If you are visiting Taipei and love art and history then you’ll want to see the National Palace Museum. While the museum holds countless treasures inside, the outside of the museum is also gorgeous. I really enjoyed taking some time to walk the exterior and take pictures outside before going in. While it isn’t accessible directly from the MRT, there are busses that will take you right to the museum entrance. You can either reserve museum tickets online ahead of time or buy them once you arrive.

• 

• 

The museum offers guided tours each day. Unfortunately, due to coronavirus, the daily English tours are not running for the present time. You can however rent an audio guide for $150 NTD. I did have an opportunity to go on a pre-arranged English tour and I would recommend it if you ever have the chance. The tour guides are volunteers and my guide has been giving tours at the museum for over 10 years. She was very knowledgeable and not only provided information but also answered many questions as we moved throughout the museum. Before the pandemic there could be up to 15,000 people inside the museum. Unfortunately, once the pandemic hit the total number of people inside is no more than 4,000. I went on a weekday. The morning I arrived there were less than 100 people visiting the museum. This did give me a chance to see things up close without crowds.

It is a very interesting museum as many of the pieces belonged to China’s Emperors. There are around 700,000 artifacts that span thousands of years. There is a treasure trove of pieces from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Some of the exhibits include rare books, intricate and beautifully carved furniture, jade, China dishes and calligraphy. I also saw an exhibition of small but ornately decorated snuff bottles. The vases and plates that depict dragons, fruit and landscapes in bright colors and textures are beautiful. The pieces on display rotate throughout the year. You can check current and future exhibits online to plan your trip.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

One of the stars of the museum is the Jadeite Cabbage. It is a cabbage carved from a piece of jade with a locust and katydid sitting among the leaves at the top of the piece. The jadeite cabbage is carved from a single piece of jade that is part white and part green. In the same area of the museum you’ll see another popular piece called The Meat-shaped Stone. This is a piece of jasper carved into a realistic looking piece of pork. These pieces have their own large display area and people love them.

• 

• 

• 

Once you’ve seen the art at the museum you can purchase replicas of your favorite pieces at the museum gift shop. There are art prints, dishes, pens, magnets and many more souvenirs to choose from.