National Palace Museum Taipei - All you need to know

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When you come to Taipei, you may visit Taipei 101 and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. But there is another great place to add to your list of places to visit in this city. The National Palace Museum is one of the world’s largest and finest Chinese artifacts museums, which is also one of the must-see attractions in Taipei. I will provide you with more information about this Museum and how to get there. This museum is further away from the city, so it takes a little more effort to easily travel there. But because we’ve all figured this out before, I’d like to share our information.

National Palace Museum

This museum has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks, making it one of the largest of its type in the world. It covers all areas of Chinese art, including antiquities, painting, calligraphy, bronzes, jade, ceramics, and sculpture. However, because display space is limited in the National Palace Museum, only about 1,700 pieces are on display at a time.

Most of the artifacts came from the Forbidden City in Beijing and were brought to Taiwan in 1948 with the Republic of China government during the civil war. This first shipment included nearly 250,000 artifacts and rare books. It was not until 1965 that the valuable collection was housed in the current National Palace Museum.

Among all the precious treasures, there are some signatures in the museum that you should not miss, such as Jadeite Cabbage, Meat-Shaped Stone, Bell of Zhou…and so on. From which you are going to realize how ancient Chinese reflected their rich culture, philosophy, and customs through the artworks.

The museum also has several souvenir shops.

The National Palace Museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the histories of 5,000 years of Chinese culture. If you want to learn more about history and culture, don’t miss this museum.

The National Palace Museum is small enough to visit in 3 or 4 hours. You can also rent an audio device to listen to tour narration in English and other languages. The audio device requires a rental fee of TWD100 each time. There is also a possibility to visit the museum with an English guide. Check the website to check the time when the guided tour starts.

Opening hours and current exhibitions.

The museum is closed on Mondays.

Tuesday to Sunday they are open from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Because of the current Covid situation, it’s best to check the more accurate information about opening days and hours.

On the website, you will also find all information about current exhibitions.

How do you get to the National Palace Museum?

It’s not the most accessible place to visit because it’s a little bit out of the city. But traveling in Taipei is easy, so don’t let this be a reason to skip this place.

The cheapest way you can get to the museum is to use the metro and public bus. This is also an easy way to travel. Make sure you have an EasyCard, and you can easily travel with the MRT and the busses in Taiwan.

You can buy the EasyCard at convenience stores with the EasyCard mark on the doors (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK Mart, and I-MEI Foods) throughout Taiwan.

Take the MRT Red Line (Tamsui-Xinyi Line) to Shilin Station [R16] Exit No.1 (north exit). Walk north for another 100 meters until you hit Zhongzhen Road, which is the first major road you’ll encounter. As soon as you hit Zhongzhen road, the bus stop is on your right-hand side. Do not cross the road. You can take buses R30, 815, 304, 300, 255, M1, S19, or S18 to the National Palace Museum.

Other places to visit in this area.

Zishan Garden

A great place to combine with your museum visit is Zhishan Garden, near the National Palace Museum. This garden has an admission fee of NT 20 ($0.7, € 0.60) but is free to enter with your museum ticket. You can walk around and immerse yourself in the traditional Chinese-style garden.

Shilin Night market

Another great place to visit when you travel back by bus to Shilin MRT station is the Shilin Night market. This is Taipei’s largest night market and also one of the most popular in Taiwan. Come here to enjoy a wide range of local Taiwanese street food. This market starts at 16:00 hours.