New Findings in Dinosaur Research

There are children that have diff iculty in distinguishing chickens from ducks, but that are conversant with the various species of dinosaurs that lived 200 million years ago, thanks to Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and Walt Disney cartoons. CCTV’s live program on dinosaur fossils excavation in Xinjiang has sparked off a new bout of dinosaur “fever” in China. The mystery as to exactly why these creatures that dominated the earth for 150 million years became extinct makes them an irr…     

The Middle Dinosaur Kingdom

Dinosaur fossils have been periodically unearthed in various parts of China for more than a century. In 2006, the fossils of the Stegosaur that bear the largest scapulars ever excavated, and of the Mamenchisaurus (the longest dinosaur in Asia) were discovered in Xinjiang. The same year there was a world f irst discovery of fossils of the Dicraeosaurus (a kind of di- plodocoidea) in Lingwu City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The amount of dinosaur fossils discovered in China by 2006 was 1…     

Major Paleontological Finds in China

In October 2009,Chinese scientists confirmed the Zhucheng dinosaur fossil stratum in Shandong Province is the largest and richest in the world discovered to date. The various dinosaur fossils unearthed in Zhucheng further prove dinosaurs are ancestors of birds.     

LunXia—Western China's “Little Mecca”

<正>The Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, known in ancient times as Hezhou,is located on the upper reaches of the Yellow River in south-central Gansu Province in western China.It has been a habitat of wildlife from time immemorial,where fossils of dinosaur footprints of around 170 million years ago and mammal fossils of the late Cenozoic Age have been excavated,marking rare discoveries in the world of paleontology.More than 6,000 fossils are now     

THE DINOSAUR CODE

Major findings by Chinese paleontologists shed light on what is known and not yet known about the lost giantsAlive television broadcast of the exca- vation of dinosaur fossils in north- westChina’s desertareasbrought the attention of the nation to some o…     

Conversation with a Chinese Paleontologist

Xu Xing was an undergraduate at the Geology Department of Peking University, and in 1992 became a postgraduate student at the Institute of Vertebrate Pa- leontology and Paleoanthropol- ogy under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He now has a research fellowship at the insti- tute, and is one of the most distin- guished dinosaur experts in the country. Professor Xu’s research is in the f ields of Mesozoic dino- saur fossils and stratigraphy; he has discovered and named 15 new dinosa…     

A Running Lifeline

正The world's biggest water diversion project transforms arid north As deputy mayor of Shiyan in Hubei Province in central China, Wu Ye has many things to be proud of. The city is a tourist attraction reputed for rare dinosaur egg fossils and the Wudang Mountain, a Taoist mecca. It is also a well-known automobile production base.     

Experiencing Xinjiang

正Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China is a unique place.In Chinese people’s eyes,Xinjiang is characterized by elegant minority ethnic dances,a rich variety of fruits and gorgeous natural scenery.However,in many foreigners’minds,the region is known for religious and ethnic disturbances.The difference of perceptions has re-     

A Dinosaur Kingdom's Revival

<正>Zigong finds a way to tap the rich resources of dinosaur fossils It was 10 years ago when an exhibition of bionic dinosaur models from Japan,held in his hometown Zigong,a city of southwest China’s Sichuan Province,deeply impressed Guo Qihong.He and his business partners smelled an     

Far Out,Way In

Minority students from remote places in Xinjiang flock to more developed regions for a short at better education In the vast and sparsely populated Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China’s northwest more than half of the residents are members of minority ethnic groups with native languages other than Mandarin Chinese. Education is complicated by the region’s linguistic, geographic and socioeconomic conditions. "In my hometown,educational resources are scarce and dropout rates are very high," said Merhaba,a 13-year-old Uygur girl from Kashgar Prefecture."Almost all my cousins dropped out after middle school or even primary school. My brother and I are the only ones to go out of Kashgar for education." Merhaba is a student at No.66 Middle School in Urumqi,the capital city of Xinjiang.Her exam scores earned her admission to the elite     

The Last Wild Horses on Earth

NATIONAL Highway 216 in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is also known among locals as the Wild Horse Highway. It runs through the 17,000-sqkm Karamili Nature Reserve, a sanctuary for the Przewalski’s Horse (Equus przewalskii), or Dzungarian horse whose population is smaller than that of the giant panda. The most distinct feature of the Dzungarian horse is that its coat is generally dun in color but invariably turns black at the lower part of legs. The Junggar Basin in Xinjiang is the ancestral home of this endangered animal and it has roamed here for more than 600 billion years. In 1897 Russian geographer and     

INCREASING PROSPERITY IN XINJIANG

正Coordinated efforts are being made to providee conomic opportunities Aygul Ismayil is a typical housewife living in the remote village of Qigirtmak,in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.She had been depending on her husband’s work on a small farm,which only generates 10,000 yuan($1,534)a year,to feed a family of six.Qigirtmak is located in the town of Wupu,     

FOSSIL HUNTERS

A team of enthusiastic paleontologists is hard at work in China, seeking to unravel mysteries such as the linkbetween dinosaurs and birdsAfew days after the excavation of the largest dinosaur fossil ever found in Asia, Dr. Xu Xing left the discov- ery sit…     

One Classroom,Two Languages

Bilingual education is helping ethnic minority students from Xinjiang to realize their dreams "It’s snowing.It’s snowing.On the snowfield are there little painters painting..."In a classroom at a school in Baishikante Township in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,students     

Partnering for Development

<正>The one-for-one aiding policy is bringing real benefits to the region’s people After supper,Adalate hitches a ride on her neighbor’s electric-tricycle to check on the construction of her new house in Langan Township, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region’     

Inscrutable Sanxingdui

VISITORS to the San- xingdui Museum in Chengdu, capital city of southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, are seldom content with just one trip. The that ended in antiquity. The Yellow River across northern China and the Yangtze that traverses the south are considered the cradles of the Chinese civilization. The Sanxingdui was a highly developed and relatively museum, as its guide says, “is an intrigu- ing riddle.” No amount of intent brows- ing can shed any light on the origins of its…     

Ethnic Culture Blossoms In Xinjiang

<正>Founded six decades ago,Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is one of China’s five autonomous regions designated for ethnic minorities,inhabited by 47 ethnic groups including Han,Uygur,Kazak,Hui,Mongolian,Kirgiz,Uzbek and Russian populations.The region boasts a treasure trove of ethnic cultures.People of all ethnic groups are able to uphold their cultural practices and live together in harmony.In ancient times,Xinjiang was one of the hubs connecting the West and the East,with the famed Silk Road passing through it.It’s geographic location which has made Xinjiang so accommodating of a diverse range of traditions.In early 2003,China launched a program to protect and preserve ethnic cultures and folkways.At various levels of government,a lot of work has since been done to protect the traditions and cul-     

A Rising Role in Global Governance

<正>The world is undergoing tremendous changes and adjustments.While some developed countries are seeing a decline in influence,emerging countries are ratcheting up their inf luence on the rest of the world.Against this backdrop of global transformation,China’s positive role in global governance is propping up the world’s peace and development.     

Empowerment Through Education

<正>Children from remote areas of Xinjiang benefit from quality tuition program in the region’s capital For most children in China,transitioning to middle school is a simple matter of walking a few extra blocks at most.But for 14-year-old Tajinsa Abuduany,an eighthgrader in Urumqi,switching schools meant moving 1,500 km away from her home.The young girl left her village near Kashgar,in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur     

The Winds of Change The legendary Tuvans, one of the oldest nomadic peoples in northern Xinjiang, feel the impact of embracing the outside world

Next to the Kanas Lake “monster,” to many people the Tuv ans are the second most mys t e r ious inhabi - tants of the Kanas region in north - er n Xinjiang Uygur Aut o n o m o u sRe gion. The Tuv ans, however , actually are one of the oldest nomadic peoples in north - west China. The Kanas region is the only place in China that is home to the Tuv ans, who number 2,000 and mainly live in three vil- la ges around the Kanas Lake. The r e are about 200,000 Tuv ans wor ld wi d e , with 30,0…