Geological Park of the Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis Fossil Site

Geological Park of the Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis Fossil Site

Shuijun Mountain, located 500 meters west of Shanghuang Town. It is here that the fossils of Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis, the world’s earliest known higher primate ancestor, were discovered.

Lufengpithecus lived during the Middle Eocene epoch, around 45 million years ago—10 million years earlier than similar finds in North Africa. The discovery of Lufengpithecus bone fossils originated from quarrying operations in the mid-20th century. At that time, local people often used fossils found in the yellow clay of stone crevices to stop bleeding or treat injuries, unaware that these freely exposed fossil clusters held world-shaking remains.

By 1985, paleoanthropologist Lin Yipu had found some ancient mammal fossils in the stone crevice accumulations at the Shuijun Mountain quarry in Shanghuang Town, Liyang County (now Liyang City). Upon returning to Beijing, he provided these fossils to Qi Tao, an expert on Paleogene mammals at his institute. Qi Tao identified some of the teeth as being similar to those of the ancient musk deer found in Inner Mongolia, leading him to conclude that the animal possessing these teeth lived during the Early Tertiary period (between 65 million and 24 million years ago). Qi Tao's research caught the attention of American colleagues. Starting in 1992, a joint research team was formed, including renowned American paleo-vertebrate paleontologist Dr. Mary Dawson from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and paleoprimatologist Christopher Beard, together with Chinese experts Qi Tao, Wang Banyue, Li Chuanqui, and Guo Jianwei from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. The team conducted further field investigations in the Shanghuang area and surrounding regions, conducting in-depth studies of the Shanghuang fauna rich in primates and related animal groups. Subsequent work led to the discovery of at least four species of higher primates, one of which was named Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis, while the other three required further excavation and study due to insufficient material at the time.

The dedicated and painstaking scientific exploration by Chinese and foreign scientists also left behind many interesting anecdotes. For example, the story of the American expert’s “wedding ring.” During a fossil excavation in 1992, Christopher Beard accidentally dropped the wedding ring given to him by his wife into the stone crevices and mud, and despite extensive searching, it could not be found. The American expert shook his head and, resigned yet amused, spread his hands and said, “Wow, the ‘Uncle Sam’ in Shuijun Mountain must be a spirit—it might be Lufengpithecus playing hide-and-seek with me, joking around, and taking my wedding ring with my wife. Well, alright then, let it stay as a souvenir, a token of the friendship between American and Chinese scientists, and also a sign of our humble dedication to our human ancestors!” This golden bond of the overseas expert couple thus remains hidden within the Lufengpithecus tribe of Shuijun Mountain.

The Lufengpithecus fossils date back to the Middle Eocene epoch, about 45 million years ago—nearly 10 million years earlier than the higher primates of Fayum. The term “shu yuan” (曙猿), meaning “dawn ape,” signifies “the dawn of the suborder Anthropoidea.”

In 1994, Professor Qi Tao of China and Christopher Beard and Mary Dawson from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in the United States co-authored the paper “A New Primate Fauna from Middle Eocene Liangshan Beds at Shanghuang, South China,” which was published in the authoritative British journal Nature, causing a sensation worldwide. The higher primates unearthed in Shanghuang, particularly Lufengpithecus, along with the 63 mammal species of the associated Shanghuang fauna, all lived 45 million years ago during the Middle Eocene. Before this major discovery, higher primates had only been found in Egypt and Algeria, leading the academic community to believe that all higher primates, including humans, originated in North Africa around 36 million years ago. The Lufengpithecus of Shanghuang predates those in North Africa by 8 to 10 million years. Therefore, Lufengpithecus is the earliest known higher primate in the world and the common ancestor of all higher primates, including humans. The birthplace of primates is in Liyang, China, in Shanghuang, China—not in North Africa.

The discovery of Lufengpithecus fossils in Shanghuang has attracted great attention from experts worldwide. Professor Jia Lanpo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the excavators of Peking Man at Zhoukoudian, Beijing, said: “The discovery of the Shanghuang fauna, especially the ancestors of higher primates, is as significant as the discovery of Peking Man. It is another extremely important paleontological find in China in the 20th century.”

In 1997, to enhance the development of Tianmu Lake tourist attractions, the Liyang Municipal Government built the “Lufengpithecus Museum” within the Tianmu Lake scenic area, attracting both domestic and international visitors who lingered in awe. The current Geological Park of the Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis Fossil Site at Shuijun Mountain in Shanghuang has been designated as a Jiangsu Provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit. Construction is being accelerated, with parts of the exhibition hall, suspension bridges, sculptures, and other facilities already completed. Supporting projects involving sound, light, and electrical effects are also under planning and initiation.

Liyang City has constructed a north-south “Lufeng Avenue” that leads directly to the Changdang Lake Scenic Area and connects the Geological Park of the Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis Fossil Site at Shuijun Mountain with the Changdang Lake National Wetland Park in Liyang, Jiangsu. This forms an integrated tourism circle combining landscapes, classic sites, and food experiences.

Shanghuang Town: Located in the northeast of Liyang City, 18 kilometers from downtown Liyang, Shanghuang Town is a tri-junction area shared by Liyang, Yixing, and Jintan. The town covers a total area of 47 square kilometers, governs 8 administrative villages and 1 neighborhood committee, with a total population of 26,500. Shanghuang is embraced by mountains and water, boasting a beautiful environment.

Shanghuang is endowed with the simple charm of rural life. Historically part of Yixing County and governed under Changzhou Prefecture, it was reassigned to Liyang in March 1950 due to county boundary adjustments after the liberation. According to the Huang family genealogy: During the Southern Song Dynasty, General Huang Dui, a subordinate of Yue Fei, retired to this area to live in seclusion after Yue Fei was wrongfully killed by the treacherous official Qin Hui... More detailed information about Shanghuang Town++