More than 100 wood fossils up to 5.3 million years old have gone on display in a Hong Kong park, where visitors are allowed to touch the ancient remains.

The fossils, collected by the late Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum, a billionaire and chairwoman of Chinachem Group, were unveiled on Friday, when the first phase of the park repurposed for the fossils was opened free of charge to the public.

Chinachem, which created the Nina Park in Tsuen Wan, said more than 100 pieces of museum-grade wood fossils would be on display, the largest wood fossil collection in an urban park in Asia.

Visitors will also be able to touch the exhibits.

All the fossils came from West Java, Indonesia and started to form about 2.6 to 5.3 million years ago in the Pliocene era

Chan Lai-kiu, the park’s designer, said the park’s creators had no fears that the fossils might be damaged.

“This is like the internet, where you often can only balance as much as possible between safety and fun,” Chan explained.

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“We will provide the public with a sense of interaction as much as possible within an acceptable range.”

The collection includes 30 metre (98 feet) “Sun Fossil”, the world’s seventh-largest petrified wood piece.

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Donald Choi, Chinachem’s CEO, said that the park would be opened in phases as some fossils were still to be delivered or being prepared.

“Nina Park is designed with the community in mind, with attractions that appeal to a diverse audience of different ages, cultures and nationalities, coming together in this shared social space to explore the mysteries of the natural world,” he said.

The park, which covers an area of 6,500 square metres (69,965 square feet), also features the Wood Fossil Experience Centre, designed to educate visitors about fossils and geology.