Peng Jiamu

Who was Peng Jiamu?

Peng Jiamu was a Chinese biochemist and explorer, who was lost in the Lop Nur desert.

Born in Guangdong Province in 1925 and graduated from the then Central University of China as a biology student in 1947, Peng's life has been closely tied with scientific exploration in China. In 1956, already a famous biologist at Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Peng heard that the Chinese Academy of Sciences would organize a massive expedition in Xinjiang, he immediately gave up his chances of studying abroad and filed an application. In repeated field explorations, Peng was able to measure the annual accumulation of potassium in the desert and discover dozens of wild species in Lop Nor and other parts of Xinjiang.

In 1979, he was appointed as the vice-president of Xinjiang Branch of CAS and in the summer of 1980, he led a team of chemists, geologists, biologists and archaeologists into Lop Nur again. On June 17, Peng disappeared outside the camp of the team, after leaving a note saying he was going out to find water.

His disappearance sparked a huge highly publicised and fruitless search and his disappearance reportedly upset the top Chinese leaders of the time, including Deng Xiaoping. The central government ordered the military to dispatch more than 10 planes and helicopters and hundreds of soldiers to search for him. In late 1990s, a TV-series named "Searching for Peng Jiamu" was broadcast across the People's Republic of China. From 2005 to 2007, six skeletons have been discovered and were believed to be his body, but none was proved.