Tianjin museum celebrates 110th anniversary

The Tianjin Natural History Museum, one of China's oldest museums, commemorated its 110th anniversary on Friday. A series of international seminars will take place from Friday through Sunday.

At the commemoration, the museum entered into agreements with the National Museum of Natural History, Natural History Museum of Nantes and the Rombies Historical and Archaeological Research Society in France to enhance communication, research and exhibitions.

Collaboration agreements were also signed with Hebei University and Tianjin International Studies University. And a partnership with 15 natural history museums was formalized.

Seven institutions, organizations and museums, including the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with the Tianjin Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, donated a total of 2,647 biological specimens.

Founded in 1914 by the French scientist Paul Emile Licent (1876-1952), the museum currently houses more than 200,000 natural specimens collected by Licent during his 25 years of scientific research in China, in addition to approximately 14,000 volumes of literature.

The current site, now known as the Tianjin Natural History Museum is about 2.5 kilometers from its original site, the Hoangho Paiho Museum, situated in the Wudadao area — also known as the Five Greater Avenues area.

The Hoangho Paiho Museum stands out as the sole institution in China that has preserved its original site, architecture, collections, display cases and documentary materials since its inception.

In 2019, it was recognized by the State Council in the eighth group of key national cultural heritage protection units.