In order to protect rich fossil remains, the Guizhou provincial government has encouraged local institutions and individuals to set up their own fossil museums.

Guizhou is a place well-known for its karst landform and has been dubbed the kingdom of fossil remains in China. To date, four areas in Guizhou have been discovered where large clusters of fossils were unearthed. They are located in Guanling County, Xingyi City, Weng'an County, and Kaili City.

On March 1, a regulation on geo-environmental management in Guizhou will be published. The regulation stipulates that fossil museums or institutions that collect and preserve fossils should set up a filing system to keep a record of their collections and report the information to county-level administrative bodies.

In order to curb fossil trafficking, a serious problem in the province in recent years, the regulation has made clauses regarding the excavation, collection, scientific use, shipping and export, and exploration and assessment of fossils. It also states the legal liabilities of people and institutions that collect or preserve fossils. The regulation forbids any individuals or institutions to excavate or trade fossils without the government's approval.

(China News Service February 27, 2007)

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