Coffin Rock in Yichang

Less than 20 kilometres west of the Yiling District's Yichang Xiaoxi Tower, lays Coffin Rock, forming part of the scenery surrounding the Xinping River Valley, which flows as the western arm of the Huangbo River.

The greater Qingjiang River makes up for part of the scenery on which Coffin Rock exists, which was known as Yi Water (calm and safe) in the times during which the Ba nationality existed as the Tujia ethnic group and that is where the significance of Coffin Rock lies.

Coffin Rock refers to the caves that house some ancient coffins, which are rather precariously placed very high up in the cliffs of that part of the Xinping River, on both banks, with the ones housed on the eastern side relatively larger than those on the west bank cliff of the river.

Coffin Rock forms part of the popular tourist area of the Three Gorges, so there are a number of highlights to look forward to, apart from all the history attached to the Coffin Rock, which in itself is an adventure since the actual reasons as to why these coffins were stored so high up in the cliffs isn't really all that clear to historians and cultural experts alike.

It is indeed quite amazing how people of the ancient times managed to get over 30 old coffins more 100 metres up into the cliff, so that is a photographic moment not to be missed, but one should be sure to have a look on both the east and west sides, since the coffins occur on both sides of the river bank cliff.

The three most visible coffins are those which are housed in the lower cave on the western side of the river bank cliff, so if one really can't make out some of the other ones (which isn't possible if you look hard enough), at least you can come away with the image of those three, to add to the element of mystery surrounding the area, if ever it needed any adding to.

Take the long distance bus which heads in the direction of Xiangshan and terminate at Xiaofeng Stop, from whence a cruise is the best way to enjoy the scenery which includes the Coffin Rock.