KUNMING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- A park built on the Yuanmou ape-man archaeological site in southwest China's Yunnan Province opened to the public on Thursday.
Located in the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, the park aims to become an integrated cultural space where visitors can experience millions of years of human history.
The Yuanmou ape-man site, located on a hillside about 200 meters from Danawu Village in Yuanmou County, was where two fossils of ancient human teeth were discovered in 1965. These fossils date back some 1.7 million years.
The park has a planned total area of over 370 hectares and is being developed in three phases. "We will strive to build the park into a comprehensive base that integrates paleogeological research and education, the scientific exploration of human origins, and the in-depth study of prehistoric cultural development," said Zhang Wenwang, head of the prefecture.
Gao Xing, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, said that the Yuanmou ape-man and culture were significant discoveries of ancient human remains in China. They are the first chapters in China's elementary and middle school history textbooks, and an important testament to the survival and evolution of the early Homo erectus in East Asia.
Also on Thursday, an event marking the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the Yuanmou ape-man site was held in the county. Scholars and researchers from diverse fields convened to discuss topics such as human migration tracing, Paleolithic archaeology, site value transformation and digital cultural innovation.
