An Dinosaur fossil exhibition called Glorious Journey Home is underway currently at Changzhou China Dinosaur Park. The fossils exhibited this time were all unearthed in China, but somehow drifted to foreign lands.
The exhibition features a total of six collections from the Geological Museum of China and the China Customs Museum. The collections include fossils of Confuciusornis, Sinohydrosaurus, machairodus skull, tortoise and dinosaur eggs. It’s the first time that these fossils have been exhibited in Jiangsu.
The most important collection this time is a nest of oviraptor egg fossils. Among the 22 eggs, 19 of them had already developed small dinosaur embryos that had just taken shape. Some of the embryos’ bones are clearly visible. The fossils debuted at an auction in the United States and were sold for 420, 000 USD.
Five years later, the United States returned the dinosaur egg fossils to China in December, 2012. It was the first time that China has retrieved dinosaur fossils transnationally through judicial channels.
The exhibition showcases the achievements China has made in protecting fossils and cracking down on fossil smuggling. It also aims to spread knowledges of fossils to the whole society and calls for public attention.
Duan Rui, a staff member of the China Dinosaur Park, said that if a rock contains 30% fossils or more, no matter they are fish fossils, dinosaur fossils, or bird fossils, it will be regarded as a precious fossil.
The special exhibition is one of the major activities of the 7th Dinosaur Culture Festival of the Changzhou Chinese Dinosaur Park, which will last until June 10th, 2018.
