Overview
The museum is in Harbin in Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang is
China’s northernmost province and is north of North Korea. It has
been a site for the region’s power struggles for thousands of years
between the Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Mongolians, several tribes
and Russians. Harbin itself began as a Russian city.
The region was the base territory of two war-like tribes that
conquered China and founded two of China’s dynasties. One tribe
conquered northern China and founded the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234
AD); and later, the Manchus conquered China and founded the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1912). So historians, anthropologists, and
archeologists who specialize in the history of this region must
understand the relevant cultures in the area.
There are tens of thousands of ancient pieces of literature and
relics, and tens of thousands of fossils of dinosaurs, ancient
people, plants and animals. The museum is a research center for
scholars, and also a popular place to visit in the Harbin area to
enjoy the exhibits and to learn about history.
Features
- The biggest museum in Heilongjiang Province.
- Jin Dynasty relics.
- Qing Dynasty relics.
- Russian relics.
- Japanese and WWII relics.
- Cool architecture: The large building was once a department store
that was built about the year 1906. It was called Moscow Department
Store, and it has red domes. It is now one of Harbin’s most
important preserved historical buildings.
Collections
The museum has a visitor area and a collection storage area. The
visitor area has three exhibition halls:
- One hall displays historical relics of Heilongjiang Province,
including coins from China’s dynasties, silk fabric from the Jin
Dynasty, and Russian and Japanese relics. The museum was first
operated by Russians, and then by Japanese.
- The second hall has an exhibition of the region’s animals and
fossils of local animals.
- The third hall is an exhibition of dinosaur fossils and extinct
animals and plants. There is a good display of a duck-billed
dinosaur fossil, a mammoth fossil, and a woolly rhinoceros fossil.
Travel Essentials
- Opening Hours: 09:00-16:00 (closed on Monday)
- Address: 50 Hongjun Street (红军街50号)
- Admission: free of charge (visitors need to present their passport
or ID card at the entrance)
Related Links
- Harbin Tour Packages
- Visitors can also see Harbin's history and precious old photos of
the beginning of the 20st century at St. Sofia Orthodox Church
- Harbin's History
