Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley (Dinosaur National Geological Park)

Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley (Dinosaur National Geological Park)

Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley (Dinosaur National Geological Park) is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a national geological park, and a science education base.

The World Dinosaur Valley scenic area is a science-themed tourism base and dinosaur culture theme park built to national 4A-level tourism standards. It is centered around the fossilized dinosaur bone burial site in the stone strata of the “China Yunnan Lufeng Dinosaur National Geological Park.” It combines science education, research, sightseeing, and entertainment, aiming to be a “first-class in China, renowned worldwide” destination.

Visitors from around the world can step into the kingdom of dinosaurs, travel back to the Jurassic era, explore the rise and fall of life on Earth, and witness the spectacular wonders preserved for hundreds of millions of years.

Lufeng is a small inland basin with a long history, situated at an altitude of 1,579 meters. The basin is covered with red rock layers up to two kilometers thick, which geological experts have confirmed were deposited during the Jurassic period. The deeper layers of the red strata are called the Lower Lufeng Formation. In 1938, geologist and paleontologist Bian Meiyu and vertebrate fossil collector Wang Cunyi accidentally discovered exposed dinosaur fossils while conducting geological surveys along the section of the Burma Road under construction in Lufeng.

In 1939, Yang Zhongjian, a founding figure in Chinese paleontological research and then head of the Beiping branch of the Central Geological Survey, excavated China’s first complete dinosaur fossil specimen—the “Lufengosaurus huenei”—from Dawashan in Lufeng. It was assembled and displayed in Chongqing, earning Lufeng the title “Hometown of Dinosaurs in China.”

Over the next 60-plus years, Chinese and international paleontologists continuously conducted research and excavations in Lufeng. More than 38 species of ancient vertebrates were discovered within the Lower Lufeng Formation, establishing the Lufeng Sauropod-Dinosaur Assemblage—the most primitive and ancient vertebrate fossil group in the world today. As a result, the Lufeng Basin gained a significant place in paleontology, becoming an important site for studying the early evolution of reptiles, especially prosauropod dinosaurs, as well as the origins of mammals. Any paleontology textbook will feature records of Lufeng dinosaurs.

On Dinosaur Mountain in Chuanjie, a young farmer using a hoe unearthed the world’s largest late Middle Jurassic dinosaur graveyard to date—a real “Jurassic world” that existed 160 million years ago. This massive dinosaur site spans 10,000 square meters and contains the remains of over 600 dinosaurs. It is the first dinosaur fossil site discovered in the Upper Lufeng Formation, which is higher stratigraphically than the Lower Lufeng Formation. Dinosaur fossils from this era are rarely preserved across continents, making this discovery highly significant for studying the morphological characteristics of late Middle Jurassic dinosaurs and providing crucial background information for establishing the evolutionary sequence of dinosaurs. The survey also revealed that dinosaur fossils are distributed across the Early, Middle, and Late Jurassic strata in the Chuanjie Basin, with such abundance that they could form the basis for a distinct Chuanjie Dinosaur Assemblage.

The discovery of two different dinosaur fossil assemblages in the upper and lower layers of the same stratigraphic system (the Jurassic system) in the same location (the Chuanjie Basin) is currently unique in the world. It also proves that dinosaurs never left the area and that Lufeng remained a paradise for them until the late Middle Jurassic.

In 2008, guided by the principles of “in-situ protection, sustainable utilization, science communication, and shared heritage for humanity,” the World Dinosaur Valley scenic area was established. It not only provides scientists from around the world with a permanent site for exploring and deciphering the code of life but also offers visitors from all over the world a once-in-a-million-years opportunity to step into the Jurassic era, experience a global wonder, and engage in face-to-face interaction with dinosaurs.

Address: World Dinosaur Valley Scenic Area, Chuanjie, Lufeng County

Type: Theme Park

Rating: AAAA

Recommended Visiting Time: 2–3 hours

Phone: 0878-8985598; 0878-8985777

Official Website: http://www.konglonggu.com/

Opening Hours:

8:00-17:30

Ticket Information:

Door Price: 120.0 RMB; Student Ticket: 60 RMB; Battery Car: 20 RMB