In this episode, I travel to Keqiao, an ancient water town in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, where history stretches back more than 1,700 years. But beneath the canals, stone bridges, and historic buildings lies a much deeper story—one written millions of years ago. I sit down with Fang Lei (Florence), the co-founder of the Pangu Fossil Museum, to talk about how a personal passion for fossils unexpectedly turned into a museum with more than 3,000 ancient specimens.

Florence and her husband never planned to build a museum. They were interior designers from Hong Kong who simply loved collecting fossils. But when they discovered the perfect historic building in Keqiao, their private collection became something bigger—a place for education, curiosity, and wonder. We talk about how fossils change the way we see our place in history, why she curates the museum differently from traditional institutions, and how the project eventually led to Shaoxing’s first museum-themed homestay for visiting scientists and travelers.

Episode Highlights

[00:00] – Introducing Keqiao, an ancient water town where a story millions of years old lies beneath the ground.

[02:02] – How the Pangu Fossil Museum began and why Florence and her husband chose to share their private fossil collection with the public.

[06:23] – The unexpected beginning: a fossil discovered during a design project in Shanghai sparks a lifelong passion.

[07:23] – Finding the perfect Jiangnan-style historic building and transforming it into a museum in Keqiao.

[09:19] – Why standing in front of ancient fossils reminds us how small humans are in the timeline of Earth.

[10:54] – Florence explains how she curates fossils differently—treating them as both scientific artifacts and works of natural beauty.

[11:52] – Teaching students that dinosaurs once lived right beneath Zhejiang’s soil.

[14:15] – Scientists begin visiting the museum, inspiring the creation of Shaoxing’s first museum-themed homestay.

[16:50] – Florence shares her philosophy on following intuition and learning new skills along the way.

[18:30] – Closing reflection: why preserving fossils helps us understand the deeper story of life on Earth.

Links and Resources

This episode is sponsored by China Eastern Airlines, who supported my travel for this journey. You can learn more about their routes and destinations at us.ceair.com.

Interested in visiting this homestay? You can find them on Trip.com

https://www.trip.com/w/YPUkzsE7aT2

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Website: https://AmeliaOld.com

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