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Museums & Galleries in Taipei
Taipei, Taiwan's capital in a basin at the island's north end, is a dense, walkable city of night markets, temples, tea houses and the Taipei 101 tower. It is also home to the National Palace Museum, holder of the world's greatest collection of Chinese imperial art, carried from Beijing's Forbidden City in the twentieth century.
Why here
The National Palace Museum in Taipei is one of the essential art museums of the world, and the reason many travellers make a point of the city. It holds close to 700,000 objects spanning nearly every dynasty of Chinese history, the imperial collection of the Forbidden City, moved to Taiwan by the Nationalist government during the civil war and now shown in a hillside museum in the Shilin district. The signature pieces have become national icons: the Jadeite Cabbage, carved from a single flawed piece of jade into a cabbage with a hidden insect, and the Meat-shaped Stone, a piece of jasper worked to look uncannily like a slab of braised pork belly. Around them sit ritual bronzes three thousand years old, Song and Ming ceramics, jade, lacquer, and rare calligraphy and painting rotated through the galleries because only a fraction can be displayed at once. Come with a plan or a guide, because the collection is vast and the highlights are easy to miss in the crowds.
Best months
The museum is open year-round and is an all-weather visit, which makes it a perfect anchor for a rainy day or the humid heat of summer. It is busiest in the middle of the day and during Taiwanese and mainland holiday periods, when the galleries around the Jadeite Cabbage can be shoulder to shoulder, so early morning or late afternoon is calmer. Displays rotate, especially the light-sensitive calligraphy and painting, so a specific scroll may or may not be out; the famous jade and bronze icons are almost always on show. A guided tour or the museum audio guide helps enormously in placing the pieces.
Getting there & around
The National Palace Museum sits in the Shilin district in the north of Taipei. From the city centre take the metro to Shilin station, then a short bus or taxi up to the museum; allow at least half a day, and ideally more. Tickets are inexpensive and can be bought on arrival or online. The museum offers scheduled English guided tours and audio guides, and private licensed guides can be arranged. There is a well-known restaurant and tea house on site. It pairs naturally with the nearby Shilin Night Market in the evening.
Skill levels: beginner
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National Palace Museum
OrganizerThe National Palace Museum in Taipei's Shilin district holds close to 700,000 objects, the world's greatest collection of Chinese imperial art, carried from Beijing's Forbidden City. Its best-known treasures are the Jadeite Cabbage and the Meat-shaped Stone, shown alongside Song and Ming ceramics, bronzes, jade and rare calligraphy and painting rotated through the galleries. It runs scheduled English guided tours and audio guides, and only a fraction of the holdings can be shown at once.