Burial Customs

Suspended Coffins have attracted cruisers and tourists to the three gorges. When traveling along the three Gorges, you will see many coffins in the caves high on the cliff. It is said that it was a custom for the local Ba people to bury their respected ones, head of the tribe or brave warriors. It is still a myth that how they can put a heavy coffin on the sheer cliffs without modern tech.

Suspended coffins can be found in thirteen provinces and autonomous regions, including Sichuan in the Southwest and Fujian in the Southeast. It was an ancient custom of some minority nationalities inhabiting the mountainous areas of southern China. As a great amount of artifacts have survived in these coffins, close attention is being paid to the study of this form of burial. A symposium on burial in suspended coffins was held in GongCounty in 1981, sponsored by some organizations concerned and participated by specialists. The study is still going on.