Trip To Qijiang 3: Fossil Trees & Future Qijiang Museum of Natural History

The fossil wood site is actually in the backyard of a farmer living on the edge of town. I don't know if there are plans to develop this into a bona fide tourist attraction -- it, like the tracksite, is advertised in their tourism brochure, but you can't get into it without the farmer opening it up, so... This wood is much, much older than the tracks -- it's in the Late Jurassic-age Shaximiao Formation. This formation, next door in Sichuan Province, is famous for producing some spectacular dinosaurs, including the absurdly long-necked sauropods Mamenchisaurus and Omeisaurus, the big theropod Yangchuanosaurus, and the spiky stegosaur Tuojiangosaurus. If some of those names seem familiar, it's because we saw mounts of many of these at the IVPP and Beijing Museum of Natural History!

Here's a pulled-back view of that same log; you can see part of the farmer's house in the background.

This shot better shows the log weathering out of the surrounding rock.

This log is reportedly 22 m (73 ft.) long, and it's not even complete!

Here's Mr. Wang next to the big log.

Here's the farmer next to the big log.

Another long tree with the farmer.

On one spot on one of the logs, the wood has been charcoalized, a sure sign that it was subject to a fire in the Late Jurassic. But the charcoalization is only near the surface, so it wasn't a long-lasting burning event, like a forest fire could be.

A piece of another log, not covered with a protective awning like the last two were. This one is right in a drainage in the farmer's back wall, and there is indeed water actively running alongside it, which is slowly destroying the fossil. Behind the wall is a lot of construction; undoubtedly, more logs are being uncovered back there, but I couldn't see over the wall at all.

This is the far end of that log in the drainage ditch; it's still embedded in the rock here.

Heading back to Qijiang from the fossil wood site; this is a view from the farmer's house. Qijiang's outskirts are visible in the background on the right side of the photo.

Another shot of Qijiang from the road to the farmer's house.

This big exposed slab of Shaximiao Formation has some nice, big mudcrack casts on it!

Qijiang, like just about every other sizable city in China, is undergoing massive amounts of construction -- cranes everywhere!

This is the temporary sign for the new Qijiang Museum of Natural History.

Here's a side view of the future museum building.

...and a front view (part 1 of a 3-part panorama).

Here's the secdond part of the panorama -- the fossil hall will be the part on the right that is covered with scaffolding.

Here's the panorama, all stitched together in Photoshop.

Part 3 (last) of the panorama.

A last view of the museum site. I hope to go back next year and see the finished product!