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.
The museum has a visitor area and a collection storage area. The visitor area has three exhibition halls: