Photo by Shi Xiguang

Lufeng about 80 km from Kunming is a small county, but it is where a great number of dinosaur fossils were discovered and known for the greatest quantity, most complete skeletons and richest species. In this regard, Lufeng has been dubbed as "Hometown of Dinosaurs". 

Photo by Shi Xiguang

Since 1938, about 120 complete dinosaur skeletons were unearthed in Lufeng County, spanning the early, middle and late stages of the Jurassic Period.

With a touring line of 2.4 km, the Valley has two major areas, one is the Dinosaur Ruins Area covering 35,000 sq meters where impressively huge fossils are displayed, the other one is the Jurassic World Touring Area covering 65,000 sq meters. The two parts together make visitors feel in the real Jurassic World.

Photo by Shi Xiguang

In 2008, the World Dinosaur Valley was open to public, and visitors are usually impressed with Five Tops and Five Mysteries. 

Photo by Li Yulin

The Five Tops
1-Lufeng Saurischia, the most ancient and primitive vertebrate fossils in the world;
2-Lufeng dinosaur fossils have the richest species in the world;
3-Lufeng has the biggest dinosaur fossils conservation in the world;
4-Lufeng has the highest density of Dinosaur fossils in the world;
5-Lufeng dinosaur fossils have the best integrity in the world.

 

The Five Mysteries
1-The highest density. Why are unearthed fossils here so large in number? What brought them together?  
2-The mysteries of time spans. On the hillside of 240 square meters in the same zone, there are lots of herbivorous and predatory dinosaur fossils of 240 million to 65 million years ago, spanning eras of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Why could these fossils be reserved?
3-The mystery of reproduction. A great number of dinosaur fossils have been discovered in Lufeng. However, not any dinosaur egg has been discovered. How did these dinosaurs multiply? Are they viviparous animals?
4-The Mystery of collective extinction
5-The mystery of the orienting. All the dinosaur fossils are found with their head eastwards. Why? and what happened in the east?

 

Tips
Lufeng Dinosaur Valley is on the golden travel route Kunming-Dali-Lijiang, and is about 1 hour's drive from Kunming.