Distinguished leaders, dear colleagues and friends,

Good morning everyone. On the occasion of this symposium, we are here communicating the new discoveries and progresses relevant to the Qianshan Paleocene fossils in China as well as in Eurasia and North America to celebrate this very important fossil locality in Anhui Province. This symposium is a party to exchange ideas and strengthen friendships between domestic and foreign scholars. On behalf of our institute, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, namely IVPP, I warmly welcome all the guests, and would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your support and assistance to this symposium.

On this symposium moment we cannot forget our progenitors Profs. Zhou Minzheng, Qiu Zhanxiang, Li Chuankui, and others who were hardworking, industriously studying and made a solid foundation for further development of the Qianshan Paleocene research. They broadcasted the discoveries in Qianshan and made this basin famous in the world. They left eternal footprints in history of the Chinese Paleocene studies, and we are proud and honored to have them in Chinese paleontology and stratigraphy. I would like to express my highest respect to them.

As you know the Qianshan Basin is a shrine for the Paleocene mammalian research, two formations, namely Wanghudun Formation and Doumu Formation produced rich mammalian fossils, including many localities, such as Haixingdi, Chidoukan, Lijialaowu, Sanliantang, Fujiashanzui, Xudawu, Yangxiaowu, and so on. All those localities accompanied by many fossils of mammals, reptiles, and birds, form a valuable and unique site complex of the Early and Middle Paleocene and draw the world’s attention. The Qianshan Basin is one of the basins with most plentiful, comprehensive, and valuable Paleocene vertebrate fossils in the world, and a treasury with scientific information of biological and environmental evolution, and a scientific base for vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and Paleogene research, and also a center for science popularization education. For its important and unique value, Tianzhushan, including the Qianshan Basin, was listed the Global Geopark Networks in 2011.

The Qianshan Basin is a treasure of China, and also a treasure of the world. Since its finding, protections and exhibitions of the locality were supported and encouraged by a lot of organizations, government departments, and scholars. After the co-built agreement between the IVPP and the Tianzhushan Global Geopark, our institute pays great attention to related work at the Qianshan Basin, and manages excavations, maintenance of specimens, and scientific research. Since 1970s, the IVPP has conducted a series of field work at the Qianshan Basin, at least for 31 times and 50 people, including 16 times of Prof. Wang Yuanqing and 9 times of Prof. Li Chuankui. IVPP also invited 11 foreign scholars to visit Qianshan, including eight from US, two from Germany, and one from France. They published over 50 papers about the Qianshan Paleocene fossils and stratigraphy. Their researches received many awards, such as the National Scientific Congress' Prize in 1978, the Major Scientific and Technological Achievements Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1978, the first prize in Natural Science Award of CAS for two times in 1992 and 1995. In particular, the study on the origin of rodents and lagomorphs based on the fossils found in the Qianshan Basin has been widely cited by scientists around the world.

On behalf of the IVPP, I deeply appreciate the support of the Museum of Qianshan County (the former Administration Office of Cultural Relics of Qianshan County), the Geological Survey of Anhui Province, and the Tianzhushan Geopark Administration Committee.

The Qianshan County has undergone a significant change recently. The Tianzhushan Global Geopark with a fully-functional structure, rich and various exhibitions, and modern methods of display has opened to the public for many years. Research of the Qianshan Basin is still ongoing, and new methods are adopted, such as the geometric morphometric analysis and 3D scanning which has made this old fossil site showing the new vigor and vitality.

Vertebrate paleontology and terrestrial stratigraphy are highly concerned subjects in the scientific community. New discoveries from Eurasia and North America are writing a new history of mammalian evolution and environmental changes, and a series of new progresses are also made in China recently. The scholars will present and discuss their new discoveries in this symposium. All those findings are widely concerned by the academic communities and all sectors of society both within and out of the country. In view of this, an international symposium to exchange information of new findings and progresses in China is needed and will benefit for solving some hot issues in vertebrate paleontology and terrestrial stratigraphy and for development of related subjects in biology and geology.

Our institute, the IVPP is one of world’s premiere paleontological institutions. Many magnificent research results have been achieved, and nearly 100 research papers have been published in Nature and Science. IVPP employs 150 staff members, including four Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and many researchers holding Ph.D. degrees. In addition, a skillful technician group supports the research enterprise, preparing, casting and molding, and drawing and photographing fossils. IVPP has Asia’s greatest collection of vertebrate and human fossils with more than 200,000 catalogued specimens. IVPP has seven members of the Paleontological Experts Committee of China, all of them and all of IVPP staff members will give their support to the Tianzhushan Global Geopark.

Inheriting near 50 years history and glory since the first discovery of the Qianshan Paleocene mammalian fossils in 1966, I feel we are still a long way to go. I believe under the joint efforts of colleagues in vertebrate paleontology and terrestrial stratigraphy, more breakthrough results will be achieved in the future. To conclude, I wish the symposium a great success, and wish every guest can have a fully pleasant journey during the symposium.

Thank you!