Fossil with small-sized dinosaur footprints discovered in China's Gansu

A fossil with a trial of five footprints from a small-sized dinosaur was discovered in the Linxia Global GeoPark in northwest China's Gansu Province, shedding lights on scientific research on how dinosaurs shrank in size and evolved to birds.

With the length of 1 to 3 centimeters, it is one of the smallest dinosaur footprint fossils in the world. The footprints on the fossil belong to the small-sized dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period dating back to nearly 120 million years ago, said experts based on field observations.

"This is the first time for the footprints of small-sized dinosaurs to be discovered in Gansu Province and the rest of northwest China. These footprints will play important roles in strata comparison, dinosaurs scientific research and relative education. With these footprints, we can learn how dinosaurs' body size gradually decreased and how they evolved to birds, which bears huge significance in the evolutionary history of dinosaurs," said Xing Lida, an associate professor at China University of Geosciences (Beijing).

Fossils with small-sized dinosaurs' footprints were initially discovered in Sichuan Basin, followed by Shandong Province in eastern China and the Republic of Korea. Yet the new discovery in Gansu Province suggests the broader presence of small-sized dinosaurs' footprints in the early Cretaceous period, giving more insights into the biostratigraphy, geologic age and dinosaur diversity study in the region, according to Xing.

"The trail of footprints on the fossil indicates the speed of small-sized dinosaur is not very fast. The obvious water-shaped cracks on the fossil layer suggests the dinosaur once came close to water and there were many waterfowl alongside them. They formed a typical pack, and this aligns with what we found in other regions," said Xing.

A fossil assemblage of more than 2,000 fossils with dinosaurs' footprints have been discovered in Yongjing County of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture since the end of 1990s. These differentiated and well-reserved fossils were discovered at multiple rock layers.

Fossil with small-sized dinosaur footprints discovered in China's Gansu

The 2025 Cross-Strait Youth Exchange and Development Conference opened on Thursday in Jiujiang City, east China's Jiangxi Province, bringing together some 300 participants to discuss how to deepen cooperation and promote youth exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

With over 180 guests from Taiwan, the event, themed "Building Dreams Together, Creating the Future Together," focused on strengthening ties between Jiangxi and Taiwan, while offering youth from both sides opportunities of employment and entrepreneurship.

As part of the event, a job fair presented over 300 job openings, ranging from traditional roles like accountants and product managers to emerging positions in artificial intelligence and algorithm development.

The conference also saw the signing of a memorandum on cooperation and the announcement of the second Jiangxi-Taiwan Youth Short Video Creation Exchange.

Additionally, a salon on youth employment and entrepreneurship provided a platform for dialogue, while activities such as the Jiangxi-Taiwan Tennis Friendship Match further promoted cross-Strait exchanges.

Jiangxi's commitment to strengthening ties with Taiwan is evident in its ongoing efforts to host the Jiangxi-Taiwan conference, this time being its 19th edition. The province has also established several cross-Strait exchange bases, attracting an increasing number of Taiwanese youth to explore opportunities in Jiangxi.

Cross-Strait youth conference opens in Jiangxi to promote cooperation, employment