Hanging Coffins of Longhu Mountain

Hanging Coffins of Longhu Mountain

According to research data, the cliff burial coffins on Longhu Mountain date back over 2,600 years, making them the oldest, most numerous, with the most valuable unearthed artifacts, and situated in the most perilous locations among all cliff tomb complexes in China. These cliff tombs are embedded in steep cliffs, with caves scattered across the rock face at varying heights, countless in number, resembling cultural treasures displayed in a grand historical corridor. The thirteen-stringed zither and oblique loom components unearthed from the Longhu Mountain cliff tombs predate historical records by more than a thousand years.

Longhu Mountain was traditionally inhabited by the ancient Yue people. These towering cliffs rise over 100 meters high, overlooking deep abysses. With the coffins weighing thousands of pounds, how were they placed in such precarious spots? Who were the individuals buried in these cliff tombs? Why did the ancient Yue people adopt such cave burials in sheer cliffs? What kind of customs lie behind these layers of mystery?

The millennia-old mystery of the cliffside coffins has become one of the great wonders in the history of world culture, shrouding the Longhu Mountain cliff tombs in an aura of mystique and giving rise to various myths and legends: some say the items in the caves were hoisted up by immortals using golden threads; others claim the caves contain wordless sacred texts or treasures of gold and silver.

For thousands of years, the hanging coffins sealed within the caves of Longhu Mountain have stood silently, witnessing the transformation of seas into mulberry fields. The local people of Longhu Mountain, generation after generation, have faced these coffins suspended 20 to over 100 meters above the stream, unable to decipher their secrets, and could only interpret the age-old mystery through various fantastical legends. It wasn’t until 1978, when archaeological teams from Jiangxi Province began excavating and clearing these ancient tombs that had hung for a millennium, that the first veil of mystery was lifted.

In 1978, archaeologists invited local herb gatherers skilled in rock climbing to descend into the caves using ropes, retrieving some artifacts. After expert scientific analysis, these were confirmed to be relics from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. In 1979, the archaeological team conducted a second excavation using a layered scaffolding method, recovering 39 coffins, 16 sets of human remains, and over 290 precious artifacts. Among them, the unearthed textile machine components and some fabrics rewrote the history of Chinese textiles, pushing back the history of oblique looms and printed textiles by nearly 700 years.

Here, there is a “Coffin Ascension” performance every day at 12:00 noon, though it lasts only about ten minutes. The entire process is thrilling and performed by local farmers native to the area. However, as explained during the on-site presentation, this is just a modern hypothesis—the true method of how the hanging coffins were placed high on the cliffs remains an eternal mystery.