Hunan Museum of Geology

Hunan Museum of Geology
湖南省地质博物馆

Address: No 49, Shanmuchong Xilu, Tianxin district, Changsha city, Hunan province
Opening hours: 9 am-5 pm (last entry 4 pm)
Closed Mondays (except for national holidays)
General admission: Free

As the largest free-to-visit natural history museum in Hunan province and one of the earliest provincial geological museums established in China, the Hunan Museum of Geology originally featured the collection and display of mineral crystals.

Take a stroll through the exhibition halls of the museum, where six permanent exhibitions invite you to explore the conditions of land resources, geology, and paleontology in Hunan province, unveiling the fascinating mysteries of the geological world.

The Earth Mystery Hall introduces the basic properties of the Earth, the geological composition and rock cycle in Hunan. The Mineral Resource Hall showcases the region’s rich non-ferrous metals and non-metallic minerals. The Geological Environment Hall presents immersive experience of landslides and debris flows and demonstrations of geomorphic landscape models. The Life Evolution Hall traces the evolution of life on Earth with fossil models of various dinosaurs. The Mineral Gemstone Hall juxtaposes both mineral gems and related artworks, highlighting their beauty. Finally, the Surveying and Geographic information Hall displays the evolution of Chinese surveying technology.

The museum has a collection of more than 20,000 specimens, including mineral specimens, rock specimens, and paleontological specimens. A highlight is the toothless Furong dinosaur (Lotosaurus adentus), the ancestor of dinosaurs. The most interesting feature is its sharp beak-like mouth without teeth. It uses the sharp edge of its mouth to cut food.