Stone Money Beach

Stone Money Beach

Stone Money Beach

Stone Money Beach Stone Money Beach lies hidden in the most secluded part of General’s Gobi, located 5 kilometers southeast of Shuangjingzi in General’s Gobi. It is an ancient fossil treasure trove with a 300-million-year geological evolutionary history. According to geological experts, more than 200 types of paleontological fossils have been found here, including various corals, brachiopods, gastropods, cephalopods, trilobites, bryozoans, and more. Among them, newly discovered species named according to international nomenclature include Stone Money Beach Blood Clam and Stone Money Beach Prickly Clam. Since 1930, geological experts and exploration teams have repeatedly discovered and collected numerous paleontological fossils in the Shuangjingzi area. One particularly precious fossil type is a single-celled organism that once thrived abundantly during the Carboniferous to Permian periods, serving as one of the key indicators of that geological stage. This has led to the conclusion that the strata of Stone Money Beach consist of biogenic limestone and calcareous sandstone from the Middle Carboniferous Shuangjingzi Formation. Its discovery confirms the existence of Carboniferous marine strata in the General’s Gobi region, thereby indicating the presence of rich, developable underground resource reserves.

The stone money left behind by ancient times—thin stone slabs with round outer edges and a central round or square hole—could easily be mistaken for ancient coins if not for their stony texture. These “stone coins” are scattered across vast stretches of the Gobi Desert, too numerous to count like stars in the sky. In 1913, British explorer Aurel Stein, after enduring great hardships to reach this place, was amazed by the abundance of these stone coins—fossils of sea lily stems. He revealed this significant discovery to the world and named the site Stone Money Beach.