The Geological Museum of China (), built in 1916, is a

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, boasting 200 thousand specimens. This museum is located in the

Xisi Xisi () literally, the "Western Four" or the "Western Quadrangle", is the name of an intersection and surrounding neighborhood in Xicheng District, Beijing. Xisi, at the intersection of what is now Xisi Avenue and Fuchengmen Inner Avenue, dates to ...

area of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and opened on October 1, 1959. It is the earliest geological scientific museum of China. At present, the Geological Museum of China has more than 100,000 geological specimens. Many of them are precious items reputed as "National Treasures", such as "the Giant Shandong Dinosaur"('' Shantungosaurus'')

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

, the most complete dinosaur fossils extant in the world excavated from Liaoning; the fossils of primitive birds that were found in the west of Liaoning Province, which has the essential values to the research on birds of the area; the teeth fossils of Yunnan Yuanmou Man, which shifts the appearance of human beings in China to a much more earlier time; the stoneware, stone pearls, bone needles and bone decoration unearthed from the site of the Upper Cave man at

Zhoukoudian Zhoukoudian Area () is a town and an area located on the east Fangshan District, Beijing, China. It borders Nanjiao and Fozizhuang Townships to its north, Xiangyang, Chengguan and Yingfeng Subdistricts to its east, Shilou and Hangcunhe Towns t ...

in Beijing; a cinnabar crystal of 237 grams that is called as "King of Cinnabar"; and more than 60 new

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

products that were found in China, and so on. Basic displays of the museum are composed of five exhibition halls, namely, the exhibition halls of geological resource, global history, stratum paleontology, mineral rocks and diamond, with an exhibition area of 2,500 square meters. The hall of geological resource introduces in different catalogues and classifications the abundant mineral products and other geological resources in China; the hall of global history introduces earth formation and construction, earth inner motive power geological action, earth outer power geological action and earth washing action; in the stratum paleontology hall, there are the special exhibitions of Zhendan biome, insect fossils, fish fossils, egg fossils, and the Upper Cave Man—ancient creatures and their characteristics of different geological eras.

Stratum Paleontology Hall

Lufengosaurus-Geological Museum of China

Velociraptors confronting Oviraptors at the Geological Museum of China

On the third floor of the museum, a ''

Lufengosaurus ''Lufengosaurus'' (, meaning "Lufeng lizard") is a genus of massospondylid dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now southwestern China. Discovery, taxonomy and research During the late 1930s geologist Bien Meinian ...

'' skeleton is mounted next to a display case holding a fossil of ''Shantungosaurus''. The paleontology hall itself is labeled with an image of a

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the ...

. The first third of the gallery showcases many fossils from the Cambrian explosion and fossilized plants. As the hall turns, a '' Cymbospondylus'' fossil is mounted on the wall. A small circular gallery is covered on the walls by a mural, and the glass floor contains many dinosaur bones. As the hall turns back, an partial dinosaur skeleton labeled " ''Anchisaurus sinensis''" is displayed on the wall. The next section of the gallery puts on display a scenario from

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, mounting several '' Velociraptor'' specimens harassing a nesting ''

Oviraptor ''Oviraptor'' (; ) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapma ...

''. A ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' skull cast is mounted on the wall. In many display cases encircling this section, specimens and casts of beautifully preserved dinosaur and bird specimens from Liaoning are displayed. In another display case, a bone and teeth of a

tyrannosaurid Tyrannosauridae (or tyrannosaurids, meaning "tyrant lizards") is a family of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that comprises two subfamilies containing up to thirteen genera, including the eponymous ''Tyrannosaurus''. The exact number of genera ...

labeled "''Tyrannosaurus zhuchengensis''" are set. Multiple dinosaur eggs are also displayed, including a pair of '' Macroelongatoolithus'' eggs. At the end of the hall, several artifacts from the

Peking Man Peking Man (''Homo erectus pekinensis'') is a subspecies of '' H. erectus'' which inhabited the Zhoukoudian Cave of northern China during the Middle Pleistocene. The first fossil, a tooth, was discovered in 1921, and the Zhoukoudian Cave has s ...

and Upper Cave Man site in Zhoukoudian are exhibited.

Gallery

File:Sinornithosaurus at the Geological Museum of China.jpg, NGMC 91 ("Dave"), on the fourth floor of the museum. File:Anchisaurus at the Geological Museum of China.jpg, A specimen of ''Gyposaurus sinensis''. File:"Tyrannosaurus Zhuchengensis" teeth at the Geological Museum of China.jpg, Multiple teeth of "''Tyrannosaurus zhuchengensis''". File:"Tyrannosaurus Zhuchengensis" at the Geological Museum of China.jpg, The metatarsal of "''Tyrannosaurus zhuchengensis''". File:Protarchaeopteryx at the Geological Museum of China.jpg, The holotype specimen of ''

Caudipteryx ''Caudipteryx'' (which means "tail feather") is a genus of peacock-sized theropod dinosaurs that lived in the Barremian age of the early Cretaceous (about 124.6 million years ago). They were feathered and extremely birdlike in their overall appea ...

.'' File:Dsungaripterus-Geological Museum of China.jpg, A ''Dsungaripterus weii'' skeleton mounted on the wall of the Stratum Paleontology Hall. File:Macroelongatoolithus-Geological Museum of China.jpg, ''Macroelongatoolithus'' eggs on display in the museum.

References

External links

Geological Museum of China information in EnglishGeological Museum of China home page
{{Authority control Museums established in 1959 1959 establishments in China Museums in Beijing Geology museums in China National first-grade museums of China

Stratum Paleontology Hall

Gallery

See also

References

External links