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An insider's glimpse into the world's largest fossil market
If Chaoyang was in America, it would be the third largest city after New York and Los Angeles. But even in China, let alone elsewhere, a majority of the people have no clue where the city of 3.4 million is.Yet it's a must-see destination if you have any interest at all in dinosaurs or paleontology. Only in Chaoyang (and a handful of other cities in northwest China and villages tucked away southern provinces like Hunan) can you find dog-sized fossils, dinosaur eggs, and millions of cheap fish fossils for sale.
That's not including the highly illegal (and priceless to science) fossils of "feathered dinosaurs," which in the last ten years have provided the evidence for the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs.
It's also home to the world's largest open-air fossil market, with almost a hundred shops. I went there last year to report for TIME Magazine on the growing phenomenon of fossil smuggling. Let me know if you liked the story and check out the exclusive gallery from my visit.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
somemale Feb 7th 2008 3:22PM
Great article! Didn't know you write for Time as well...
Are there a lot of stores selling these illegal fossils? Its funny in China, how so many store fronts seem legal at first, yet they have a hidden case that opens up into an illegal shoppers paradise. It would be a shame to buy one of these only to be stopped by customs here in North America and have it confiscated - or is it okay to bring these back? I highly doubt it.