Beijing Women's Federation

Lu Jing, a researcher with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), spoke with netizens worldwide about her efforts to promote scientific research and science popularization during a live-stream session in October. Statistics show that the program has been watched over 110,000 times. Lu, also a tutor for science popularization with the Beijing part of the Empowering Girls with Science and Technology campaign, gave primary school students a lecture on the birth and evolution of fish species on the same day.

A screenshot of the live-stream program in which Lu Jing, a fossil researcher, speaks with global netizens about her decade-long engagement in sci-tech research

Embark on a Journey of Archaeology

When asked about why she fell in love with the research of ancient fish species, Lu said that she liked watching such fantastic and adventurous movies as Raiders of the Lost Ark when she was a kid, and that archaeologists in those films left a deep impression on her with their extraordinary courage. Lu said that she was also interested about ancient Egyptian civilization and the mystery of dinosaur fossils and that was why she studied biological sciences at her university. Later, she found that the research of vertebrate animals would become an ideal carrier for her to make the childhood dream come true because it links archaeology with animals. During the study in the IVPP, Lu started to read some publications about ancient deep-sea fish species that are believed to be as old as dinosaurs. Therefore, she firmed up her will to research ancient fish.

Lu Jing, a researcher with the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

Trek across Mountains, Deserts Worldwide in Search of Fossils

During the past decade, Lu has travelled far beyond China to conduct her scientific studies. For instance, Lu and her team set up a work station in the Pearl River Source Scenic Area in Qujing, southwest China's Yunnan Province where they discovered vertebrate fossils and lectured the public on the evolution of mankind in a history of 400 million years. The wild expedition also brought Lu and her teammates to the coastlines, deserts and cliffs in Australia as well as the Gondwana supercontinent in Antarctica. Such trips require enormous courage and perseverance to accomplish their sci-tech tasks. Lu said that all setbacks and frustrations were worth the effort when she eventually discovered fossils during the arduous trek.

Lu Jing, a researcher with the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

Popularize Science with Innovative Approaches

In 2019, Lu started to release science popularization short videos on domestic video-sharing platform Douyin to help the public learn about her outdoor expeditions, ancient animal species and their fossils. A video clip about how to create a fish skeleton model with bones from a traditional Chinese dish has received more than 70 million likes from her online followers. The number of her fans have exceeded 302,000. Additionally, Lu has opened a special column on the CAS WeChat account to popularizing paleontology.

Lu Jing, a researcher of the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

Lu said that she came up with the idea to make short videos on science popularization by accident. A teacher once told her that it was of utmost importance to conduct science popularization in the research of paleontology. During an outdoor expedition, a colleague proposed that they can make short videos of animal skeletons with what they had eaten so as to create more fun in their research life.

Lu Jing (L), a researcher with the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

On the sidelines of the live-stream program, Lu paid a special visit to Hongying Primary School in Haidian district of Beijing, and she gave a lecture on the birth and evolution of fish species for over 100 students there. "I like children and enjoy playing with them. I hope that they will draw inspiration from my experiences and become interested in science," Lu said during an interview. Prior to the conclusion of the open class, many students asked Lu to sign up her name for them. A girl said that she wanted to follow Lu’s footsteps and take part in scientific expeditions.

The live-stream program for overseas audiences was jointly launched by Beijing Women's Federation (BWF) and Guangming Daily (gmw.cn) in 2016 to share colorful stories of women in Beijing through the Facebook account of the newspaper. So far, it has been watched by over 11.92 million times. The presence of Lu is the first time for women sci-tech workers to attend the live-stream program, telling the stories behind their sci-tech research, showcasing the strength of women scientists, and encouraging girls to chase their dreams about science.