Qianxian Daily intern reporter Deng Zhongsheng
230 million years ago
The look of Qianxi Southwest
Have you ever wondered what Southwest Qianxi looked like 230 million years ago?
Needless to say, in terms of time alone, this is an unimaginable era. The history of human civilization began with the invention of writing, in time the earliest is only seven or eight thousand years, "230 million" this number, back to the southwest of Qianxi at that time, your mind may jump out of some "magical sea monsters" only...
Yes, as you might think, 230 million years ago, Qiannan really had to start with those magical sea monsters "Guizhou Dragon Fauna".
Preserved Guizhou dragon fossils (locally known as "Yin and Yang Plate", according to the "Guizhou Paleontological Fossil Selection")
The so-called "Guizhou Dragon Fauna", also known as the "Xingyi Fauna", is a fossil biota of the late Triassic (about 230 million years ago) strata produced in Xingyi City and neighboring areas of Guizhou Province, mainly Hu's Guizhou Dragon, including marine reptiles such as " Dragon , Ou Long , " Diplodocus " , and " Diplodocus " , and associated with a large number of fish and other phylums ( ammonites , bivalves , brachiopods , shrimp , sea lilies and dental stones ) .
Restoration of Hu's Guizhou dragon
Speaking of this, it is worth mentioning the Guizhou dragon (Keichousaurus), because it is produced in the bamboo pole slope section of the upper Triassic Franc Formation (the era is disputed), it is the earliest Triassic marine reptile found, studied and named in China, and it is also the first discovery of the primitive finosaur in Asia, which is of great significance to the evolution and paleogeographic distribution of marine reptiles. The Family Plesiosaurus and Plesiosaurs are often classified in the order " Plesiosaurus " or as a primitive , independent branch of the order " Diplodocus " . The Guizhou Dragon Fauna is famous at home and abroad for its wide variety, abundant fossils and well-preserved fauna, and has become one of the most famous fauna in the world. The Guizhou dragon fauna is widely distributed, and it is at the top of xingyi city in Qianxian Prefecture, Guizhou, Chajiang, Geli, Geju, Nimaigu, Xiemi and other places in Wusha Town, Longguang Town in Anlong County, Andangshan mountain and Xinwuyi Village in Fuyuan County, Yunnan Province.
Skeletal structure of Hu's Guizhou dragon
In May 1957, Mr. Hu Chengzhi of the Museum of Geology (now the Geological Museum of China) traveled from Yunnan to Guizhou to find a small reptile fossil similar to a lizard in Langmu Mountain, Dingxiao Dazhai, Xingyi City. This mysterious fossil of paleontology piqued his interest, as he had never seen it in his memory, let alone classified it in detail. He immediately collected 8 fossils and brought them back to Beijing to hand over to Professor Yang Zhongjian, director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Later, Cao Zetian and others from the Guizhou Museum came to the same place again, and after some effort, collected another 7 specimens and brought them back to Beijing.
A long-necked dragon excavated in the Xingyi Wushacha River
After careful study, Professor Yang Zhongjian identified that this is an unnamed fossil of swollen ribs, belonging to the "Old Eight Generations" (Guizhou native language, meaning old age) in the order Fin Dragon, which was first discovered in China and even in the whole of Asia, and named it "Hu's Guizhou Dragon" in honor of Hu Chengzhi, a contributor to the Guizhou Dragon specimen. Based on the specificity of the evolution of Hu's Guizhou dragon, he also inferred that the geological age of Hu's Guizhou dragon was middle and late Triassic (according to the 2009 edition of the International Geological Year, 245-235 million years ago was Middle Triassic, and 235-202 million years ago was Late Triassic, when the division was slightly different). Finally, he pointed out that the lithofacies generated by Hu Guizhou dragons are very similar to those of Tessiner Kalkapen in the European Alps, and this fact, together with other similar findings, can better understand the distribution of the Tethys Sea in the Mesozoic Era.
There are seven precious specimens of Guizhou dragon larvae preserved
Since then, domestic researchers have collected a large number of Guizhou dragon fossils in the same area, and found a lot of fish fossils, which have been named "Oriental Ribbed Fish", "Guizhou Chinese True Crocodile", "Xingyi Asian Scaly Fish" and so on. In late April 1995, after the expert group composed of Professor Zhao Xijin of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jin Fan, associate researcher, and Jun Chang, assistant researcher, 226 of them were identified as national precious cultural relics, including 17 first-class dragon fossils, 35 second-class dragon fossils, 112 third-class fish fossils, and 62 second- and third-class fish fossils. After guangming daily reported on the front page of "The world's rare major scientific discovery, Guizhou dragon fossil is identified" on the front page of "Guangming Daily" on May 21 of the same year, domestic and foreign radio, television, newspapers and periodicals also made a lot of reports, and since then Guizhou dragon has become a famous star.
Guizhou true jawfish and Guizhou dragon (according to the "Guizhou Paleontological Fossil Selection")
Creation of the Triassic Global Geopark
Xingyi conditions are unique
Now, 230 million years later, Qianxian Prefecture is applying for the creation of the Xingyi Triassic Global Geopark (which is proposed to be composed of three independent parks: Wusha Park, Wanfenglin Park and Nitai Park). To declare such a global geopark, Xingyi has unique conditions and qualifications.
On the one hand, Guizhou Xingyi National Geopark is one of the third batch of national geoparks officially approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources on January 19, 2004, and is also the first batch of national geoparks established in Guizhou Province, which was officially unveiled and opened on September 28, 2005. It is located in the south-central part of Xingyi City, Qianxian Prefecture, with a geographical location of 104°32′-105°08′ east longitude and 24°38′-25°03′ north latitude, with a total area of about 300 square kilometers.
Experts and scholars inspected The photo by Deng Zhongsheng in Wanfenglin, Xingyi National Geopark
The park takes the combination of the origin of marine reptile fossils with great biological evolutionary significance and extremely rare and the karst landscape of the typical karst cone peak as the core content, including eight scenic spots, including the Top Guizhou Dragon Scenic Area, Wusha Guizhou Long Scenic Area, MalingHe Gorge Scenic Area, Xifenglin Pastoral Scenery Area, Dongfeng Forest Scenic Area, Mudstone Forest Area, Pogang Karst Ecological Area and Wanfeng Lake, with an area of 1,000 square kilometers. Among them, the Wusha Guizhou Dragon Scenic Area is located in the territory of Wusha Town, about 13 kilometers northwest of Xingyi, and from August 2010 to March 2012, the previous phase of the national and Guizhou Provincial Geological Relics Protection Project was implemented, focusing on the excavation and protection of the Guizhou Dragon Fauna In the Nimai Ancient Village of Xingyi Wusha Town, and achieved fruitful results.
Experts talk about the experience of the examination room at the inspection site Deng Zhongsheng photo
Xingyi is the most typical cone karst development in China, the most widely distributed area of contiguous area, with peak valleys, peak clusters, peak forests, stone forests, hill peak sources, travertine waterfalls, karst depressions, lysole buckets, caves, waterfalls, springs and other landscape combinations as the characteristics, constitute a magical and charming natural landscape.
Maling River Gorge
Maling River Gorge is located 6 kilometers northeast of Xingyi City, the Maling River originates from the Baiguoling of the Wumeng Mountain System, the upper reaches are called Qingshui River, and the middle reaches are called Maling River because there are Mabie Dazhai and MalingZhai on both sides. The canyon has the characteristics of "plateau canyon line sky", the canyon is deep, the valley floor collapse boulders are numerous, and they are stacked on top of each other to form a wonderful landscape. There are a variety of waterfalls on both sides of the cliffs, and the travertines formed by the waterfall flow are layered on top of each other. The ancient trees on both sides of the canyon are in a fierce competition, and the sharp cone peaks are densely clustered.
The distribution space of the East Peak Forest is high and wide, and the cone peak is densely distributed. The main attractions are Yangping Sinkhole, Juxiu Peak, Poyangkou, Cycad Forest and so on. The array of peak forests, sword peak forests, Luohan peak forests, and Qunlong peak forests in the area have their own characteristics, forming a majestic and vast peak forest grand view. As early as 360 years ago, Xu Xiake, a geographer and traveler of the Ming Dynasty, wrote a poem for this purpose: "Thousands of miles of majestic, for the southwest qisheng." ”
The West Peak Forest consists of the Na Ash Basin and its peaks and mountains on its west side. The Na Ash Basin extends in a north-south direction and covers an area of 20 square kilometers. In the meantime, the stone forest of Cone Peak is tall and handsome, the clear spring and blue water are sparkling, and the river Qingxi is winding and twisting. There are thousands of acres of fertile land in the basin, and the village houses are surrounded by mountains and rivers, and their scenery varies with the seasons, implying the simple and elegant charm of agricultural civilization.
The Top Guizhou Dragon Scenic Area Museum is built in Luyin Village, covering an area of 11 acres and a construction area of 7,000 square meters, with the Guizhou Dragon Museum as the core content. Due to the importance of the Guizhou dragon fauna in research, it determines the reputation enjoyed by the Guizhou Dragon Museum at home and abroad.
Mud Tai Stone Forest Photo by Zhang Ting
The morphological characteristics of the mudstone forest are densely lined with sharp stone peaks, such as ten thousand swords piercing the sky. Looking around, the wonderful scenery is stacked, and some of the rugged rocks are shaped like rare birds and animals, and some resemble characters, which are vivid. Wander the paths that run through the stone forest, and as the perspective shifts, it will make you feel like a mirage.
Xingyi National Geopark is rich in cultural tourism resources, including Paleolithic ruins and Han Dynasty tombs, as well as the former residences of modern celebrities and colorful ethnic minority cultural relics and cultural activities. In 1975, archaeologists from the Guizhou Provincial Museum excavated dozens of human bones, bone artifacts and animal fossils in the Dingxiao Cat Cave, and more than 4,000 stone tools. This is a tribute to the three paleolithic culture types in southern China, named "cat and cat cave culture". Ancient tombs include the Wantun Han Tomb of the Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and the Dingxiao Han Tomb. The Tomb of Wantun Han unearthed bronze carriages and horses, kneeling lamps and pottery rice field models. Copper beans, copper cone pots and so on were unearthed from the tomb of Dingxiao Han.
Wanfeng Lake, the lake and mountains are beautiful. Photo by Zhang Ting
Wanfeng Lake is formed by the Tianshengqiao first-class power station dam to intercept the Nanpan River, the lake area of 176 square kilometers, storage of 10.26 billion cubic meters of water, is one of the country's five major freshwater lakes. The Wanfeng Lake Scenic Area of Xingyi National Geopark is dominated by the red tree landscape, and the main attractions are the red tree water stone forest, the Maling River slope Yang into the lake entrance, the water Buyi cottage and so on. The scenic spot has a pleasant climate, can be visited in all seasons, integrates mountains, valleys, lakes and forests, and is a golden water transportation line in the three provinces (districts) of Qian, Yunnan and Guizhou, and it is also a good place for tourism and vacation.
A recent photo of the early stage of the Wusha Guizhou Longyuan Pavilion project
Wusha Guizhou Longyuan Pavilion project in the later stage of the long-term view
Wusha Guizhou Dragon Scenic Area is the core area of Xingyi National Geopark, and the "Guizhou Dragon Fauna" contained in it at the end of the Latin period of the Triassic period is exquisitely preserved, huge in number, extremely rich in biodiversity, and is a rare and special buried marine animal fossil group, which has attracted much attention in the world and has great scientific research value. The Xingyi fauna is of great significance to the academic community to study the evolutionary process of marine reptiles. Especially in recent years, the discovery of some specific varieties has set off a new round of research boom. For example, there are Xingyi Gull Dragon, Yang's Phantom Dragon, Li's Yungui Dragon and the tortoise-like dragon with back armor, the sea dragon has Usha Ushun Dragon, and the original dragon class has mysterious long-necked dragons, Giant Shinosaurus and so on.
On the other hand, on the 46th World Earth Day on April 22, 2015, the centralized registration and identification of fossils in Qianxian Prefecture was officially launched in Xingyi, and experts such as Jiang Dayong, professor of the Academy of Earth and Space Sciences of Peking University, Luo Yongming, director of the Guizhou Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee, and Xiao Jiafei, researcher of the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, were invited to attend the launching ceremony and discuss. Experts believe that the "Xingyi National Geopark" has a decisive special status in the world, and has fully met the conditions for declaring the creation of a "Global Geopark", and suggests that our state organize the declaration and creation of a "Global Geopark". From March 7 to 10 this year, the 4th Fossil Summit of the 5th "China Beautiful Countryside Wanfenglin Summit" series of activities was held in Xingyi, where 58 experts and scholars from all over the country expressed their views and spoke freely, and visited the Malinghe Gorge, Wanfenglin, Xingyi National Geopark Museum, and Lutun Ancient Town in Yilong New District. Valuable opinions and suggestions on the protection of paleontological fossils in Qianxian Prefecture will be of great help and promotion to the early successful declaration of Xingyi as a global geopark.
Integrate scientific expeditions and popular science culture viewing into one
Create world-class tourism products
Declaring the creation of the "Xingyi Triassic Global Geopark" can effectively protect and vigorously develop the unique, rich and valuable geological relics resources of our state, create a world-class tourism boutique that integrates scientific research, science popularization, culture and ornamentation, inherit geological history and national culture, enhance the image of our state's opening up to the outside world, drive poor mountainous areas to get rid of poverty and become rich, and promote economic and social development to achieve a historic leap; it can protect the precious geological relics of our state and popularize earth history knowledge and environmental knowledge to the public. To enhance the public's awareness of the value of geological relics and enhance the awareness of environmental protection. While protecting geological relics, the geopark is used to carry out geotourism and scientific expeditions to promote local economic development, which can greatly enhance the popularity of our state, and through unesco, a high-level publicity platform, the Xingyi Triassic Geopark is gradually known to the world. In the management of geoparks, the protection and development and utilization of geological relics, etc., we will receive guidance and help from experts from all over the world, so as to promote the comprehensive development of geoparks and further enhance the level and image of geoparks. Further improve the natural environment and urban environment of the area where the geopark is located, enhance the connotation and taste of tourism, and greatly promote the development of local tourism, thereby promoting local economic development. Further popularize scientific knowledge among the public, improve the enthusiasm and consciousness of protecting geological relics, and realize the sustainable development strategy of developing in conservation and protecting in development.