Located near the Prefecture

Prefecture

A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...

-level city of Zigong

Zigong

Zigong , ancient name Ziliujing and Gongjing, is a prefecture-level city and the third largest city in Sichuan Province, in southwest China.-Geography:...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, in the smaller township of Dashanpu, is the Zigong Dinosaur Museum. The museum sits on top of a large concentration of dinosaur

Dinosaur

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

 fossils — both in terms of quantity but also of diversity. The museum claims the largest number of dinosaur fossils in the world and is the first dinosaur museum in China. The remains are from a layer called the Meso-Jurassic period.

The museum covers 25,000 square meters with a display area of 3,600 square meters.

In 1980s, vast dinosaur fossils were excavated in the Dashanpu Formation

Dashanpu Formation

The Dashanpu Formation is a Mid to Late Jurassic rock formation in China, most notable for the wealth of dinosaurs that have been excavated from the area...

, 7 km north-east from downtown Zigong, including a dinosaur named after the township, Dashanpusaurus

Dashanpusaurus

Dashanpusaurus is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the middle of the Jurassic period. The dinosaur was described in 2005 by a group of Chinese paleontologists. The dinosaur's binomial name, Dashanpusaurus dongi, was named after a prolific dinosaur expert of the Dashanpu...

. Because of the unique and intact bone remains, Zigong has ever since been attracting paleontologists and dinosaur

Dinosaur

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

 enthusiasts from around the world. In 1987, the Zigong Dinosaur Museum was established, becoming the first specialized dinosaur museum open in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. Mounted specimens include Omeisaurus

Omeisaurus

Omeisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period of what is now China. Its name comes from Mount Emei, where it was discovered in the lower Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan Province.Like other sauropods, Omeisaurus was herbivorous and large...

, Gigantspinosaurus

Gigantspinosaurus

Gigantspinosaurus is a genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic. It was a stegosaur found in Sichuan, China....

, Yangchuanosaurus

Yangchuanosaurus

Yangchuanosaurus was a theropod dinosaur that lived in China during the late Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic, and was similar in size and appearance to its North American contemporary, Allosaurus...

, Huayangosaurus

Huayangosaurus

Huayangosaurus is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. The name derives from "Huayang", an alternate name for Sichuan , and "saurus", meaning "lizard"...

and Xiaosaurus

Xiaosaurus

Xiaosaurus , is a genus of small herbivorous dinosaur from the middle Jurassic, approximately 169 to 163 mya. Xiaosaurus lived in what is now the Sichuan Basin of China....

.