Dinosaurs in China

The fossils of many dinosaurs have been found in China, pointing to their existence here. In 1987, the fossils of the dinosaur with the longest neck, Mamenchisaurus, were found in 162-million-year-old rocks in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China. As late as 2021, the fossils of three massive sauropods were discovered. They were from the early Cretaceous period, some 130-120 million years ago.

The country was home to dinosaurs with feather-like structures – Confuciusornis and Protarchaeopteryx. Their fossils were found in Jehol Biota in the western part of Liaoning Province. The remains of the feathered Sinosauropteryx, or the China dragon bird, is also an important discovery. Around 4,300 footprints were found in Zhangjiakou, a city in Hebei province.

Dinosaurs in China

List of Dinosaurs That Lived In China

  • Agilisaurus
  • Alectrosaurus
  • Archaeoceratops
  • Archaeornithomimus
  • Avimimus
  • Bactrosaurus
  • Beipiaosaurus
  • Bellusaurus
  • Caudipteryx
  • Chaoyangsaurus
  • Chinshakiangosaurus
  • Chungkingosaurus
  • Confuciusornis
  • Datousaurus
  • Equijubus
  • Euhelopus
  • Gasosaurus
  • Gilmoreosaurus
  • Gobisaurus
  • Guanlong
  • Huayangosaurus
  • Jingshanosaurus
  • Jinzhousaurus
  • Liaoceratops
  • Lufengosaurus
  • Mamenchisaurus
  • Microceratus
  • Micropachycephalosaurus
  • Microraptor
  • Monolophosaurus
  • Mononykus
  • Nanshiungosaurus
  • Omeisaurus
  • Pinacosaurus
  • Probactrosaurus
  • Protarchaeopteryx
  • Protoceratops
  • Psittacosaurus
  • Shantungosaurus
  • Shunosaurus
  • Sinocalliopteryx
  • Sinornithosaurus
  • Sinosauropteryx
  • Sinovenator
  • Sinraptor
  • Sonidosaurus
  • Tanius
  • Tarbosaurus
  • Tsintaosaurus
  • Tuojiangosaurus
  • Yandusaurus
  • Yangchuanosaurus
  • Yimenosaurus
  • Yingshanosaurus
  • Yinlong
  • Yuanmousaurus
  • Yunnanosaurus

Places Where the Fossils are Preserved

The dinosaur fossils are displayed in the Tianyu Museum of Nature in Pingyi, around 400 miles from Beijing, and the Sihetun Geology Museum in Beipiao City. The China Dinosaurs Park in Changzhou also has a museum housing fossils.