Chongqing Natural History Museum

　　    Chongqing Natural History Museum is a comprehensive natural history museum in China, located on Pipa Mountain in Chongqing. It was formerly the Western China Science Institute. In 1944, the Western China Museum was founded, and after 1949, it was successively renamed as the Southwest People’s Science Museum, the Natural Museum of the Southwest Museum, and the Natural Department of the Chongqing Museum. In 1981, it was renamed to its current title.

　　    The museum houses nearly 70,000 specimens of geological minerals, paleontology, animals, plants, soil, and Paleolithic artifacts, including over 100 type specimens and other rare specimens. It has a collection of representative dinosaur fossil specimens from various taxonomic groups and time periods in the Sichuan region, with eight mounted skeletal displays. Additionally, it holds over 100 dinosaur footprint fossil specimens. Among them, the Weishi Chinese ancient turtle (Late Jurassic) is one of the world’s earliest discovered turtle fossils; the snake-necked turtle specimen is a rare find outside Europe; the Chengyu turtle represents the earliest known turtle in China and is also rare in global records—its fossil is of great significance for studying early turtle evolution. Animal specimens include nationally protected species such as the giant panda, takin, golden monkey, red panda, snow leopard, tufted deer, Lady Amherst’s pheasant, and Chinese giant salamander (baby fish). The plant collection includes 221 families, over 1,500 genera, and more than 2,400 species, many of which are rare plant specimens.

　　    The museum’s collection also encompasses over 100,000 specimens across eight disciplines: animals, plants, paleontology, paleoanthropology, Paleolithic artifacts, geology and minerals, rocks, and soil. Especially notable are the Mesozoic paleontological fossils, such as various dinosaur bones, footprints, eggs, as well as ichthyosaurs, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, fish, birds, plants, and invertebrates from different eras. Both the quantity and quality of these collections rank among the top in similar museums nationwide. There are already 15 mounted dinosaur skeletal fossil specimens on display. The Paleolithic and paleoanthropology specimens exceed 1,000 items, including human fossils and Gigantopithecus fauna from the early Pleistocene era around 2 million years ago, unearthed in Wushan, which are important specimens for studying human origins.

　　    The museum also holds over 2,000 species and 4,000 specimens of extant animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, and insects, covering most of the nationally protected rare animal species. The plant collection includes 215 families, 1,246 genera, and over 2,230 species, among which 46 nationally protected species such as Cathaya argyrophylla, Alsophila spinulosa, Davidia involucrata, and Metasequoia glyptostroboides are preserved. Leveraging its rich exhibits, the museum frequently hosts large-scale permanent and traveling exhibitions. These include the “Dinosaur Fossil Exhibition,” “Vertebrate Exhibition,” “Butterfly Exhibition,” and “Ancient Life Wonders – Paleontology Evolution and Dinosaur Knowledge Exhibition.” The museum has organized special exhibitions such as the “Sichuan Dinosaur Fossil Exhibition,” “Sichuan Vertebrate Exhibition,” “Biological Evolution Exhibition,” and “Return Exhibition of Dinosaur Fossils Displayed Overseas.”

　　    Additionally, there are teaching reference rooms for plants and animals, along with other temporary exhibitions.