Zhang Ruowan is a university student on break. She makes plans to visit a museum with the son of her former neighbors, never expecting a prehistoric dinosaur fossil to spring to life right in front of them!
The young man scoops her up and bolts.
Zhang Ruowan and Jiang Yichao both firmly believe in materialism. Before long, they discover that, by a twist of fate, they have become the subjects of a news story being tracked across short-video apps: the stars of the "Dinosaur Egg Heist" trending topic.
Their peaceful world is turned upside down. Prehistoric dinosaurs from the Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic periods keep appearing, while Douyin, trending searches, and Xiaohongshu fill up with expert analysis and the latest dinosaur videos.
Weibo trending posts:
"Prehistoric dinosaurs have come back to life in Asia! But these dinosaurs don't seem to eat people." [Explosive]
"The fan circles have made supertopics for the dinos and paired the Tyrannosaurus rex with the Mosasaurus. Their ship, Tyranno-Mosa, is now No. 1 on the ship rankings. Fans are making fan edits out of love, gaining two million followers in half an hour and over twenty million in twenty-four hours. Their videos have gone viral overseas too, trending in countries around the world on Instagram. They've become the new top-tier stars."
A Shanghai-based Bilibili creator: "I opened the door and found the prehistoric overlords, a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Triceratops, fighting outside my balcony. They looked like monsters at the Nascent Soul stage about to ascend to immortality... I'm just an ordinary mortal. Can I still eat the jianbing guozi I ordered two hours ago?"
A Meituan delivery rider comments on the app: "Don't eat it. The dinosaur ate your jianbing guozi. All that's left is half the delivery bag. I took a photo for you and hung the half bag on your doorknob. Please leave me a good rating."
It turns out that villains are plotting a shocking scheme to bring back prehistoric dinosaurs that have been asleep for hundreds of millions of years, using the crowds visiting the dinosaur exhibition to carry it out.
(An excerpt from the romance plot)
Because of a little dinosaur egg, Zhang Ruowan unknowingly becomes the prehistoric dinosaurs' prime target. The villains even label her the "First Dragon Mother." Before the little dinosaur hatches, ancient dragons hunt her down. After it hatches, the ancient dragons fear and submit to her.
The top student who's secretly in love with Zhang Ruowan says, "The type and number of my rivals in love are literally enormous now."
🦖 Science Fiction Writer's Notes 🦖: The Conceptualization of Little Dinosaur: ARRIVAL
Copyright and author: Qing Luo Shan Zi. First published in the author's Jinjiang column.
💗 (1) [Creative Vision]
When I was in middle school, I watched the Jurassic Park film series, directed by the world-famous filmmaker Steven Spielberg. I loved his films and was deeply moved by and admired the way they blend natural science fiction with humanistic concern. To me, he is the greatest pioneer of humanistic science fiction.
Now that I've grown into a woman creating stories of my own, inspiration that had been building for years led me to write this science fiction story, whose creative concept takes place entirely in Asia. It follows the excavation of China's prehistoric dinosaurs as a humanistic and geographical thread. Compared with Western dinosaur films, the latter carry a recurring idea throughout the sequels: "Visitors come to see dinosaurs that are increasingly ferocious and powerful. We need to thrill them and make the experience more spectacular." The technology company in the films also creates stronger dinosaur genes to serve this commercial purpose, eliminating weaker dinosaur species.
(2) [Thoughts on the Science Fiction Concept]
This story takes as its starting point the uncharted subject of China's dinosaur history, never mentioned in Western films, and shifts the global view of dinosaurs toward the Asian continent. It also considers the idea that "the more powerful, the more exciting" from an independent perspective. If dinosaurs really were brought back to life in Asia, how would the people living there today treat them? Would they build a nature park for them, as in Western films? Or would they put them on Weibo's trending topics, have experts and Bilibili creators analyze them, unlock a three-part dinosaur course, and film viral Douyin videos to post on social media for likes and views?
How can I portray a human and geographical landscape of the East that is entirely different from those in Western films? How can I link Chinese dinosaurs with Shanghai's museums, the Huangpu River, the Yangtze River, and the waterways that pass through Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet, weaving them into China's hydrological network? How can I bring the awe-inspiring communities of prehistoric life together with China's national geography in a modern, physically visualized work of global science fiction? The resurrected dinosaurs that films have yet to explore were once the rulers of Earth, kings among prehistoric creatures. As the architects of order, do they have their own laws of nature and ancient wisdom? How will they view modern humans? Do they simply assume that Earth belongs to them and want to reclaim it and rule it once more? 🌏
(3)
I wanted to bring together the beauty of modern architecture, the distinct features of China's regions, its hydrology and geography, and science fiction speculation. The amount of thought required at the outset was immense, making this a difficult challenge, but also an endeavor that sparked my curiosity. Throughout the story, I turned my overall ideas into scenes that serve as thematic threads. At the end, I reveal the answers I reached through independent thought, along with my science fiction philosophy, my perspective, and the purpose behind my work.
This science fiction novel took over three years to write in stages. The actual writing proved even more challenging than I expected. For some reason, readers liked the little dinosaur's alternate-universe bonus chapter more than the alternate-universe chapter for the leads. After finishing it, I was surprised to find that children liked it even more than adults. All's well that ends well. I hope all science fiction fans and readers enjoy the story!
The main story is complete, including two alternate-universe bonus chapters. I've been invited by an American science fiction publisher and will be flying overseas next month to visit the company and sign a deal related to the science fiction rights.
Author's Weibo: @Qing Luo Shan Zi
These writer's notes were written on Friday, June 26, 2026, on the eve of my trip to the US.
[Related References]
1. Chinese prehistoric dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, hundreds of millions of years ago.
2. Sources include international popular science materials, books from Chinese archaeology, BBC documentaries, and more. New findings emerge in dinosaur research every year and may overturn earlier theories. I'll add updates if there are any.
3. This work features city landmarks, ancient architecture, and science fiction scenarios. Please do not imitate them. In real life, cherish buildings and protect historical architecture.
Theme: View nature through a humanistic lens, respect the laws of biology, and tell an imaginative science fiction story about China's prehistoric dinosaurs.
Woohoo, finally a powerful force has joined.
Exploring the Dinosaur Hall at night requires a strong heart. Looking at the models at night is scary, but there is a special design. It makes me nervous. Wanwanchaoge is rising!
The Buddha statue here is amazing and shocking, and it feels like a storm is about to come.
Wancao, the big white dragon has updated its equipment. It's so handsome. Wanwan's first experience of riding a dragon felt great. The dinosaurs all obeyed her command. So handsome.
Little dragon cubs: Come on, Dad! Kill these little slugs! Finally, we have more powerful comrades. Woohoo, our protagonist group has grown stronger.
Woohoo, wow, looks good!!!
The cute green cub has become a big brother, so cute
I really cried. The first novel I read in Jinjiang after three years has finally been updated [ bursts into tears ]
Ah hahahaha it's over, number one!
Three months have passed. Wuwuwuwu.