Nanshan Park Fossil Science Education Park Opens

On March 17th, representatives from the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, the Municipal Park Management and Greenery Bureau, and the Municipal Architectural Design Institute visited the newly completed Fossil Science Education Park in Nanshan Park for acceptance. The project basically met the design requirements. With the completion of subsequent greening projects, the Fossil Science Education Park will officially open to citizens for free.

Last March, fossilized wood from the Early Diagenesis period, dating back 2.95 million years, was discovered beside the fitness and jogging path on the north gate of Nanshan Park. In order to better protect and utilize these precious fossil resources, the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau built an outdoor fossil science education park of approximately 100 square meters to promote paleontological fossil science education and further enhance citizens' cultural and living standards.

According to reports, during the late Carboniferous period to the Early Diagenesis period, the Yangquan area experienced frequent sea incursions and retreats, resulting in a large number of high-quality, low-smoke coal deposits and the accumulation of numerous ancient plant fossils and marine animal fossils. The Fossil Science Education Park mainly showcases the money shale, which contains a large number of marine animal fossils, and the coal-bearing plant, Cordatites fossils.

Upon entering the science education park, the gray paving tiles beneath your feet look much like the ordinary pavement tiles. With the introduction of Mr. Bai Zhiqiu, staff member of the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau's Geological Environment and Mining Monitoring Center, the mystery of the fossil tiles was revealed. He poured some water onto the tiles, and immediately numerous small and large white circular patterns appeared.

“These are money shale tiles, rich in the fossilized stems of the marine lily. You can clearly see the fossilized white coin-shaped texture, which is obviously affected by fluorite crystallization, and it's very beautiful,” Mr. Bai Zhiqiu said. Mr. Bai Zhiqiu also mentioned that money shale was named by Li Si Guang in 1923 during his expedition to Yangquan. In addition, the science education park also exhibits several pieces of original money shale.

Located in the center of the science education park, a gemstone-shaped glass dome houses two specimens of Cordatites fossils. “Now, many people know that Yangquan is a base for the production of high-quality anthracite coal. But how did anthracite coal form? Through Yangquan’s fossils, we can tell the story of China's coal.

Mr. Bai Zhiqiu introduced that Cordatites, an extinct plant, was the main plant that formed coal in our city. Now, by directly appreciating the fossils, people can learn about Earth’s history, environmental changes, and the evolution of life. It can also raise people’s environmental protection awareness.

Considering that most paleontological fossils cannot be preserved outdoors, the science education park will address this issue through the development of online resources. Mr. Bai Zhiqiu said that in the future, citizens can scan the QR code of the science education park to extend the viewing content, utilize online platforms, and popularize paleontological fossil knowledge through a combination of text, images, and audio, and appreciate the beautiful fossils of Yangquan.

Yangquan’s fossil resource reserves are enormous, forming many unique fossil concentration areas. In recent years, the city has highly valued the protection, research, and utilization of paleontological fossils.

“Paleontological fossils are precious natural resources with important research and education value. Our city has invited many experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to assist in the research of paleontological fossils, and we are actively seeking breakthroughs in the protection and utilization of Yangquan’s paleontological fossils.” Mr. Wang Guangrong, Deputy Director of the Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, introduced that by conducting fossil science education, we can improve the exploration and discovery abilities of young people in our city. At the same time, fully utilizing Yangquan’s unique paleontological fossil resources, conducting field study activities, can create new tourist and cultural resources, further enhancing the city's fame.