DIP-Dexu Institute of Palaeontology, Chaozhou, China

DIP, which is located in Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, started its preparation process in 2013 and completes the registration in 2016. As a non-profit research institute, it safeguards amber inlcuding invertebrate, vertebrate, and plant fossils. It also has the honor to have the well-known paleontologist Dr. XU Xing (from IVPP) as its Honorary director.

China’s vertebrates are a hot area of research all around the world and have greatly deepened the insights in evaluation laws of life and earth. However, while North China is the center of paleontological researches, South China, especially Guangdong Province, does not give them sufficient attention. Therefore, popularization resources for paleontology can hardly be found in this area.

DIP is built in Chaozhou City in eastern Guangdong, one of the most famous hometowns of overseas Chinese with a population of about 150 million. There are another 150 million Chaozhou people living overseas who despite the limited number, form the most influencing group in South China, even in all Chinese descendants throughout the world. Represented by China’s former and current richest entrepreneurs, LI Ka-shing and MA Huateng, Chaozhou chamber of commerce is among the most powerful chambers in China.

DIP is sponsored by a number of Chaozhou businessmen and aims at giving better understanding of paleobiology to public, especially residents of Chaozhou. Currently, there are hundreds of important fossils including some world-famous specimens kept in DIP. We are sparing no pain to build a regional center of fossil collection, research and science popularization and to keep China’s vertebrate research at a high level and further studies on evaluation laws of life and earth in cooperation with national institutes (such as IVPP).

We have invited outstanding botanists, invertebrate experts and vertebrate experts domestic and overseas as our Visiting fellow.

We are now focusing on planning, production, translation and publishing of popular science books, collection, repair, 3D reconstruction and exhibition of fossils, creation of fossil model, specimen sketch and reconstruction drawing.

Our goals:
1.Ensure high quality research and science popularization based on fossil collections and related resources.
2.Perfect fossil collection and conduct related research with national research teams.
3.Study, protect and safeguard important Myanmar specimens with other institutes and universities and seek better display means of fossils.