What to expect
The National Palace Museum houses roughly 700,000 artefacts, making it the definitive repository of Chinese imperial art. Located in the Shilin District, the museum is set against a backdrop of steep, forest-clad hills. The architecture mimics traditional northern Chinese palaces, featuring yellow-glazed roof tiles and green cornices.
Inside, the collection is too vast to display at once; exhibits rotate every three months. Most visitors head straight for the third floor to see the 'Mao Gong Ding', a 2,800-year-old bronze ritual vessel with a 500-character inscription inside. Nearby, you will find the museum’s most famous curiosities: the Jadeite Cabbage, carved from a single piece of green-and-white jade, and the Meat-shaped Stone, a piece of jasper carved to resemble a slab of braised pork belly.
Beyond these headliners, the galleries hold Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain, intricate olive-pit carvings, and landscape scrolls that span several metres. The air-conditioning is notoriously powerful, providing a sharp contrast to the humid Taipei heat outside.
A bit of history
The collection has a nomadic past. These objects were originally held in the Forbidden City in Beijing. During the 1930s, as the Japanese army advanced into China, the treasures were packed into thousands of wooden crates and moved across the mainland to prevent their seizure or destruction.
The collection spent years in transit, stored in caves and temporary warehouses. In 1948, during the height of the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist government transported approximately 3,000 crates of the most significant pieces across the Taiwan Strait to Keelung port. They were initially stored in a railway warehouse and later in a purpose-built tunnel in Taichung. The museum in Taipei finally opened its doors in 1965, ensuring the survival of pieces that might otherwise have been lost during the Cultural Revolution.
Practical tips
- Timing: To avoid the peak crowds of tour groups, arrive exactly at 09:00 or visit after 15:30. The museum is closed on Mondays.
- Audio Guide: The signage is comprehensive in English, but the audio guide provides necessary context for the symbolism found in the ceramic and jade galleries.
- The Zhishan Garden: Located just below the main museum entrance, this Song-style garden features koi ponds, winding bridges, and pavilions. If you have a museum ticket, entry is free.
- Strict Rules: Large bags and umbrellas must be left in the lockers (small coins required, though usually refundable). Water bottles are not allowed inside the galleries but can be stored in the locker or side pockets of bags if kept out of sight.
- Food: 'Silks Palace' next to the main building serves a 'National Treasure' menu where dishes are shaped like the museum’s famous artefacts.
Getting there
The museum is not directly served by a Metro (MRT) station. The most straightforward route is to take the MRT Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) north to Shilin Station. Take Exit 1, walk to the bus stop on Zhongzheng Road, and board the R30 (Red 30) bus, which drops you directly in front of the museum entrance.
Alternatively, you can take a taxi or Uber from central Taipei (Xinyi or Da’an districts), which takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes depending on the congestion at the base of the mountain. If you are coming from the Dazhi area, several buses connect to the museum in under 15 minutes.