Bellows Gorge

Bellows Gorge

About two kilometers down from Baidi City, on the yellow brown stone wall on the North Bank of the river, there are several broken rock cracks. At the height of the rock cracks, there are things that look like bellows. It is said that it is the bellows of Luban, so people call this section of Canyon bellows gorge.

The origin of the name

The wind box gorge is a dangerous and steep cliff, which is yellowish brown. No green plants can be seen on it. On the cliff, there are several gaps, some deep and some shallow. From a distance, in a large gap, there was a stack of rectangular wooden boxes, which looked like bellows. There is a legend that the bellows here were stored in Luban at that time.

Historical legend

Of course, this is not the bellows left by Luban, but the hanging coffin left by ancient Ba people who were older than Luban. The answer to this mystery was not clear until 1971. In this year, three brave herb collectors risked their lives to climb into the gap of bellows gorge, thus revealing the mystery of bellows. The collectors also found the remains of Ba people, Ba style swords, copper axes and other cultural relics. The discovery of the three collectors provides valuable material for the study of ancient Ba culture and even the ancient culture of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

The best place to see "bellows" is on the plank road in the gorge. "Bellows" cliff about 10 meters high, ordinary people are not easy to climb, let alone put the "bellows" up. Because this "bellows" is amazing, it has always attracted those who have the courage to explore and adventure. It is said that at the end of the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, some people succeeded in climbing and took down a rock object, which was "made of wood with a hollow button". When the winner was sold to Fengjie, he was found by the county magistrate and arrested. He was forced to return to the original place to avoid blasphemy. In 1971, two more herbalists joined forces to climb the "bellows" and finally solved the mystery of the "bellows". It turns out that the so-called "bellows" are actually rock coffins in the Warring States period or the Qin and Han Dynasties. In this excavation, two wooden coffins were found, including Ba Style Copper sword, copper axe, wooden scabbard, straw sandals, four baht and a half Liang coins in the early Han Dynasty.

Rock coffin burial

Rock coffin burial is a kind of ancient local burial custom. From the Western Han Dynasty to the northern and Southern Dynasties, Sichuan was the most popular area. There were many stone coffins on both sides of Qutang gorge. In addition to the wind box gorge, there were more cultural relics found in the armour cave stone coffin on the other side. Several hanging coffins in this cave were found in 1958, including Ba style willow leaf sword, copper shoes, wooden comb and other precious cultural relics.

"Bellows" near the cave height, there are two rock burial. How many wooden coffins there are in these two caves, how many cultural relics are hidden in the caves, and how the ancients shelved them are still a mystery.

Address: in the qutangxia scenic spot of Fengjie, Chongqing, Baidi city is about two kilometers down

Longitude: 109.59136962891

Latitude: 31.035579681396

Ticket information: no ticket required.

Chinese PinYin : Feng Xiang Xia