With 8 “world firsts”! Where does Lufeng’s reputation as the “hometown of dinosaurs” come from?

The Anachuan Jielong on display at Kunming Changshui Airport from August 2023 to August 2024

If the 4.5 billion years of Earth's history were compressed into 24 hours, the time it took for humans to evolve to where we are today would have taken only 7.7 seconds, while the dinosaurs ruled the Earth for 51 minutes.

Time has been plating layers upon layers on the land of Lufeng City, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province for nearly 200 million years, sealing the Triassic and Jurassic dinosaurs in the layers of time, casting a long, complete and spectacular dinosaur epic. We are discovering their freshness bit by bit, piecing together the secrets of 180 million years ago.

Lufeng dinosaurs currently have eight "world firsts".

The fossil unearthed landscape of the Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley Exhibition Hall Site Section

The dinosaur fossils found in Lufeng prove that the dinosaurs that lived in Lufeng spanned the early, middle and late Jurassic periods from 135 million to 200 million years ago. The fossils from the Early and Middle Jurassic periods are the most complete, covering the survival and evolutionary trajectory of dinosaurs in the Jurassic period, and the span of their survival time is the longest in the world.

Lufeng is the first place in the world where many types of dinosaurs coexist in one place . The dinosaur fossils in Lufeng are unique in the world. Dinosaur faunas from the early, middle and late Jurassic periods were found in the same area. The evolution from prosauropods to sauropods and theropods, as well as herbivorous dinosaurs, carnivorous dinosaurs, vertebrate fossils and invertebrate fossils are buried in the same place. This is a rare wonder, which means that dinosaurs of different types and periods existed in this area for 60 million years. This is the only place in the world and can be called a miracle in the history and evolution of the earth.

The Lufeng dinosaur fossils are the best in the world in terms of their completeness . The Lufeng dinosaur fossils are in very good condition, with even the small tail vertebrae, toe bones, and the most fragile ribs and even the abdominal pleura being well preserved, with very clear bone patterns. Currently, more than 70% of the dozens of dinosaur skeletons excavated and mounted are well preserved.

Fossils collected in the Dawa Dinosaur Fossil No. 1 Conservation Hall in Chengbei, Lufeng City (only part of the tail vertebrae is missing)

Lufeng has the highest concentration of dinosaur burial areas in the world . The distribution patterns and characteristics of dinosaur fossils in Lufeng are very obvious, especially in Dinosaur Mountain Town. More than 20 dinosaur skeleton fossils and snake-necked turtle fossils have been exposed on the excavated 3,000 square meters of sections alone. There may be more dinosaurs and other ancient fossils buried under the unexcavated slopes. It is recognized by Chinese and foreign scholars as a unique high-density dinosaur fossil burial site, which can be called a "treasure house of dinosaur fossils." Keith Rigby, a famous American dinosaur expert and professor at St. Mary's University who participated in the research and excavation, said: "The discovery of so many fossils in such a small area has irrefutably proved that Lufeng Chuanjie is the place with the most concentrated and richest known dinosaur fossils in the world, and the highest research value."

Lufeng has the most dinosaur species in the world . Since the first Lufengosaurus fossil was discovered in 1938, it has gone through 80 years of ups and downs. Over the past 80 years, hundreds of complete and scattered dinosaur skeleton fossils have been unearthed in Lufeng, which are displayed and protected in some museums and scientific research institutes at home and abroad; 16 genera and 36 species of dinosaurs have been studied, recorded and named, covering dinosaur fossils from the early, middle and late Jurassic periods. It is the only place in the world today where so many dinosaur species have been found in the same area.

Fossils preserved in the warehouse of the Lufeng Dinosaur Fossil Science Education Base (Photo credit: Ge Ai)

The Lufeng dinosaurs are the first in the world to be mounted and displayed . In the Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley Site Museum, more than 40 skeletons of Lufengosaurus, Jinshanosaurus, Dilophosaurus, and Xixipoosaurus unearthed in Lufeng are mounted and displayed together. Visitors can look straight, upward, and overhead, and watch from multiple angles and up close. The magnificent scene is the first in the world in terms of number.

The world's first dinosaur stamp - "Lufengosaurus stamp" . The world's first dinosaur stamp was issued by the State Post Bureau on April 15, 1958. This set of "Chinese Paleontology" stamps, numbered Special 22, has a total of three stamps. The second stamp represents Mesozoic creatures, Lufengosaurus xu's. This is the first dinosaur stamp issued in the world and is highly sought after by stamp collectors.

The world's first dinosaur stamp

The only place in the world with a "Dinosaur Festival" . With the continuous discovery of dinosaur fossils in Lufeng, Lufeng is known as the "Hometown of Dinosaurs" and dinosaurs have become Lufeng's brand.

The 23rd Dinosaur Cultural Tourism Festival in Lufeng (Photo courtesy of Lufeng Media Center)

Even if the bones of an ancient tribe have turned into stone and only a few feathers and horns remain, they have provided a world-class business card called "dinosaurs" for the later generations who were born on this land. Humans are not walking alone on the earth. We and dinosaurs are the children of this planet, and everything in the interlayer of time is a treasure stored for the later generations.