.

Research has found that the suspended coffins are one of the funeral customs of the Pu People (people who lived around the Daning River 2,000 years ago).The higher the coffin is hung; the greater the filial piety is expressed.