Its predecessor is E Cheng County Museum. Built in 1961, it was renamed as Historical Museum in Shangjing of Jin Dynasty in 1986. In 1987, E Cheng County became a city. The museum had been moved to 4 different places in its 38-year history. The new museum was completed and opened to the public in October 1998. Covering an area of 50,00 square meters and with a floor space of 5,400 and a total investment of 15 million yuan, the museum has 9 display rooms whose area ranges from 200 square meters to 660 square meters. Besides 6 rooms on the ground, there are 3 rooms underground.
The display rooms on the ground feature mainly the history of Shangjing of Jin Dynasty. Qikang, a noted architect, designs No.3 room. Its construction style reflects the Culture of Jinyuan. The only exhibition place for cultural relics of Jin Dynasty in China, the museum keeps over 2,000 pieces of cultural relics, of which 19 are listed as category-1. Chairman of Russian Society for Archaeology said that the cultural relics here would add glamour to any museum in the world.
