Where is Yongjing County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province?

Subordinate to: Yongjing County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province

Yongjing County is located in the middle of Gansu Province. Total area 1864 km2. The total population is 200,000 (2004).

County People's 0 is located in Liujiaxia Town with postal code of 73 1600. Code: 622923. Area code: 0930. Pinyin: Yongjing County.

administrative division

Yongjing County governs 10 towns and 9 townships: Liujiaxia Town, Yanguoxia Town, Taiji Town, xihe town Town, Sanyuan Town, Xiu Yuan Town, Chen Jing Town, Chengchuan Town, Wangtai Town, Hongquan Town, Guanshan Township, Xuding Township, Sandaoxian Township, Gouping Township, Duanling Township and Wang Ping.

The development of history

From 65438 to 0929, Yongjing County was located in Linxia County. It is named after the meaning of "eternal peace".

In 2000, Yongjing County administered two towns 17 townships: Liujiaxia Town, Yanguoxia Town, Liujiaxia Township, Guanshan Township, Xuding Township, Chen Jing Township, Sanjianxian Township, Xihe Township, Wangping Township, Gouping Township, Xinsi Township, Duanling Township, Chengchuan Township, Xiaoling Township and Wangtai Township.

According to the data of the fifth census, the total population of the county is 192033. Population (people) in each township: Liujiaxia Town 32 190 Yanguoxia Town 25723 Liujiaxia Township 19484 Xihe Township1834 Sanyuan Township 16243 Bianyuan Township 8622 Guanshan Township 8037 Xuding Township 4544. Tiaoxian Township 3960 Gouping Township 3956 Duanling Township 4786 Wang Ping Township 3825 Xinsi Township 4835 Chengchuan Township 7203 Xiaoling Township 636 1 Wangtai Township 67 18 Hongquan Township 6740 Yangta Township 5048

In 2004, Yongjing County governed 10 towns and 9 townships: Liujiaxia Town, Yanguoxia Town, Taiji Town, xihe town Town, Sanyuan Town, Xiu Yuan Town, Chen Jing Town, Chengchuan Town, Wangtai Town, Hongquan Town, Guanshan Township, Xuding Township, Sandaoxian Township and Gouping Township.

hydroelectric resources

Three tributaries of Daxia River, Taohe River and Huangshui River meet the Yellow River and flow through the county seat 107 km. Since 1958, the state has successively built three power stations in our county, namely Liujiaxia, Yanguoxia and Bapanxia, with a total installed capacity of 2.042 million kilowatts (Liujiaxia/kloc-0.35 million kilowatts, Yanguoxia 472,000 kilowatts and Bapanxia 220,000 kilowatts) and a total power generation of 78 1 100 million kilowatt hours. Lingbing Hydropower Station with an investment of 654.38+0.86 billion yuan and an installed capacity of 240,000 kilowatts is under construction. There are three high gorge lakes, namely Lingbing Lake, Taiji Lake and Maogong Lake, with a total storage capacity of 5.97 billion cubic meters (Lingbing Lake is 5.7 billion cubic meters, Taiji Lake is 220 million cubic meters and Maogong Lake is 49 million cubic meters), and the per capita inflow accounts for 190860 cubic meters, which is 68 times and 128 times of the national and provincial average levels respectively. There are many harbors, slow water flow, good water quality and no pollution in the reservoir area, which is an excellent place for aquaculture. The water area is 2 18 square kilometers (Liujiaxia 140 square kilometers, Yanguoxia 16. 1 square kilometers, and Bapanxia 1 1 square kilometers), which is an ideal place for water tourism and competitive events.

Dinosaur footprint fossils

From discovery of two to excavation 183 1.

"The important discoveries in science are based on the discoveries and achievements of predecessors, especially in geology." Professor Li Daqing, the discoverer of these dinosaur footprints, said that as early as1May 1947, when Mr. Sun Jianchu was conducting a petroleum geological survey in Haishiwan, Lanzhou, sauropod dinosaur fossils and crocodile fossils were first discovered in Majiahugou, which were later named Mamen Xilong, which was the first batch of dinosaur bones found in this area.

Since then, 1948, 1955 and 1956, geologists and paleontologists have come here again and collected dinosaur bones such as sauropods and stegosaurus. From 65438 to 0962, Professor Gu Zugang of Lanzhou University led students to collect four dinosaur footprint fossils during his internship in Haishiwan area, but unfortunately the specimens were lost later. This is the first discovery of dinosaur footprint fossils in Lanzhou-Minhe area. During the period of 1998, Associate Professor Li Changan of China Geo University (Wuhan) and others conducted1_ 50,000 regional geological surveys in Honggu Town and Xinsi Township in this area, and found eight three-toed dinosaur footprints in the Cretaceous strata in Honggu District of Lanzhou City. These discoveries laid an important foundation for later major discoveries.

At the beginning of July, 1999, Li Daqing's research group conducted a Cretaceous biostratigraphic survey in the Yanguoxia area of Yongjing County. After nearly two months of field geological investigation, by the end of August, dinosaur footprints, ancient plants, arthropods and insect fossils were found in many places in this area.

In a place called the tiger's mouth by local residents, the expedition found two dinosaur footprints while wandering in the barren hills and Tuling. It used to be a small gully on the hillside. When it was first discovered, it was only two three-toed footprints exposed on a small piece of bluish-gray argillaceous sandstone, with a step of 1 m, and one of the footprints was basically weathered.

After analyzing the rock properties and paleogeographic environment of Zuyin, Li Daqing decided to make a preliminary excavation here. Then, along the direction of this group of footprints (uphill direction), another group of footprints of theropods and a group of small sauropods appeared one after another.

Soon, a giant sauropod dinosaur footprint appeared, with a hind foot length of 1 18 cm and a width of 90 cm, which is close to the world's largest (brachiosaurus footprint with a length of 120 cm and a width of 64 cm previously found in the seaside of Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea). At the same time, dung marks and tail support marks were also found. By the end of June 2000, new giant footprints had appeared in rows and clearly showed the direction of further extension.

At this time, scientific researchers have realized that it may become an important paleontological geological relic. With the support of relevant departments, in late September, the excavation work made a breakthrough. Three groups of giant sauropod dinosaur footprints appeared in the direction of the mountain and obliquely below (downhill).

In March, 20001,a delegation composed of the Ministry of Land and Resources, vertebrate paleontology Institute of Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units made a field trip here, and thought that it was a rare dinosaur trace fossil discovery place with great scientific significance in the world. It has many kinds and genera of footprints, and is clearly preserved and intact, which is the best in the world and has great protection and scientific research value.

After that, dinosaur footprints, *** 183 1 dinosaur footprints, pterosaur footprints and bird footprints at points 2, 4 and 6 were revealed one after another.

Its large scale and well-preserved are rare in the world.

Professor Zhao Xijin, an expert in vertebrate paleontology and paleoanthropology in China, believes that these dinosaur foot fossils are well preserved, with high definition and strong three-dimensional sense, which are rare at home and abroad; The high density of footprint distribution is unique at home and abroad.

The dinosaur footprint fossils in most places of origin are exposed to the surface through natural action, and their footprints are often destroyed to some extent. Yongjing's dinosaur footprint fossil group is completely exposed artificially, preserved completely, clearly and with strong three-dimensional sense; At the same time, there are dinosaur lying tracks, trailing tracks and dung tracks on the same rock layer, which constitutes a unique scene in which footprints, lying tracks and dung tracks coexist.

According to experts' research, the dinosaur footprint fossils here include at least two giant sauropods, two theropods, one ornopods, one pterodactyl, one virtual skeleton and other unique footprints that have not yet been attributed, representing at least 10 genera and species. These footprints were left by dinosaurs who lived in the early Cretaceous period 10 billion years ago. It is the first time that so many kinds of herbivorous dinosaurs and carnivorous dinosaurs have appeared in the same place, and it is extremely rare in the world.

In April, 2002, Professor Martin Rory, a world-famous expert on dinosaur footprints and curator of the Paleontology Museum of the University of Colorado, made a field trip here. At the fossil point 1, the hind foot footprint of 13 pterosaur was newly identified, with a total length of 5 meters. At 1 and 6 o'clock, the footprints of ornithopods and sauropods were found, filling the gap that there were no pterosaurs in China.

"The footprints of pterosaur are very precious, because it is a flying dinosaur, and only five footprints have been found in the world." Li Daqing said, "Yongjing, China is the fifth place to be discovered, and it is also the most complete and best preserved place. It has the longest trajectory with 25 steps, which can reflect the movement posture of pterosaurs. " Li Daqing said that pterosaurs found in Liujiaxia, Yongjing belonged to a smaller type. According to analysis, it is 2 meters wide after spreading its wings and is shaped like a vulture.

The largest tooth in the world and the fattest dinosaur in China.

The uniqueness of Yongjing dinosaur footprint fossil group lies in the discovery of two special dinosaur bones nearby: Lanzhou Dragon, the largest toothed dinosaur in the world, and Huang Helong, the fattest dinosaur in China.

In the contemporary stratigraphic distribution dozens of kilometers away from Yongjing dinosaur footprint group, the researchers found relatively complete dinosaur coccyx fossils, including mandible, cervical vertebra, spine, ribs, coccyx, ischium, phalanges, etc. 103, which was named "Lanzhou Dragon". Appraised by China Academy of Sciences, it is a herbivorous dinosaur with the largest teeth in the world, and it is also a newly discovered new genus and species of dinosaur. It represents a new type of heavy quadruped walking in the evolution of ornithopods and fills a gap in dinosaur research.

Not far from here, near Liujiaxia Reservoir, researchers found another special fossil-Huang Helong. The excavation began in 2002 and lasted for three years. By 2006, the research results showed that Huang Helong was the fattest dinosaur known in China, which was characterized by wide hips and long forelimbs. The Yellow River Dragon is about 20 meters long, and the sacrum (middle part of the hip bone) is less than half a meter high, but the width is 1 10 cm, and the widest part of the scapula with a length of 123 cm can reach 83 cm. The Mamenxilong, the largest dinosaur previously discovered in China, has a body length of more than 30 meters, but its figure is slender and its weight is not as good as that of the newly discovered Huang Helong.

Li Daqing said that Huang Helong belongs to primitive sauropods, and the discovery of Huang Helong in Liujiaxia has added new members to early Cretaceous sauropods in Asia, which is of great significance for studying the origin and early evolution of sauropods.

"Taking this footprint as a clue, we found the unknown dinosaur fauna around us," Li Daqing said. "This provides important clues for further study on the classification of dinosaurs and the relationship between footprints and trace-making organisms."

The conditions for the formation of dinosaur footprints are very harsh.

How did these dinosaur footprints form? According to experts, its formation conditions are very bad, so it is a precious natural relic.

According to geologists' inference of dinosaur footprint fossils in Liujiaxia, it used to be a paleotectonic basin with warm, humid water and lakes. In the dry season, the lake beach is exposed and in a semi-humid state. Members of the huge dinosaur family climbed out of the lake, walked ashore across the beach and crawled along the mountain. Their footprints were left on the soft beach, and the more they went ashore, the clearer they became. After that, the beach was further dehydrated and dried, and a hard shell was formed on the surface of the footprint. During the wet season, the water level rose, the beach was quickly submerged, and the sediment brought by the lake covered the footprint. The footprint fossils were formed through complex and long diagenesis. Later, the sediments were peeled off, revealing the original footprints and their fillers.

The conditions from its production to solidification are very harsh. If dinosaurs walked on very dry ground, they couldn't have stepped on obvious footprints. If they walk on very thin and wet mud or sand with too much water, they can easily step on footprints, but when they lift their feet, they can easily disappear. Only when the humidity of the sedimentary ground is moderate can footprints be clearly left. And the footprints that have been formed will be buried quickly in a short time to avoid being destroyed by natural forces. These conditions indicate the possibility and preciousness of dinosaur footprint fossils.

Experts believe that these dinosaur footprint fossils are of great scientific significance: First, they can provide supplementary information for dinosaur anatomy. For example, it is proved by fossil footprints that the feet of theropod dinosaurs have grasping function, and this structure was later inherited by birds. Secondly, footprint fossils are important clues to dinosaur life habits, which can often provide clues that cannot be obtained by bone and tooth research. Like dinosaurs living in groups or living alone. Third, traces such as footprints cannot be transported from one environment to another: they can correctly show which dinosaurs lived in what environment. Fourthly, footprint fossils contain rich information about dinosaur life habits, which can sometimes be directly explained, just as hunters can determine the whereabouts of their prey according to their footprints. Footprints also provide clues for determining the general appearance, body shape and weight of dinosaurs, and the measurement of dinosaur footprints can be used to determine the pace and speed of dinosaurs. Fifth, the discovery of this footprint group is also of great significance to the study of the characteristics, behavior habits, paleogeography and paleoclimate of Cretaceous vertebrates in this area.

There must be more dinosaur footprints nearby.

In fact, in addition to the 1 point where the protective shed has been established, the Paleontology Research and Development Center of Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has exposed four points in the nearby area, but they are all covered with loess because of the difficulty in preservation.

"Although one of the spots was covered with loess, the soil was washed away by the rainstorm, so we quickly covered it with plastic sheets." Li Daqing said: "There are indeed some difficulties and problems in protection. Using a protective shed is a good protection method, but it is expensive and the funds are not enough. "

"We have done a lot over the years." Li Daqing said that after the discovery of Zuyin Group, the Paleontology Research and Development Center of Gansu Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources actively cooperated with Yongjing County Citizen 0 to carry out emergency protection work here, including building slope protection, drainage ditch, fence, closed greenhouse with steel frame structure and so on. At the same time, the declaration of provincial nature reserves and national geological parks was carried out. 200165438+February, approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources as a national geological park.

"Although it has been protected and developed for five years, the follow-up work here is still difficult." Kong De, director of the Liujiaxia Dinosaur National Geopark Administration, said that a very prominent practical problem is that the traffic here is too difficult and the road has not been connected so far. At present, we can only go by water, which is also dangerous. In August 2006, the construction of a 23-kilometer expressway finally started, but due to the lack of funds, the progress of the project was very slow.

What worries Kong in particular is that the dinosaur footprints of No.2, No.4 and No.6 in the Geopark can only be protected by sand burial after being exposed in large quantities, which makes this precious natural relic still face many threats such as weathering, erosion and loess collapse and burial, while other naturally exposed paleontologists, arthropods and insect remains are still suffering from wind, sun, rain and snow erosion, and the weathering is very serious.

In excavation research, experts speculate that there may be many valuable footprint fossils to be discovered nearby. Within more than 400 square meters of the site 1, the six sets of footprints of 10 are very clear and continuous. The layout of footprints shows that dinosaurs mainly walked along the lake shore or from the water's edge to the land. These footprints are probably left by a large group of herbivorous dinosaurs in the process of foraging or drinking water, surrounded by or followed by carnivorous dinosaurs. Judging from the current walking direction of preserved footprints, there are both uphill and downhill. If you keep digging, you will definitely find something new. However, due to protection, funds and other reasons, further excavation can only stay in the plan.

And hope that with the development and construction of the geopark, the paleontological geological remains of this rare dinosaur footprint group in the world can be properly protected and rationally developed and utilized on this basis.

200211The Central Civilization Office confirmed the list of cities nominated by national civilized cities in the creation cycle of 20021-2023, and Yongjing County was on the list.

On February 9, 20 19, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission named Yongjing County as the seventh batch of national demonstration zones for national unity and progress.

20 18, 18, Yongjing county won the honor of advanced unit in the fourth batch of national legal county establishment activities.

On February 2 17 and 2 1 day, Yongjing county was included in the list of counties (cities, districts) with basically balanced development of compulsory education in China in 20 16.