Curious Stories from National Taiwan Museum Taipei (國立臺灣博物館)

I found myself strolling around Taipei one morning, looking for things to do in the semiconductor country’s capital. Taipei city has its own charm- an old-school kind of appeal; the weathered buildings around the city seems to speak of its history. The clash of modern times’ hustle and bustle between these historical neighborhoods is a curious contrast. Why not go to a Taiwan museum?

The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts was quite far away, even though it holds so many precious artifacts. So why not head to the National Taiwan Museum? It was closer, and seems to display a lot of animal specimens. It was, I thought, a great way to learn more about the Taiwanese culture. I definitely was not disappointed!

Entering the National Taiwan Museum 🏛️

The Grecian columns decorating the front of the building made it an unmistakable landmark. As I got off my bus in front of the classic building, my eyes scanned the museum building. The National Taiwan Museum is the oldest museum in the country, and was founded in 1908 by the Japanese government.

Keep in mind that National Taiwan Museum is different from National Palace Museum– the latter is basically its more popular cousin. While National Taiwan Museum holds 110,000 artifacts in its Main Hall, the National Palace Museum houses almost 700,000 rare artifacts. The larger collection came from mainland China’s Forbidden City, and the immense palace museum is housed in a much larger building (9,000 square meters total area!).

National Taiwan Museum, while much smaller, has exhibition halls filled with the flora and fauna of Taiwan and many anthropological objects. I was able to view all of the museum’s collection in 2 hours, which made it a nice morning activity in Taipei.

The entrance fee costs NTD 30, and the main building is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 am – 5:00 pm. You can use your EasyCard to pay, which is convenient. Unfortunately, I only had an iPass card on hand and had to pay with cash.

If you are more into outdoorsy activities, Sun Moon Lake will be the perfect destination for you! 🚴‍♂️

The Exhibitions (and a curious story about the fallen Gods!)

Entering the museum, I was awed by the high ceiling in the Euopean-style building. It reminds me of the Italian museums’ Renaissance-style interior, like in Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia. There were quite a few exhibitions going on at the time- let me take you through it!

Culture of Singing Insects 🦗

The singing insect exhibition is a curious one that reminds me of the cricket in Mulan! I did not know that there is so much history of listening to singing insects in Chinese culture. People collect them, keep them in cute containers, and even get these insects to fight each other!

Anti Foot-binding Movement 🩰

Next, I went to an exhibition hall about the history of Taiwanese civilization. How the culture was like, how the society worked in ancient times, and the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. In this particular picture, the Governor of Civil Affairs Shinpei Goto was championing the anti foot-binding reform in 1900.

The Chinese custom of binding women’s foot to be as small as possible, breaking the foot bones since birth by wrapping it tightly with cloths, was seen as an obstacle for progress. The Japanese government at the time rewarded women who released their bound foot with special medals and towels. Look at those tiny shoes!

Cultural Festivals and Abandoned Gods 🪷

In a more contemporary side of the exhibitions, a large interactive screen showed the many cultural festivals held in Taiwan year-round. Interestingly, they show celebrations in both lunar and Gregorian calendars!

Now this one is the most interesting story I saw in this museum. Abandoned Gods! More specifically- abandoned God statues. This museum’s collection came from the Lungshan Temple in Taipei. They are a mix of deities from Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism- even local ghosts or traditional folklore figures!

Why were they thrown away, you ask?

In the 80s, Taiwan was absolutely swept away by the boom of underground lottery. Gamblers across the country went to ask for hints from their dedicated deity statues. When it doesn’t work and they lose, they would destroy or abandon their God statues!

Other “fallen deities” were from relocations or the owners passing away. Since these statues are believed to be holy in some regard, the next in line would leave them outside of temples- like Lungshan Temple. What an interesting representation of how superstitious the society are still.

It was such a fascinating juxtaposition between the modern- Taiwan being the epicenter of semiconductor technology and all- and the traditional. Just like Taipei itself, housing the new within the old, rewriting what is with what will be. Over and over again.

Why are there potatoes in this legendary French graveyard?! 💀

Dinosaurs in the House! 🦖

The next exhibition was one of natural history. Skeletons of dinosaurs and taxidermies of native animals of Taiwan decorated the area. The slightly lopsided Formosan Bear, different plants, and many aquatic friends greet you after your entrance.

Did you know?

Taiwan has native truffle species! They are called Taiwan Truffle (Tuber formosanum) and Taiwan Whitish Truffle (Tuber elevatireticulatum).

Family-friendly Activities & Marimo Moss Balls 🐡

The basement of the museum contains kid-friendly interactive exhibits. This level is the perfect place to bring your children for a family-friendly trip. Truthfully, it would work best if your child can speak Mandarin, but there are many things to do all around. Any children would not get bored either way!

Additionally, there is also a nook where a small Marimo moss ball exhibition is held. These small fluffy balls of cuteness is, dare I say, the most adorable plant out there! The largest population of Marimo are located in Lake Akan, Hokkaido- and these particular specimens came from this eastern Hokkaido lake.

There is a special connection between this museum and these cute moss balls. Apparently, the first director of National Taiwan Museum, Takiya Kawakami, was actually the first to discover Marimo in Shurikomabetsu Bay, Lake Akan!

If you enjoy this article, read more about this beautiful destination in the Taiwan archives. Plant lovers, do not forget to visit Alishan National Forest in your Taiwan trip! Let me know what you think in the comments ✨

Pin It!