Peng Jiamu

In this Chinese name, the family name is Peng.

Peng Jiamu
Born	19 May 1925 Guangzhou, Guangdong, Republic of China
Disappeared	17 June 1980 (aged 55) Lop Nur, China
Occupation(s)	Biochemist, explorer
Known for	Mysterious disappearance Cataloguing various species of flora and fauna

Peng Jiamu (simplified Chinese: 彭加木; pinyin: Péng Jiāmù, born 19 May 1925, disappeared 17 June 1980) was a Chinese biochemist and explorer.

Biography

Peng was born in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in 1935. He received a biology degree from Central University of China (now Nanjing University), graduating in 1947 and subsequently joined the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, where he studied and worked under Cao Tianqin. He joined several scientific expeditions to Xinjiang organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), starting in 1956. On the expeditions, he catalogued species of flora and fauna and measured potassium accumulation in the Lop Nor desert.

In 1979, a year before he disappeared in the Lop Desert, he was promoted to the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “Science,” he said, “is to walk a road not travelled by other people.”

Disappearance

Peng led a 1980 expedition to the Lop Nur desert, where he disappeared on 17 June, leaving a note saying he had gone out to find water.

A large-scale hunt for him was unsuccessful and widely covered by Chinese media. A TV documentary series named Searching for Peng Jiamu covered the events up to and after his disappearance. On six occasions between 2005 and 2007, human remains were discovered that could have been his, but could not be proven as such.

See also

• List of people who disappeared