Chengjiang Fossil Site

Chengjiang Fossil Site

Chengjiang animal fossil group is located in Maotian mountain, 5 km east of Chengjiang County. The discovery of this fossil group has caused a sensation in the international scientific community. It is known as "rare in the history of modern paleontology in the world" and "one of the most amazing scientific discoveries in the 20th century". It can be called a national treasure. It is a precious treasure of Yunnan and even the whole country, and a golden key to reveal the mystery of Cambrian "big bang of life". On January 14, 2011, the Chinese government submitted the application materials to the UNESCO World Heritage site, marking that Chengjiang fossil site has officially become China's 2011 World Heritage application project. On July 1, 2012, the 36th World Heritage Committee meeting held in St. Petersburg, Russia announced that China's Chengjiang fossil site would be included in the world heritage list.

Brief introduction of fossil group

In the 1830s, Darwin predicted in his famous book the origin of species: "if someone challenges my theory in the future, it is likely to come from the explanation of the sudden emergence of a large number of Cambrian animals.".

The world-famous Chengjiang fauna is mainly buried in the hilly area on the East Bank of Fuxian Lake in Chengjiang. It is 63 kilometers away from Kunming, the provincial capital, and 11 kilometers away from Chengjiang County. After more than ten years of collection and excavation, the buried area is about 18 square kilometers. Maotian mountain, Ma'anshan, Luoli mountain and dapotou are the concentrated areas of Chengjiang fauna. Chengjiang fauna is a treasure house of animal fossils for the study of the early life evolution of the earth. It has been hailed as "the most amazing scientific discovery in the 20th century" by the international paleontological community, and Chengjiang has been hailed as "the holy land of world paleontology". In May 1997, it was designated as a provincial nature reserve by Yunnan Provincial People's government. In November 1998, it was designated as a provincial patriotic education base by Yunnan provincial Party committee and provincial people's government. It was also approved as a National Geopark in March 2001. It has been listed by UNESCO in the "preliminary list of global geological sites" which "represents the main historical stages of the earth and includes prominent patterns of life records".

The Chengjiang fauna was first discovered by Hou Xianguang, a former researcher of Nanjing Institute of Geology and paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, on the west slope of Maotian mountain in July 1984. After that, paleontologists from Nanjing, Xi'an, Kunming and Beijing collected Chengjiang Fauna on a large scale. Over the past 17 years, more than 30000 pieces of Chengjiang animal fossils have been collected, and a series of remarkable achievements have been made. The Chengjiang fauna is mainly composed of invertebrate fossils of many phyla. The phyla is quite rich and well preserved. There are more than 40 phyla and more than 180 species of animals found, including not only a large number of sponges, coelenterates, brachiopods, annelids and arthropods, but also some rare animals that are rarely known, as well as all kinds of peculiar shapes, It is difficult to classify the fossils into any known phylum.

At the same time, the discovery and research of Chengjiang fauna have proved that from the lower sponges to the higher chordates, almost all the extant phyla and many extinct animal groups can be found in Chengjiang fauna. Therefore, the Chengjiang fauna provides a reliable basis of important scientific value for the study of the anatomical structure, functional morphology, living habits, systematic evolution, ecological environment, burial conditions and preservation methods of Early Cambrian animals.

Since the discovery of Chengjiang fauna, more than 130 scientific papers and more than 10 monographs have been published in famous journals at home and abroad. In order to adapt to the influx of young people and the general public to understand the Chengjiang fauna, the Chengjiang animal fossils office and the Beijing Museum of natural history have jointly compiled a popular reading "exploring ancient life", which has been purchased by visitors. According to the requirements of visitors, the Chengjiang animal fossils office has organized professionals to collect and write in-depth, and has compiled the Chengjiang fauna the most amazing scientific discovery in the 20th century. The pamphlet focuses on the achievements of paleontologists in the study of the Chengjiang fauna, the significance of the discovery of the Chengjiang Fauna and the detailed introduction of the genera and species of the Chengjiang fauna, so that visitors and investigators can understand the general picture of the Chengjiang fauna from its discovery to the present.

The 36th World Heritage conference was held in St. Petersburg from June 24 to July 6. The Chengjiang fossil site in Yunnan, China, was also listed on the world heritage list on July 1, local time, following the voting on the 29th to list the site of Shangdu in Yuan Dynasty in the world heritage list.

history

On July 1, 1984, Hou Xianguang, a researcher of Nanjing Institute of Geology and paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, discovered the "narovian" fossil in Maotian mountain, Chengjiang County, revealing to mankind the Early Cambrian world that had been sleeping for 530 million years. China, Yunnan, Yuxi, Chengjiang and Maotian mountain have gained great reputation and spread all over the world.

In the 10 years after 1984, more than 50 paleontologists from more than 10 countries collected about 50000 fossils in Maotian mountain area of Chengjiang. So far, paleontologists have found more than 80 species of animals in more than 40 categories.

On April 23, 1991, the New York Times, the most authoritative and influential magazine in the United States, introduced the discovery of the Maotian mountain fauna in China with a front page headline and beautiful pictures. It is pointed out that the discovery of Maotianshan fauna in China is one of the most amazing scientific discoveries in this century.

On August 2, 1996, CCTV news broadcast a piece of news that made every Chinese intoxicated: the animal fossil group found in Chengjiang, Yunnan Province is one of the most amazing discoveries of human beings in the 20th century. Then "focus interview" made a panoramic and multi-level in-depth report on Maotian mountain and its fossil producing area in Chengjiang County.

Science, an American authoritative academic journal published in January 2001, comprehensively introduced the current situation of paleontological research in China. It is believed that the Chengjiang fossils in Yunnan brought about the appearance of vertebrates 60 million years in advance. These fossils help paleontologists confirm the Cambrian explosion about 530 million years ago.

type

Maotian mountain is 56km away from Kunming, 87km away from Yuxi City and 6km away from Chengjiang County. The whole fossil burial zone is serpentine with a width of 4.5km and a depth of 50m. The protected area is 18km, of which the core area is 1.2km2. So far, more than 30 fossil sites have been found, and more than 30000 pieces of fossils have been collected. According to scientific identification, there are more than 100 species of paleontological fossils in 40 categories, covering all categories of modern life. Many new species of animals that existed in large numbers in the past and have now been extinct have been found, which are beyond the existing animal classification system. They can only be named after the excavation place names, such as Fuxian Lake insects and Maotian mountain Haikou fish, the oldest vertebrate on the earth, has recently emerged in Haikou of Dianchi Lake at the junction of Yuxi and Kunming. Its structure and function are more complex than those of Yunnan. Among the fossil animals found in the world, Haikou fish has the most special categories, the best burial and preservation, the most exquisite appearance and the best quality. It is a rare treasure animal fossil. According to scientific research, it is considered to be the originator of the important evolutionary tree and chain of fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and human beings.

tourist guide

The Chengjiang fauna

Bus: you can take a taxi in the county.

Self driving: the whole journey is about 9.9 km.

Chengjiang bus station 1. From the starting point to the East, drive 350 meters along Huancheng North Road, turn right into Huancheng East Road.

2. Drive 590 meters along Huancheng East Road and turn left.

3. Drive 2.7 km and turn right ahead.

4. Drive 890 meters, turn right ahead and enter the roundabout.

5. Drive 50 meters around the island, take the third exit and go straight.

6. Drive 2.1km and turn left slightly.

7. Drive 230 meters and turn left ahead.

8. Drive 2.4km and turn left ahead.

9. Drive 550 meters to reach the terminal point (on the left side of the road) Chengjiang fauna.

The Chengjiang fauna

Admission: 20 yuan

Address: Maotian mountain, 5km east of Chengjiang County, Yuxi City

Longitude: 102.968168

Latitude: 24.656772

Chinese PinYin : Cheng Jiang Dong Wu Hua Shi Qun