Hanging coffins in China are known in Mandarin as xuanguan () which also means "hanging coffin". They are an ancient funeral custom of some ethnic minorities. The most famous hanging coffins are those which were made by the Bo people (now extinct) of Sichuan and Yunnan. Coffins of various shapes were mostly carved from one whole piece of wood. Hanging coffins either lie on beams projecting outward from vertical faces such as mountains, are placed in caves in the face of cliffs, or sit on natural rock projections on mountain faces.
