1912年，法國天主教神甫黎桑(1876～1952),就開始研究中國黃河流域、內(nèi)蒙古、西藏地區(qū)的地質(zhì)、動植物區(qū)系的情況，并提出要在中國北方建立博物館的計劃。
1914年3月25日，黎桑到達(dá)天津，以圣路易斯路(今營口道)的崇德堂為基地，獨(dú)自在河北、山西兩省進(jìn)行考察、采集、探險、發(fā)掘工作。他專為自己起了一個中國名字，叫桑志華。并主持創(chuàng)建北疆博物院，這是我國早期的博物館之一。
1918年春天，桑志華又到陜北、甘肅、青海進(jìn)行考察，歷時一年。他采集的標(biāo)本和發(fā)掘的化石，雇用7輛馬車及18匹騾子拉載、馱運(yùn)。另外，他還搞到了一系列哺乳動物的皮張、形態(tài)各異的昆蟲標(biāo)本、礦物標(biāo)本等2000余件。其中，還有極其珍貴的1919年在甘肅慶陽發(fā)現(xiàn)的蓬蒂期動物化石。
1920年，桑志華繼續(xù)在我國西北地區(qū)進(jìn)行大規(guī)模的發(fā)掘。首次發(fā)現(xiàn)舊石器時代打制的石器。只是采集的化石一項(xiàng)，就雇用了83頭駱駝往回運(yùn)。他把部分典型標(biāo)本寄到法國巴黎博物館進(jìn)行鑒定。
經(jīng)過8年的采集，桑志華所獲大量動物化石、石器、不計其數(shù)的標(biāo)本，存滿了崇德堂的大部分房間和地下室。于是，于正在建設(shè)中的工商學(xué)院內(nèi)(今馬場道117號天津外語學(xué)院)建立正式博物館。1922年，第一座樓落成； 1928年又建成一座陳列廳，正式對外開放。
博物館建筑面積1 640平方米，平面呈“工”形； 北樓3層，南樓3層，兩樓之間用跨空封閉式天橋相連； 陳列室采用中心牛腿柱框架結(jié)構(gòu)，設(shè)計獨(dú)特，具有羅馬式建筑風(fēng)格。是天津市文物保護(hù)單位。
館內(nèi)的陳列廳一樓，珍藏有地質(zhì)學(xué)、巖石學(xué)、地層學(xué)、生物學(xué)的各種標(biāo)本，大型動物骨架化石； 二樓珍藏有動物學(xué)、植物學(xué)、人類學(xué)的各種標(biāo)本，僅鳥類標(biāo)本就多達(dá)400余種。特別是1919年甘肅慶陽發(fā)現(xiàn)的舊石器時代遺物尤為珍貴。河套古人類化石，即由該院研究鑒定而定名。
此后，桑志華仍不停地進(jìn)行考察、采集、發(fā)掘和研究工作； 并有其他專家參與其中。如中外學(xué)者楊仲健、裴文中、德日進(jìn)等，曾經(jīng)在此做過卓有成效的研究。到1935年時，北疆博物院的動產(chǎn)和不動產(chǎn)總值，約有100萬美元。正如有的專家所說的： “北疆博物院是用四分之一世紀(jì)嘔心瀝血建成的，從無到有，功績巨大?！笨谷諔?zhàn)爭開始時，桑志華才停止考察研究，回到法國。
該博物院當(dāng)時在世界上有一定影響。中國古生物學(xué)家楊仲健稱其為“世界上第一流的博物館” 。
解放后黨和政府對該館十分關(guān)心，周恩來總理曾多次作過重要指示。天津市先后兩次投入大量人力、物力，在北疆博物院的基礎(chǔ)上，異地在佟樓一帶，建成中國最大的自然博物館。連同原北疆博物院的館藏，共有標(biāo)本40余萬件，圖書3萬余冊。

·北疆博物院

In 1912,the French catholic priest Emile Licent(1876-1952) started to investigate the geology,plantsand creatures in the areas of the Yellow river,Tibet andInner Mongolia. He proposed a plan to build a museumin North China.
On March 25,1914,he arrived in Tianjin. TakingChongde Church on St Louis Road as his citadel (nowYingkou Road),he started by himself the work ofinvestigating,information collecting and exploringHebei and Shanxi provinces. He collected so manyspecimens and fossils that he hired seven horse-drawncarriages and 18 mules to carry them back to Tianjin. Healso collected more than 2000 skins of mammals,insectspecimens and mineral fossils. Among these there wereprecious fossils of animals living in the Pengdi Period.Those precious fossils were found in 1919 in Qingyangin Gansu Province.
In 1920 Sang Zhihua (a Chinese name of EmileLicent ) continued his exploring in northwest China.He was the first person who found the stoneware madein Old Stone Age. He made so many collections thathe hired 83 camels to carry fossils only. He sent sometypical specimens to Paris Museum in France foraccrediting.
After eight years of collection,Sang Zhihua filledmost of the rooms and basements in Chongde Churchwith animal fossils,stoneware and specimens. Therefore,he built a formal museum in the Trade and CommerceCollege (located now in Tianjin Foreign LanguagesCollege at No. 117 on Machang Road) which was still inconstruction at that time. In 1922,the first building forthe museum was completed. In 1928,an exhibition hallwas formally built and was open to the public.
The museum covered a construction area of 1640square meters. It was shaped like a Chinese character"Gong". There were three stories in both the northernand the southern buildings. The two buildings wereconnected through an enclosed overpass. The exhibitionhall was in unique Roman style and of bull-leg framestructure in the center. It was a culture relic protectionunit of Tianjin.
The first floor of the exhibition hall treasured upmany kinds of geologic,lithologic,stratigraphic andbiologic specimens and large-sized animal skeletonfossils. The second floor treasured up many zoologic,botanical and anthropologic specimens,including morethan 400 bird specimens. Among these treasures,therelics of the Old Stone Age found at Qingyang in Gansuin 1919 were quite rare. Hetao PalaeoanthropologyFossil was accredited and named by this museum.
After that,Sang Zhihua continued his collection,investigation and research. Many experts also joinedhim,including Yang Zhongjian,Pei Wenzhong andDe Rijin etc. The experts made great contributions tothe museum. By 1935,the total value of its estate andcurrent assets reached around 1 million USD. Someexperts said that Musee Hongho Paiho was startedfrom scratch and had made great achievements with thefull devotion of experts in a quarter of a century. SangZhihua stopped his research and returned to France afterthe anti-Japanese war broke out.
Musee Hongho Paiho had great influence in theworld. Yang Zhongjian,a Chinese paleontologist calledit "a museum of first rank in the world".
After the liberation,the Communist party and thegovernment paid much attention to the museum. PremierZhou Enlai gave important instructions to it many times.Tianjin government had invested a great deal of laboringand financial support twice to enlarge it. On the basisof Musee Hongho Paiho,Tianjin Nature Museum,thelargest museum in China was rebuilt around Tonglouarea. It housed more than 400 thousands specimens andmore than 30 thousands books,including all that hadbeen treasured in Musee Hongho Paiho.