Editor’s Note: Yunnan is world-famous for its natural beauty, abundant resources and amazing cultures. This colourful and mysterious land is home to misty mountains, torrential rivers, blooming flowers and friendly people. Yunnan can be a complete eye-opener for even the most discerning travelers. This week, we will continue to recommend you one of Yunnan’s travel routes and famous scenic spots——The Chengjiang fossil site.

The Chengjiang fossil site is situated in Maotian Mountain of Chengjiang County, Yuxi City, Yunnan Province. In July 2012, it became the only fossil site in China to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the natural criteria. The Chengjiang zoolites, dating back to 530 million years ago, was excavated in 1984. Its discovery was hailed by the scientific community as “the most amazing discovery of the twentieth century” because it solved the mystery of the Cambrian Explosion and located the root of the tree of life. The Chengjiang zoolites not only have filled the vacancy of biological materials between Ediacaran fossils in Australia and Burgess fossils in Canada, but also are the most concentrated, best preserved and most diverse Early Cambrian fossil ruins that have been discovered so far.