Heilongjiang Provincial Museum 黑龙江省博物馆

About Heilongjiang Provincial Museum

Its holdings include the Jin-period bronze seated dragon and distinctive early archaeological finds, while ancient-animal material introduces the region's much longer environmental history. The historic commercial building is itself part of the visit. Treat named collection highlights as reasons to explore the galleries rather than promises that every object will be on display during a temporary exhibition change.

The museum was founded in 1904 in a building originally built as the Moscow Department Store (莫斯科商场). In 1922 Russian residents established the Cultural Relics Research Society of the Special Region of the Eastern Provinces of the Republic of China (中华民国东省特别区文物研究会) and set up a museum inside it. During the Manchukuo period the institution was renamed several times, and after 1945 it was administered by the Soviet government and later by the China Changchun Railway authorities, being renamed again several times before it took its present name, Heilongjiang Provincial Museum, in 1954 after Songjiang and Heilongjiang provinces merged.

The building was recognized in 2006, under the name 'Site of the former Harbin Moscow Department Store', as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位), and the museum itself was designated a National First-Grade Museum (国家一级博物馆) in the second such batch in 2012. It opened free to the public in 2008.

The building is a classical Baroque structure that was the second building erected on Nangang's central square, next to St. Nicholas Church (圣·尼古拉教堂). Its collection includes about 8,000 natural-history specimens and more than 2,700 historical relics, 55 of which are rated first-grade, displayed in exhibitions including 'Heilongjiang Historical Relics' (黑龙江历史文物) and 'Heilongjiang Ancient Animals' (黑龙江古动物).

What to look for

• The former Moscow Department Store exterior, a surviving part of Harbin's historic commercial architecture.
• Jin-period and other regional archaeological material, including the museum's documented bronze seated-dragon collection highlight.
• Ancient-animal displays connecting the region's human history with its natural past.

The surrounding area

Provincial capital base for Central Street, architectural history, music and seasonal ice displays.

Location & getting there

Getting to Heilongjiang Provincial Museum

Use the Hongjun Street museum venue in Nangang District, beside Bowuguan (Museum) station on Metro Lines 1 and 2.

• Confirm the venue in the museum's current notice before travelling; the separately constructed new museum at Moon Bay should not be assumed to be open.