Preceding the festivities, Rombies, the hometown of Licent, generously contributed rare glimpses of his formative years, enriching the museum's retrospective on its century-long legacy and enduring Sino-French diplomatic ties.

Zhang Caixin, curator of the Tianjin Natural History Museum, expressed optimism about deepening partnerships with French counterparts. "We are ready to take solid steps in research communications and more personnel exchanges," she says.

Noteworthy collaborations were inked with Hebei University and Tianjin Foreign Studies University, alongside a formalized partnership with 15 natural history museums during the event.

Eight prominent institutions, including the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Tianjin Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, collectively donated 2,647 biological specimens.

The current site of the Tianjin Natural History Museum, a mere 2.5 kilometers from its original location in the Wudadao (Five Greater Avenues) area, preserves Licent's legacy, the Hoangho Paiho Museum, which is still open to the public, with unwavering fidelity, encompassing its original architecture, collections, display cases and historical materials.