On October 11th, the Chinese opening ceremony of the first "International Fossil Day" was held in Yichang city which is well-known as “Field Geological Museum”, and nearly one hundred experts in paleontology at home and abroad aimed at doing a favor in the public understanding of life history as well as enhancing the consciousness of protecting precious fossil heritage through the popular science propaganda of fossils. According to Xinhua News Agency, Wuhan, October, 11 (Reporter Wang Zichen)

　　"International Fossil Day" was established by the International Paleontological Association (IPA) in 2017 which had launched a call to the global Scientific Popularization Institutes, and nowadays more than 10 countries, including the United States, Britain, Japan and so on, have decided to hold an “International Fossil Day” commemoration on October 11 of each year.

　　As the first "International Fossil Day", the Chinese opening ceremony was organized jointly by the Paleontological Society, State Fossil Experts Committee and Chinese Fossil Protection Fund with the theme of " the Future of the Fossil: Public Participation in Research and Protection of Our Fossil Heritage".

　　Wang Yongdong, the Secretary-General of the Chinese Society of Paleontology and the researcher in Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology & Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced that during the festival, Chinese and foreign paleontology experts would conduct series of seminars referring to the topics of the "Paleontology Museum and Science Education" and "Fossil Protection Forum", meanwhile a succession of exhibition activities would be held by China Museum of Ancient Animals, Nanjing Paleontology Museum, Liaoning Paleontology Museum and other institutions, what’s more, the Popular Science Creation contest "Fossils Around Me" would also be held by the Chinese Society of Paleontology.