Zigong Dinosaur Museum
Zigong Dinosaur Museum
4
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
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4.0
85 reviews
Excellent
30
Very good
45
Average
10
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0
Bathory139
Port Elizabeth, South Africa171 contributions
Feb 2016 • Friends
Whilst the place itself is a marvel, the behavior of fellow tourists was despicable. I'd recommend getting here as early as possible to avoid the crowds. We came from Chengdu using the long-distance bus, and the first one departed at 11:20, so we only arrived at the museum by taxi around 15:00. By the time we got there, we had to stand in queues for about thirty minutes to get tickets. The attractions were so busy that you couldn't even get to the front to see some of the exhibits.
Despite the drawbacks Mentioned above, this place is incredible, and very important. There are plenty of activities for kids. Some include movies, games, riding animatronic dinosaurs!
The first hall we visited was a stunning (although fake) display of dinosaur skeletons. This was the most populated area and most of the Chinese tourists spent their time here. Luckily, we weren't very interested in the fake stuff, so we had a quick look, and moved on to the fossils.
In the adjoining room is an impressive display of fossils. They are so well-preserved and absolutely beautiful.
As you exit the fossil are, you can look down a floor into an "excavation pit" if you will. This is 100% genuine and was really impressive. You could see very well-preserved bones from here. I was disappointed to see some of the local tourists threw their litter into this excavation site. It was incredibly unnecessary, as the hall is full of dirt bins.
As you descend the staircase, you can witness the above pit at a closer level. Additionally, there are three huge dinosaur bones which are available for touching and of course, photographs. The magnum opus of this photography zone is a big, constructed, dinosaur leg, where you can stand next to the leg and have photos taken. (The leg is constructed out of fossilized bone and is not fake).
After you've seen the excavation pit, you enter the Burial Ground, as they name it. Scores upon scores of fossils. This room took my breath away, it was truly awe-inspiring. Agai n, the locals decided it simply "wasn't that important" and started chipping away at the ground with their selfie-sticks and throwing rubbish Into the site.
As you exit there's a plastic dinosaur display outside where you can take pictures, but overall I felt it was a bit "cheesy".
This place really is a national treasure. I just wish the organization put a limit on how many visitors can enter per day, because overpopulation is really damaging the site.
I say again: if you go here, GO EARLY. If you come from Chengdu, I'd even recommend spending a night over in Zigong if you have the time. The bus takes about 3 hours, and sometimes with traffic, even 5 or 6! In Zigong there are lots of public taxis and decent hotels. We aware when dealing with cab drivers, they try to trick tourists. Make sure they use the meter or negotiate a price beforehand and stick with it.
Despite the downsides associated with my trip to Zigong, it was an amazing experience, and I think it was worth the frustration and time. It's a must for dinosaur fans!
Despite the drawbacks Mentioned above, this place is incredible, and very important. There are plenty of activities for kids. Some include movies, games, riding animatronic dinosaurs!
The first hall we visited was a stunning (although fake) display of dinosaur skeletons. This was the most populated area and most of the Chinese tourists spent their time here. Luckily, we weren't very interested in the fake stuff, so we had a quick look, and moved on to the fossils.
In the adjoining room is an impressive display of fossils. They are so well-preserved and absolutely beautiful.
As you exit the fossil are, you can look down a floor into an "excavation pit" if you will. This is 100% genuine and was really impressive. You could see very well-preserved bones from here. I was disappointed to see some of the local tourists threw their litter into this excavation site. It was incredibly unnecessary, as the hall is full of dirt bins.
As you descend the staircase, you can witness the above pit at a closer level. Additionally, there are three huge dinosaur bones which are available for touching and of course, photographs. The magnum opus of this photography zone is a big, constructed, dinosaur leg, where you can stand next to the leg and have photos taken. (The leg is constructed out of fossilized bone and is not fake).
After you've seen the excavation pit, you enter the Burial Ground, as they name it. Scores upon scores of fossils. This room took my breath away, it was truly awe-inspiring. Agai n, the locals decided it simply "wasn't that important" and started chipping away at the ground with their selfie-sticks and throwing rubbish Into the site.
As you exit there's a plastic dinosaur display outside where you can take pictures, but overall I felt it was a bit "cheesy".
This place really is a national treasure. I just wish the organization put a limit on how many visitors can enter per day, because overpopulation is really damaging the site.
I say again: if you go here, GO EARLY. If you come from Chengdu, I'd even recommend spending a night over in Zigong if you have the time. The bus takes about 3 hours, and sometimes with traffic, even 5 or 6! In Zigong there are lots of public taxis and decent hotels. We aware when dealing with cab drivers, they try to trick tourists. Make sure they use the meter or negotiate a price beforehand and stick with it.
Despite the downsides associated with my trip to Zigong, it was an amazing experience, and I think it was worth the frustration and time. It's a must for dinosaur fans!
Written 13 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ryno
Yibin, China81 contributions
Apr 2018
Fun visitn. There are a lot of different exhibits form life size moving dinosaurs, a 4D cinema and fossils.
Written 19 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rod129
Adelaide, Australia172 contributions
Nov 2016 • Business
This is the biggest single site of dinosaur remains in the world -- an ancient riverbed exposed, many dinosaurs reconstructed, including some of the most fascinating you could see. An exquisite fossil of the Chinese version of archaeopteryx, complete with feathers; the second largest carnivore skull in the world; it's like discovering the fossils yourself. As an author who has written about this topic, I was amazed. Children will be gob-smacked. It's a bit of a drive, located between Chengdu and Luzhou in Sichuan Province, but it's worth it.
Written 9 December 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BerglundAbroad
Gothenburg, Sweden5 contributions
Jun 2015 • Couples
Me and my girlfriend visited zigong dinosaur museum in early june 2015. Both having a history of being huge "dino-nerds" when we were young, we were excited (to say the least) finally arriving at one of the major dinosaur sites in the world. We took bus 35 from town to get there, note that the stop is about 500m from the entrence (you will see the Big white stegosaurus lookalike building in the distance ahead of you) but it only costed us 4 yuan and took about 15 minutes.
When it comes to the museum itself, ill start with the things that could improve. The area is built like a park which make it feel quite big but apart from the building that is the actual dinosaur museum the rest isnt much to see. The park should be better maintained and the geoheritage building was closed when we where there. There are some beautiful rocks with chinese ingravings but not speaking a word chinese they didnt do to much for us. Also, the giftshop is not to much to cheer about, the one exception being the real fossils of smaller creatures from the ancient era (expensive though).
Anywho, lets talk about what is awesome. The main dino-hall is superb, featuring local dinosaurs with complett set of bones and placed in cool action poses. You will find rarities here that can't be found anywhere else in the world. It looks top notch and the skeletons are well preserved, giving the impressionen that they will stand tall and immortalised until this world ends again. Some are really huge! Inside the museum there is also an original digging site left in its original state with a good overview over different parts of bones and fossils, giving you an insight of how the work has been carried out. The info about each dinosaur is standard and easy to comprehend (i would appreciate a lite more even) with hypotethical pictures of what they might have looked liked and facts.
To sum it up, if you really like dinosaurs and want to see some extraordinary fossils, relive that nostalgic dinowonder, this is a great experience. If you expect some kind of amusement park with lots of options and activities, then you are at the wrong place.
Ps. Finished our D-day with the new jurassic park at the local cinema. Great day!
When it comes to the museum itself, ill start with the things that could improve. The area is built like a park which make it feel quite big but apart from the building that is the actual dinosaur museum the rest isnt much to see. The park should be better maintained and the geoheritage building was closed when we where there. There are some beautiful rocks with chinese ingravings but not speaking a word chinese they didnt do to much for us. Also, the giftshop is not to much to cheer about, the one exception being the real fossils of smaller creatures from the ancient era (expensive though).
Anywho, lets talk about what is awesome. The main dino-hall is superb, featuring local dinosaurs with complett set of bones and placed in cool action poses. You will find rarities here that can't be found anywhere else in the world. It looks top notch and the skeletons are well preserved, giving the impressionen that they will stand tall and immortalised until this world ends again. Some are really huge! Inside the museum there is also an original digging site left in its original state with a good overview over different parts of bones and fossils, giving you an insight of how the work has been carried out. The info about each dinosaur is standard and easy to comprehend (i would appreciate a lite more even) with hypotethical pictures of what they might have looked liked and facts.
To sum it up, if you really like dinosaurs and want to see some extraordinary fossils, relive that nostalgic dinowonder, this is a great experience. If you expect some kind of amusement park with lots of options and activities, then you are at the wrong place.
Ps. Finished our D-day with the new jurassic park at the local cinema. Great day!
Written 30 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stevelizhangjun
Melbourne, Australia284 contributions
Jan 2012
We decided to change our schedule and take the kids to the Zigong dinosaur museum given it's claim to fame as one of the world largest museums on dinosaurs. It was easy to find and admission quite cheap. Given the spring festival period we expected it to be packed which it was but still ok to walk and enjoy the site without the normal mayhem.
The site has some good full size moving replica dinosaurs that the kids enjoyed. The museum was very good and had a good variety of displays. Don't bother with the 4D show it's certainly not to a standard worth spending money or time on. Overall good value and fun for the kids.
The site has some good full size moving replica dinosaurs that the kids enjoyed. The museum was very good and had a good variety of displays. Don't bother with the 4D show it's certainly not to a standard worth spending money or time on. Overall good value and fun for the kids.
Written 27 January 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rosygu
Shanghai, China6 contributions
Feb 2018 • Family
The Zigong Dinosaur Museum, a UNESCO Global Geopark, is an amazing, one of a kind experience. The majority of the fossils were left in the ground where they were discovered, and the museum was built around them. Seeing the scale of the fossils still in the ground is an extraordinary experience. Our 9 year old son had a great time, and we did too. Well worth the drive from Chengdu (now a much shorter ride with new freeways) for this once in a lifetime experience. We highly recommend this place for anyone who is touring around Chengdu.
Written 22 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GaryMantra
13 contributions
Aug 2017 • Couples
UNESCO site. Many 80% Original fossil skeletons. Original head fossils displayed separately. This is also a preserved dig site with half excavated specimens.
Written 18 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lappochka
Texas230 contributions
Feb 2017 • Family
Our kids enjoyed the trip to the museum. Majority of the exhibits are from Jurassic and Mesozoic eras. In addition to the skeleton halls, there is an excavation pit where visitors can view the ancient bones in the ground.
The place was extra crowded on Saturday, great to see parents bringing kids to the museum.
The place was extra crowded on Saturday, great to see parents bringing kids to the museum.
Written 12 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josie
Sydney, Australia171 contributions
Feb 2017 • Family
We visited the Zigong Dinosaur Museum during the Chinese New Year holiday. It took us 20min by taxi from our downtown Zigong hotel. We had no problem getting there but coming back was hard. It was difficult to get a taxi and then once we did he tried to charge us double! Perhaps a local bus would be better next time and cheaper? Get there early!!! I am so glad we arrived as soon as it opened (8:30am) because as we were leaving (11:30am) the crowds of people were pouring in and the queues were long! It cost us approx. RMB40 each and our 6 year old son was free. It took us 2-3 hours to see everything. What a fantastic museum! So incredibly interesting. Well preserved fossils, a huge open air excavation pit and a great display hall of dinosaur bones that my son absolutely loved. Lots of fun things for the kids to do. They even have some fossils you can touch! There are some pretty cool outside dinosaur displays that make for fun photos too. They have a gift shop (not badly priced) and some snack stalls in and around the museum. All in all it was a really good day out and worthwhile visit.
Written 1 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marco
Rome, Italy20 contributions
Sept 2015 • Solo
I went in Zigong Dinosaur Museum on September during my travel in China! The city is quite far from the normal turistic tour but if you like natural history and especially dinosaur, you can't miss this museum. I liked most of all the story of life during the eras and most of all the plants section and all parts dedicated to other animals who live with the giants reptile! It's very raccomaned!!! ;)
Written 28 April 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello,
I will be in Shanghai and want to visit Xi'An and Zigong. I am trying to figure out best way/routes to get to these places. Best I have found is a train to Xi'An which is convenient but then on to ZIgong is more than a day on a train? Ideas/suggestions?
Written 10 April 2017
You will need to either fly (maybe via Chengdu and then drive / bus the 2 hours or take the train from there.. there are plenty of direct flights between Xi'an & Chengdu) or be prepared to spend about a day and a half to get there by train. You will also need a real reason to go to Zigong other than the dinosaur museum.
Written 10 April 2017
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