Why go
The collection was assembled by emperors, principally the Qing court, and evacuated from Beijing in the 1930s ahead of the Japanese invasion, travelling thousands of miles inland before crossing to Taiwan in 1948–49. What survived intact is arguably the finest single collection of Chinese art anywhere — some 700,000 objects, of which only a fraction is displayed at a time.
- The jadeite cabbage and meat-shaped stone — beloved crowd favourites
- Song dynasty painting and calligraphy, among the greatest in existence
- Ruin ware and imperial porcelain across a thousand years
- Rotating displays from a collection far too vast to show at once
What to look for
The crowd-pleasers are on the upper floors: the jadeite cabbage with its carved locust, and the pork-belly-shaped stone that looks startlingly like braised meat. But linger in the painting and calligraphy rooms, where Song-dynasty masters appear on rotation — works so light-sensitive they're displayed only a few weeks each. The bronzes gallery covers the full arc of Chinese ritual casting, and the ceramics rooms trace porcelain from Neolithic pots to Qing enamels with a completeness no other museum can match.
Plan your visit
Give it at least half a day. Arrive early — tour groups descend mid-morning — and go straight to the top floor, working downwards against the flow. The English audio guide is excellent. Afterwards, walk the Zhishan Garden next door or ride the Miramar Ferris wheel. Note that the most famous paintings may not be on display during your visit; the museum rotates its treasures continuously, so there's always something new even for repeat visitors.
Getting there
- Take the MRT to Shilin Station, then bus R30/304 or 255 to the museum; or MRT to Dazhi Station and bus B13. A taxi from central Taipei takes about 20 minutes
- Collection
- ~700,000 objects
- Origin
- Qing imperial treasury
- Signature
- Jadeite cabbage; Song painting and calligraphy
