Zuo-Chen Fossil Park Introduction
The Caijiao Creek basin has a unique fossil treasure trove that has drawn attention since 1931. Ichiro Hayasaka, a geology professor at Taihoku Imperial University, collected many antler fossils in the Caijiao Creek basin during geological surveys in Tainan. He enlisted the help of local resident Mr. Chen Chunmu (later known as "Fossil Grandpa") to collect many precious fossils of ancient elephants, rhinoceroses, water buffaloes, and others, establishing Caijiao Creek as a base for studying Taiwan's paleobiology. Later, the Caijiao Fossil Museum was established, which has since been renovated and expanded into the Tainan Zuojiang Fossil Park that is seen today. Countless fossils have been unearthed in Caijiao Creek, including human skulls from the Zuojiang people and rhinoceros teeth. Through collaboration between Taiwanese and Japanese scholars and the Taiwan Provincial Museum team, highly complete rhinoceros fossils were excavated, dating back approximately 900,000 to 450,000 years ago, and were named the Hayasaka Chinese rhinoceros. The Zuojiang Fossil Park has accumulated collections of mammoth, saber-toothed tiger, ancient deer, crocodile, and marine and terrestrial animal fossils. The abundance of terrestrial vertebrate fossils is a notable feature, along with collections such as fragments of Zuojiang human skulls and restored skeletons of the Hayasaka Chinese rhinoceros, making it an irreplaceable fossil treasure trove in Taiwan. Today, the Zuojiang Fossil Park has transformed from a single building into five major exhibition halls. The Natural History Education Hall simulates the stratified rock walls of Zuojiang, where visitors can experience various interactive installations, such as fossil excavation and riverbed fossil observation. The Story Hall introduces the Xin Hua hills, displaying artifacts of the Siraya people, including the Xinguang Document, and highlights the contributions of "Fossil Grandpa" Chen Chunmu in fossil collection. The Evolution of Life Hall depicts the competition of marine life for beach space, with dinosaurs, once rulers of the earth, located in the courtyard, followed by the rise of mammals on the historical stage, witnessing the flourishing and decline of life evolution. The Fossil Hall features an augmented reality interactive sandbox to understand the origins of fossils from the Caijiao Creek basin, with the most striking being the complete skeleton of the Hayasaka Chinese rhinoceros. The Exploration Hall reveals the mystery of the Zuojiang people, and the fossil restoration room offers a view of the restoration process. In the Painted Magic Interactive Classroom, visitors can interact and feed the creatures they have colored from the Caijiao Creek ecosystem. Source: Tainan Zuojiang Fossil Park website.
