Guizhou Dragon Fossil Site

Guizhou Dragon Fossil Site

The Guizhou Dragon Fossil Site is a cultural tourism attraction.

Guizhou Dragon Fossil Site

The Guizhou Dragon Fossil Site is located in Lvyin Village, Dingxiao Town, Xingyi City. The Guizhou Dragon was an amphibious reptile that lived approximately 240 million years ago. In May 1957, Mr. Hu Chengzhi from the China Geological Museum discovered the fossil of this animal in Lvyin Village, Dingxiao, Xingyi. Later, after research by Professor Yang Zhongjian, then director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it was named “Hu’s Guizhousaurus from the genus Guizhousaurus of the family Guizhousauridae.” Since then, researchers have collected a large number of Guizhou Dragon fossils from the same area. Numerous fish fossils were also discovered and were respectively named “Dongfang Peltopleurus,” “Guizhou Sinokannemeyeria,” and “Xingyi Asiatosaurus,” among others.

Nearly a thousand fossil specimens of dragons and fish are currently preserved in relevant municipal and state departments. In April 1995, after appraisal by experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 226 of them were designated as national-level precious cultural relics. These include 17 first-grade dragon fossils, 35 second-grade, 112 third-grade, and 62 second- and third-grade fish fossils. On May 27 of the same year, the front page headline of Guangming Daily reported on the discovery, and subsequently many domestic and international broadcasts, TV programs, and newspapers covered the story, causing a sensation both in China and abroad regarding the Guizhou Dragon fauna fossils.

The Guizhou Dragon Museum is built within the Guizhou Dragon Fossil Site scenic area in Dingxiao, covering an area of 11 mu (approximately 0.73 hectares) with a construction area of 7,000 square meters. The museum’s name was inscribed by Academician Ouyang Ziyuan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is also the chief scientist of China’s lunar exploration program, the Chang’e Project. The museum not only displays various types of unearthed Guizhou Dragon fauna fossils and rock specimens but also uses charts, models, and modern audio, light, and electrical technologies to illustrate geological structures, crustal features, ancient geography, and other geological phenomena and patterns. On the mountain in Lvyin Village, Dingxiao, where the highest number of Guizhou Dragon fossils have been excavated, a Guizhou Dragon on-site science education center and a Guizhou Dragon Fossil Site Protected Area will also be established.