National Palace Museum

During our cruise boat excursion to Taipei, we took the opportunity to visit the renowned National Palace Museum, a must-see destination for history and art lovers. This world-class museum houses one of the most extensive collections of Chinese imperial artifacts, offering a deep dive into thousands of years of Chinese history and culture. As we arrived, we were immediately impressed by the museum’s grand architecture, which blends traditional Chinese design with a modern touch. Surrounded by lush green hills, the setting itself was serene and inviting. Inside, the museum’s vast collection showcased exquisite treasures, including ancient jade carvings, delicate porcelain, intricate calligraphy, and beautifully preserved paintings. One of the highlights was the famous Jadeite Cabbage, a small yet incredibly detailed jade sculpture resembling a piece of cabbage with hidden insects—an astonishing display of craftsmanship. The museum’s layout made it easy to explore at our own pace, with informative displays and multimedia guides enhancing the experience. Each exhibit told a fascinating story of China’s dynastic history, offering insight into the lives of emperors, scholars, and artisans. After our visit, we took time to enjoy the museum’s surrounding gardens and nearby teahouses, which provided a peaceful way to reflect on everything we had seen. For anyone visiting Taipei, I highly recommend adding the National Palace Museum to your itinerary. It’s an extraordinary journey through history that offers a deeper appreciation for Chinese culture and artistry—an unforgettable experience on our cruise excursion.

An eye opening experience and a must visit for anyone headed to Taipei. Learned quite a bit about history of China overall. Recommend to allocate 4-5 hours if you want to appreciate the exhibits in greater details.

A great museum, well kept, clean, and with beautiful artifacts. The painted scrolls were definitely my favorite features. I wish they had the jade cabbage and pork belly on display when we went, but we unfortunately found out they would not be on display once we had already paid for our tickets. Aside from that, everything was beautiful, including the gardens. There’s a restaurant inside the building, before you enter the museum. And, there are restrooms on every floor.

The National Palace Museum in Taiwan offers a compact but beautiful cultural experience. Compared to other major museums, it’s smaller in size, and the collection is limited, but what it lacks in volume, it makes up for in quality. The artifacts are stunning, showcasing intricate craftsmanship and significant historical value. While it may not take long to explore, the museum provides a worthwhile glimpse into Chinese art and culture. Overall, it’s a good place to visit, especially for those with an appreciation for history and fine details.

The very long and amazing history of China stored in a beautiful museum in Taipei. Absolutly a must visit place if u are in town. 3 hours is a minimum compressed time span for this place. Don't miss this.

A very tourist-friendly museum — every exhibit/artifact has english captions as well on the placards and they have suggested guided tours on their website depending on how long you want to stay at the museum. We chose not to buy tickets in advance, but it was the same price in person as online. The line to buy tickets was only 5 minutes wait time. We didn’t follow any tours, but did what my wife and I call an “express” visit where we walk around and glance through all sections. For us this was satisfactory enough as we got a bit bored by the end. Lots of cool national artifacts, worth visiting once even if you’re not a huge museum/history person. The only thing that had us disappointed was that the Jade Cabbage was on loan to another location of theirs and not on display when we visited, which was upsetting since they have pictures of it advertised everywhere. We took the bus from Shilin station which was very convenient. The first bus dropped us across the street so we were able to admire the arches out front and then we caught the R30 which is directly outside the basement level. The R30 bus was completely packed on the way back when we left the museum at 5pm on a public holiday.

This museum branch is located slightly out of central taipei. Few floors dedicating to different arts and jade collections. Easily get there by mrt and then taking the shuttle bus that service this site. The famous exhibit is the JADE CABBAGE and AMEST stone PORK BELLY A fine restaurant is located on the 3rd floor (i think) with a great view of the museum surrounding. Food served is delicious but not too pricey. Service by crew is excellent.

Absolutely loved and enjoyed this museum. I appreciate that there’s a recommended “thematic route”, especially for first-timers and if you have limited time to roam around the museum. The massive and vast collection may get overwhelming, so the thematic route is a great way to tour the museum. It’s like a treasure hunt! Dedicated half a day for this, following the thematic tour with a bit of detour and took extra time appreciating the exhibits Worth it! Buses can drop you off either at the main entrance of the museum (no need for long walks) or at the far entrance Bought admission pass via klook

Lots of artwork available for viewing on multiple floors. Everything from ancient jewelry, furniture, calligraphy, clothing, scrolls, to kitchenware and vases can be found here. There are many school kids that take field trips here so there will be patrons of all ages. Also a very popular spot for tourists. It was crowded when I visited. Their entrance fee is affordable and there are staff in the building to assist you with any questions you may have. There's a park adjacent to the Palace Museum that has a tranquil lake with interesting buildings. Stop by for a walk.

Awesome museum with thousands of years of Chinese history. There are three floors plus a basement. Paintings and ceramics on the second floor are next level so go straight there first. There's a souvenir stamp in the basement and a huge gift shop. There are water stations on every floor. Small backpacks are allowed inside. Tickets are easily purchased on site at the front desk or digital kiosks. To arrive for cheap, take the red line to Shilin station (#16) and then the 30 bus to get to the front door (or the 300 bus to the gardens at the base of the museum). Only cost 40 NTD or $1.30 instead of a $10 uber.

Beautiful facility... The grounds are amazing with plenty to see & experience. A must visit when in the area.

I've visited some of the best museums in China, but this one stands out because the fleeing Nationalist government brought some of the best ancient Chinese artwork to Taiwan. The museum brochure for visitors suggests a 60-minute plan and a 90-minute plan to see the top exhibits. This made my visit very efficient and highly enjoyable.

Come here to see some incredible artifacts and art work and SUPER rare pieces that aren't found in mainland china - Aka the jade cabbage and the dongpu meat rock. Make sense - most of these were from china and taken by the nationalist government after the civil war, but what is unique of the palace museum vs. palace museum in beijing is that some truly spectacular artifacts from china were preserved really really well. Would recommend coming with a guide or audio guide because it maybe overwhelming to understand the historical significance of the art work here and general chinese history

During my first visit ever to Taiwan, I spent most of one day at the National Palace Museum. I thought it was totally fascinating and it's a huge museum. I certainly felt the huge space walking the 3 floors, by the end of the day! The displays are very well done and well-maintained. On the first floor, there's a digital wall room with many of the most popular exhibits featured. You can press on the image and it'll open up to explain what the image is and more detail about it. Very well done and I was very happy to spend so much time in this great national museum!

If you are interested in the history of China, this place is a must if you are in Taiwan. Located in Taipei, it holds many of the rarest pieces of art, including scroll paintings, intricate pots, ceramic, jade, emperor's "play toys" (vases with rotating artwork inside, 27 (I think) layer ivory ball carvings made from a single piece of jade, etc), and much more! You will note that many of the pieces of art here are relatively small/portable -- that's because the now Taiwanese government can only take the most valuable and portable things from mainland China to Taiwan (the equivalent/sister museum in mainland China is the forbidden palace museum, which you will find that it holds much of the larger pieces and gold sculptures (gold was considered much less precious compared to jade/ivory)). The staff here is also very invested in education. You can take guided tours, and sometimes they will start discussing things with you (for example, I had a really cool conversation about a shanshui ("mountains and waterfalls" style) painting with one of the docents). There is also a garden right outside that the museum ticket also covers, and a cafe to grab a bite once you inevitably get hungry from running around the museum all day.

Fantastic museum but with huge boards of people. Jade, porcelain, pottery, fantastic paintings, and the huge Buddha. You really need to spend a day here..

No wonder China wants to take over Taiwan, it's because the antique treasures of mainland China are here in this museum. It is fortunate that these things were safely preserved, I do not think they would have survived the Cultural Revolution period in China. This is one destination everyone should visit to appreciate the history of China. The most impressive art piece to me was the nested carved ivory balls, the complexity is unbelievable. Museum location is bit out of the way, needed to take the bus instead of the MRT, but surely worth the visit.

If you're a history buff or art nerd interested in Chinese history, the National Palace Museum is a must see in Taiwan! It's quite large, so bring your comfortable walking shoes. I definitely recommend bringing a battery pack since there's no place for you to charge your phone. I enjoyed the Boundless exhibition. The museum is well known for the meat-shaped rock and jade cabbage, but I didn't get to see either of them since they're on business trips right now. I recommend you come to Taipei after March 2024 if you want to see the famous jade cabbage. There's a restaurant on the 4th floor. I had the beef braised noodle soup.

Great museum loaded with antiques and interactive activities! You can prepay or purchase tickets onsite at the kiosk. There's a free self-serve locker to unload and roam around freely. There's also a free garden outside that's quite size-able. Highly recommend!

We took a docent led tour in English which was super helpful, because this museum is huge and has so many pieces. We missed out on the Jadeite Cabbage, but still managed to see a lot of other beautiful pieces. Getting to hear from the docent was great, I would not have known that one of the pieces of jewelry was made from bird feathers and that's how they got the brilliant blue. The largest coral piece was also super cool. I bought so much stuff in their store, which was super extensive. You can use easy pass to pay for the store and the tickets!

This museum is huge. A lot of things to see here. You can definitely spend the afternoon here if you're not power walking and actually take the time to look at artifacts. It wasn't crowed when I went.

an awesome place for history and artifacts. this is similar to the METS in NYC but smaller. stunning outside view of the museum and definitely should do audio to enjoy the history behind all the pieces.

Another site to check off your "to do" list. I came here hoping to see the hyped jade pork belly meat and cabbage. The meat carved out of jade looks so real it made me hungry. The cabbage has been moved to their southern location so I wasn't able to see that. All that hype for nothing. I went on a weekday to avoid the large bus tours and hoards of people. Highly suggest this so you can roam freely without hassle or wait. The garden was very relaxing and cool.

A must if you're in Taipei. I took a bus since my hotel was nearby. I arrived at 8:30 am when the doors open - on a Tuesday morning. Getting here early avoided the massive numbers of tour buses. I purchased a three day fun package which included admission here, unlimited MRT and other admission fees like the observation tower at Taipei 101. The collection of jade is mind blowing, most if not all the artifacts were taken to avoid destruction. Orignally housed at the forbidden city at Tiananmen Square - every item was crated and moved during the civil war. The number one item to view is the Jade Cabbage (Mona Lisa of Taiwan - Bok choy) although the selection of jade and other antiquities are amazing. Plan to visit for two to four hours, it's perfect on a drizzly day. BTW they have a huge gift shop.

One of the best Museum in Taiwan. There's special exhibition that changes from time to time. There are 4 floors on the main building in the middle. A couple small souvenir shops on the top floor but there's a big one in the basement. The cafe with food and drinks are on the first floor on the right when you first walk in. The food is a bit over priced compared to the food around there but it's a museum so makes sense. A bit of a tourist trap but the food do taste good, but if you are looking for authentic Taiwanese food, those aren't it. Definitely don't order the bubble tea from there, there's much better ones. The ticket counter is straight ahead. The entrance to the museum exhibition is to the left. There's the famous jade braised pork and cabbage. There are other buildings and outdoor courtyard that you can visit. You can drive there and parking at their parking lot, take a taxi or Uber, or bus to the museum. There are a few different buses that goes to the museum but the more popular one would be R30, especially if you take the MRT. It's absolutely worth going!

Jade objects are among the tens of thousands of ancient items housed at this museum. Family trip included a visit here. I shall focus on jade (=me) and my fascinating history throughout the ages and dynasties of China. Please peruse other sites or reviews of this museum for something more comprehensive. A mini-Napa cabbage of me (circa 1644-ish Q'ing/Ch'ing Dynasty) lives here. The inventive carving follows the raw form and colour of me, attaining harmony between the natural and the human-made. When gazed upon, I seem unbelievably soft and tender. Yet when touched, I am cool-- almost cold-- and unfeelingly hard. I have not only endured the brutal onslaughts of time, but I have assumed a special status since the beginning of Chinese history. I have existed in multiple areas of the Eurasian continent since the late Paleolithic period. The presence of artistic me has been a specialty of Chinese cultures since the late Neolithic. For more than 8,000 years the Chinese have loved and valued me. The ancients understood through experience that I was durable enough to be used as tools to till land and cut wood. My quality and hue led to the belief that I had an immortal eternal nature with inherently luminous quality. I was believed to have an essential life force "ching ch'i", which gave me the power as a medium of communication with the heavens. I was thus crafted into circular "pi" discs and square "ts'ung" tubes, which some scholars believe symbolise the ancients' faith in a round heaven, square Earth. Well the ancients can be wrong at times, but they had great imagination. I was infused with a meta-physical supernatural and magical flavour. Some of me was carved into imaginary models of ancestors while others were incised with mysterious markings. The curiosity and fear that the ancients had towards life and nature were manifested in myths of animals and spirits. Various ornaments of me were carved with animal decorations, worn to provide ornamental beauty and possibly protection against evil. Confucian scholars eventually rationalised these superstitious customs, and I was identified with high, dignified moral character. Through further evolution and incorporation of different cultures, diverse auspicious patterns shapes and styles appeared on me. The National Palace Museum's collection provides a passage-way of time through the beauty and elegance of these ancient objects of jade. (partial courtesy Antiquities Department, National Palace Museum; Editor L-H S. Ho, Translators C. Ho and J. Field)

Fantastic museum! They have 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. We went in the morning around 10am so it wasn't too crowded. We visited all 3 levels and took photos of the most amazing ancient pieces. The most captivating piece was the famous Jadeite Cabbage. There was a massive line of people trying to sneak a photo in. It's even more amazing in person. I highly recommend this museum.

This is my second time to the national palace museum, and I've gotta say, it's not a bad museum. We spent a few hours leisurely strolling through the exhibits and gift shop. We went quite early, about 9am and for the first hour, there weren't a lot of crowds. At about 10am, tour groups start coming in and you have to maneuver your way through huge groups of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean tourists. I particularly liked the porcelain exhibit, but there were many other exhibits featuring old documents, jade and bronze. There is even a small display of furniture. Everyone comes here to see the jade cabbage. It's pretty cool, but very underwhelming. We took the mrt and got off at Shilin station. There are signs pointing you in the direction of the bus stop you need to wait at. It's right in front of Starbucks. There is also a sign showing which buses you can take to the museum. It will cost you $15 Taiwan dollars (like USD$0.50) and they don't give change, so be prepared with some coins.

Put on comfy shoes for this stair master entrance way. Spectacular palace-like setting. They got all the tiny treasures from mainland China on display, some from back in Neolithic day. Air conditioned since its 90F with 98% humidity. See Chinese craftsmanship in Jade, furniture, ceramics and particularly cloisonné. Guess where products in the giftshop were made? Hint: No visitor discounts. NT$350 per person (US$12), not $30 (US$1) listed in website. If you're in a wheelchair, don't expect Chinese patrons move out of your way. Just wear dark glasses and run over their feet innocently, except the elderly. See my photos for details.

I guess many people visit this place when they come to Taipei. The history, statues, writings, artifacts, and other items showcased were cool but not as cool as the Garden. The garden admission is included. However, we had a difficult time entering because no one was directing the turnstile so we broke in. For $10 NTD you can buy fish food to feed the coi fishes. The garden is very peaceful compared inside the museum with all the tourists elbowing their way around the place.

This is a must-go museum for those visiting Taipei. There's so much to see, and if you spend a few bucks on an audio tour, you can learn a lot. For instance, I learned that the Chinese loved to feature cats in their art because the word for cat "Mao" is a homophone for old-age...thus symbolizing longevity. Haha cute. The only reason I hesitate to give out 5stars was because the jade cabbage was missing when I went. Apparently it's not always available to the public. Also, the gift store didn't have anything that stood out or were worthy of me taking back to the US. I also wish there were more interactive things for me to do that didn't require me to wait hours for people to finish their VR session.

Came by taxi spent $11 admission to get inside. The museum is a bit outside of this city. They were having trouble with computers so we went to vending machine & got on another line. Maps in English were provided. We had To check your bag with the water bottle. Started in the orientation gallery, admits crowds, and amazed that the modern period is the 300 years or the history of America. Lots of beautiful furniture, books, pottery, miniatures, utensils, cloisonné. Crafts, jewelry ... very ornate & special treasures from thousands of years of Taiwan.

[臺灣紀遊]故宮與來旺小喫第十六 1696年的《臺灣府志》中紀載了「臺灣八景」，分別為「安平晚渡、沙鯤漁火、鹿耳春潮、雞籠積雪、東溟曉日、西嶼落霞、斐亭聽濤、澄臺觀海」，看看，多好聽的名字，多有詩意。臺灣一直在發展，所以臺灣八景在不同的時代，也有不同地方，衹是八景名字，越來越不象樣了。到了日佔時期，八景成了「旭岡、淡水、八仙山、日月潭、阿里山、壽山、鵝鑾鼻、太魯閣峽（谷）」。 離現在最近的「欽定」八景是2005年由交通部觀光局選出的，分別是「臺北101、國立故宮博物院、日月潭、阿里山、玉山、高雄愛河、墾丁、太魯閣峽谷」。對於一個上海人來說，臺北101大樓是沒啥稀奇的啦，可是這國立故宮博物院，那可不能錯過。要知道，在年參觀人數上，除了中國國家博物館，國立故宮博物院超過中國其它任何一家博物館，是的，比上博參觀人多，比湖北省博、陝西省博、河南省博都多，而且國立故宮博物院不是免費的。 國立故宮博物院是一個很大型的建築，你想呀，它都已經成為臺灣八景了，想必也不應該小吧？故宮博物院所在地方叫雙溪，原是一大片森林，博物院依山而建，是一片綠色琉璃瓦的中式宮殿式建築羣，主樓有四個樓面（可遠遠不是四層樓高），很是宏偉。 从正門進去，要走不少路才能走到主樓，路上還有一群法某功在那兒打坐，待走到主樓，還要沿着臺階往上爬，才能走到入口。主樓的正中有個旗杆，竪着清天白日旗，下面墻上鐫着一塊白色的牌子，金字「中山博物院」，是「國立故宮博物院」的別名。 臺灣國立故宮博物院有七十萬件藏品，从日軍入侵開始，這批文物（當時是近兩萬箱）从北京到上海到昆明到重慶再到南京，期間驚心動魄萬鈞一髮，有不少可歌可泣的故事。及至後來到了臺北，還遇到庫房進水、挖山洞存放、建館舍存放等許多故事，感興趣的朋友，可以找些相關資料來看。 故宮博物院中寶貝無數，民間却將翠玉白菜和肉形石兩件稱為鎮館之寶，這兩樣東西在展廳的三樓，前者是一棵白柄綠葉的白菜，葉上各有一隻螽斯和蝗蟲寓意子孫綿延。可惜的是，雕工之粗糙，玉色之斑駁，讓人嘆為觀止。至於肉形石，更是染色而成，若這兩樣也能稱為國寶，那中國真是沒有好東西了，好在「鎮館」之稱，衹是遊客封號而已。 故宮博物院真正的鎮館之寶，是西周晚期的毛公鼎，內有銘文五百多字，是全世界所有鼎中銘文字數最多的鼎，改開後各級官員私鑄的鼎不算啊！ 參觀故宮博物院不用攝影，因為所有公開藏品都可以在官網下載照片，目前已有二萬五千多張，每張20M，夠看清細節了吧？官網有大量的資料可供下載，甚至每一年的預算與收支細節，都可以自行下載，供民眾監督，有這樣的公開透明，才不會發生什麼閉館日私家車開到草坪上的事。 算了，我們說開心的事吧！我又喫到了好喫的！ （來旺小喫的部分在相應yelp條目下）

Beautiful museum. The sheer variety of the pieces is quite stunning. Perhaps their most famous pieces are the jade cabbage and the jade piece of pork, but they have many other artifacts from a variety of different dynasties and eras. A fair warning, this museum can get quite crowded especially to see the jade cabbage, but the lines move pretty quickly. My understanding is that a lot of these artifacts were moved from China to Taiwan and can't be found in China itself. Definitely worth a visit.

You must have two things when visiting here: determination and PATIENCE. And maybe a jacket, because they keep it pretty chilly in there. Why those things, you may ask? The National Palace Museum is an amazingly extensive collection of Chinese treasures and historical artifacts, with three floors packed full of a multitude of exhibits displaying ceramics, pottery, calligraphy, precious stones, and more. You could literally and probably will spend AT LEAST a few hours here even if you skim quickly through it all. It's massive. It's well worth the price of admission. But if you're determined, you can eventually say you've seen everything! But wait! It's not all sunshine and roses... The main downside of coming here (if you've seen a reoccurring pattern amongst all the other reviews) is the presence of hordes upon hordes of tourists and tour groups that have little to no courtesy and will literally park it right in front of the popular displays so you have the most difficult time waiting to take a good picture. The worst part is that they seem neverending, but if you're patient, you may be able to sneak up and snap a photo before they descend upon it like a fresh piece of meat. This will likely be the case when you attempt to see the famous "jadeite cabbage", which has returned to the National Palace Museum! We were lucky enough to catch it during our trip. However, this is one of the best examples of where you will be need to be extremely patient to wade through the army of tourists that will be blocking your way... No backpacks are allowed, but you can store your belongings in a locker on the first floor for 10 NTD and you get the coin back afterwards too, so it's essentially free. Bathrooms are spread throughout, but benches and seating are hard to come by so make sure you're wearing walking shoes and are ready to be on your feet for at least a few hours. There's an audio tour available also, which we didn't do but seemed interesting, and the gorgeous exterior of the museum deserves some photos as well. In all seriousness though, this a fantastic museum with so, so much to see. One of the main flaws is indeed the crowds, but if you can get past that, there's much to admire and learn, and then you can eat your heart out at the nearby Shilin Night Market afterwards!

This museum is the most famous museum in Taiwan and arguably the home of the most precious collection of Chinese art in the world. The facility feels dated and heavily aged compared to the museums in the US. There's dings in the furnishings and the carpet looks like it's from the 60's. I'm sure the artifacts are world class but they sure can use a much needed update to the environment. One of the plus was that there's no longer troves of loud and rude Chinese visitors making the experience less pleasant. Minus is that when I visited, some of the most famous pieces were on loan to other museums. I thought I'd finally get to see the braised pork and cabbage jadeite only to be greeted with a banner with a pic of the piece instead. Argh just my luck.

The only thing that would make this place any more awesome would have been direct access to the Metro. Instead, it's Metro plus a bus and I'm just not a bus person so I taxied from the nearest station and back. Lots of amazing history to see here and much of it has English captions. That's hugely helpful to someone like me who certainly can't read Chinese. The National Palace Museum contains much of the historical artifacts from China, which was brought here when the Chinese government went into exile at the time of the Communist revolution. Lots and lots of very old stuff and much of it in absolutely excellent condition. SO much culture here - thousands of years worth. You can easily spend a half day at the National Palace Museum and it deserves at least a full day no problem.

Fabulous array of Chinese artifacts and relics from historical times. The place is very clean & accessible with wheelchair walkways as well. Don't forget to see the jade Cabbage!!! We were lucky today as admission was free for US passport holders. Just needed to show a picture of your passport. Always check with the admission desk and see if it's your lucky day. Also drinks and food is strictly forbidden inside. Need to get a locker if you do decide to keep and store it. We took a train and bus to get here which took about hour from center city Taipei. Not bad for a National Treasure this place was. Definitely worth the trip. FYI, they do have free English tours near the Entrance at 10am and 3pm. Just need ID as collateral for the headset. The tour was very insightful. Go over the main highlights of the museum.

Been here before on every visit to Taipei. After the Beijing Museum, this extraordinary display of jade pieces, carvings, calligraphy, porcelain, furnishings, artwork comes a very close second if not a tie in terms of experience and treasure trove of fine art pieces. The Museum is well air conditioned, gorgeous wooden floors, spotless toilets everywhere. Small gift shops. The staff at this Museum are dedicated and knowledgeable. An Uber ride to this location was very reasonable and worth not changing trains, subways to get here! MY FAVORITE PART OF TAIPEI CITY! One of my FAVORITE Museums in East Asia.

Had the trip of a lifetime this fall. Traveled to Taiwan with family and friends for a couple of weeks. While in Taipei we spent the day at the National Museum...we needed much more time . This has the largest collection of Chinese artifacts in the world. Great thanks to Chang Kai- Chek and the Taiwanese who took this project on. When Communism took China over , Mao and the regime started destroying everything that was there. The exhibits were extraordinary. The jade and porcelain showings were my favorite. The grounds are lovely as well. Get there early. The crowds can be overwhelming as the afternoon progresses.

The National Palace Museum is one of those places that tour guides and all that jazz will take you, and it really shows here. You can get off the MRT and take a bus that goes directly to here (and vice versa). Outside, it's a really nice area and you can take a few pictures before making your way to the entrance of the NPM. However, in the lobby. Omg. So many people. They're walking here, they're walking there. Whatever are you supposed to do? And the worst part is some of those people are here with a tour so they're bunched up together. Remember you cannot bring bags in here or else I believe it is a 10 NT fee to use a locker and put all your bags in that room. You then go through a screening area like they have at the airport to see if you have anything that shan't be brought in, and then you're in! Immediately, go to Room 302. It's the left staircase and you'll see one of those red-color barriers. It takes you through another exhibit room and then you'll go see the famous cabbage/bok choy. They limit the amount of people here in the line and oyu're gonna get only a few moments to take a picture of it, so best wishes to you. It's really tiny but jade. Once you get through that, you're done. Just kidding. You didn't pay all that moment to see one small jade exhibit did you? Well you're definitely not going to the 1F... it was packed on a Monday morning for some odd reason. The 3F still has jade and some other things that you can see if you so do choose- the jade room is pretty huge actually and kinda interested. The 1F, if you do decide to go through it, has some exhibits (can I even call them artifacts?) that are from 1800-now, so they're pretty recent. You're gonna have to go in the way back of one of the rooms to find something older- it took 3 rooms for me to find that whoops. There's also a B1 where there's apparently a huge souvenir shop. I didn't know and only went to the one on the 2F. I'm so jealous but you guys can have fun here. Make sure you have time or the patience to be one of many people here. 1.5 hours is definitely not enough, I believe maybe 3+ hours will suffice here. Also they have a LOT of stuff so you can get lost here.

The must visit place in Taiwan, so many treasures and priceless exhibits, and plan to spend hours or almost a day here, 3F is the most popular one, try to plan your route and avoid large tourist groups.

The National Palace Museum is great for people who love history and artifacts from different points of time and region of China. I don't want to spoil it too much but here's a few pointers. If you are going by yourself or don't want to go in a group, you will need to buy an admission ticket at the kiosks. It is available in different languages but there are also staff in blue shirts, and information desks who speak multi languages to help you if you are lost. You will need to lock away bags or drinks available to the right near the cafe. The lockers are $10 to rent out. There are also audio guides to help narrate some of the artifacts. After you buy your ticket, you will need to go up to the next floor and scan it to get in. There are 3 floors of amazing stuff to look at. I would definitely recommend taking a snapshot of the large Buddha located on the second floor.

This is a nice Chinese history lesson for those interested in learning more. Tickets cost $350NT per adult (no audio tour), but you have to check backpacks and larger items for $10NT otherwise you can't get in (but you get that money back when you pick your items up). No beverages are allowed but there are water fountains around, along with seats outside of exhibit rooms. I recommend going early vs later as once the checked baggage room fills up, you have to wait in line until someone comes and retrieves their belongings. The line was crazy long when we left around noon. Another reason to go early is to avoid the crazy amounts of people there... Like practice patience while you're there. As for getting there via public transportation, take the red line to Shilin then hop the bus. Super easy to get there as everything is clearly marked.

Taiwanese residents pay 150 NTD, a cheaper entrance fee than a visitor so I had to hand over 350 NTD. I'm going to enjoy this beautiful venue without taking any photos inside of my experience. Say what? Yes, too many visitors (self included but not this time) forget to simply take in what the cultural museum offers just using the 5 human senses. I can just Google this place another time if that's my desire. Now, let my adventure begin!

It should be No.1 of the list in Taiwai. The 3 things you have to have a look is Jade Cabbage, Duke Mao's Ding and Dongpo Meat-shaped Stone. They are on the 3th floor. So you'd better go to the 3th floor as soon as you arrive there. After that you can walk around to enjoy the Empress Dowager Cixi's jewelleries. The museum is always crowded but it is really an amaing musem. Give yourself at least 2 hours to spend inside. And dont forget to give your feet a pair of comfortable shoes. Thats you have to do.

Taking a guided tour is a great way to learn a lot about Chinese history! There were many dynasty's to learn from and beautiful artifacts.

So, it definitely depends on the person on whether you will or will not enjoy visiting the National Palace Museum. On one hand, you can definitely be impressed at all the historical artifacts and treasures that the museum holds. However, you may find all of this stuff boring. The National Palace Museum is unquestionably very expansive and important in Chinese and Taiwanese history, though. You can buy a ticket separately to enter, or a combo to also visit the top of Taipei 101. You could easily spend a whole day waking though the MANY exhibits and taking time to learn about the important historical events, dynasties, and artists. There are permanent exhibits as well as rotating exhibits. One piece that many people come to see is the jade cabbage. However, they moved the jade cabbage to the new Southern breach of the National Palace museum in December 2015. I heard many tourists looking for the jade cabbage at this Taipei location, so just FYI that you won't find it unless you travel south. They still have the meat jade piece though! Along with thousands of other Jade items, calligraphy, paintings, furniture, etc. each showcasing an important part of history. Just outside the National Palace Museum is a pretty garden to walk around (the ticket price of 20 NT is included with the price of your ticket to enter the museum).

Another sight-seeing attraction, we visited National Palace Museum in Taipei City. The museum spread over 4 floors and 2 exhibition halls , all the visitors are not allow to take photo and bring food, liquids even bags (back-pack). We got personal audio tour with headphones in English and it also available in Mandarin, Korean & Japanese. We saw ancient Chinese paintings, archaeological remains of bronze weapons, ceramics, jade, sculptures, books and other antiques in Museum. Worth to visit if you like to see Chinese antiques art.

Was a bit boring for us. We went through the whole museum in an hour or less. It was also too crowded so it got a bit annoying trying to get through the crowd to see anything.

We took a taxi to the museum from downtown Taipei. The taxi fare was not too expensive. Be sure to ask the driver to drop you off at the entrance to the building and not at the bottom of the hill. I was told that the National Palace Museum is a must-see place when visiting Taipei. When we arrived in late morning, there were a lot of visitors. There was a staff member directing visitors to get in line to pass through the check point. He was speaking Mandarin while I walked by. After a few steps, two tourists who were standing close to the staff member were talking loudly to get my attention. They told me that the staff wanted me to take my backpack to the check room. But he did not stop my husband who was carrying a "bag" bigger than my "backpack". I did comply and left my backpack in a locker costing 10 NT (about 33 cents). We got 10NT after the visit. However, the staff member should speak in both Mandarin and English as the visitors walking through. He was rude for not politely stopping and asking me to comply. I don't speak Mandarin! You cannot bring food or drinks into the exhibition area. There is no water foundation! You have been warned. The museum has three floors with lots of "rooms". There are elevators but not easily accessible. Visitors with walking difficulty or disabilities will have problems. There are many tours with the guide waving yellow flags or sticks. They will crowd around popular exhibits, e.g. the jade cabbage and pork stone. Other visitors will have to "fight" their way in to take a peek or wave their cameras above anyone's head in order to take pictures. There are staff members/guards in every exhibition room but they just walk around and do nothing. After 4 hours of walking, we decided to find a place to eat. We walked out of the main building and found a place below the Silks Palace. When crossing the roads, be sure to look left, right, left, right, etc. Cars won't stop for you! The eatery is located in the basement. We couldn't locate any elevator and had to walk a flight of steps to get down. We ordered 5 items: Tan Zae rice noodle, noodle N pig's totte, noodle soup milkfish, vegetarian rice cake in bowl, and vegetarian mini rice dumpling. The mini rice dumpling is pathetically small - one bite. When we saw the rice cake in a bowl, we looked horrified! The saving grace of the other three was the noodles. The price tag was not cheap! My advice is to get a good meal outside the museum. We did enjoy seeing some of the exhibits. However, the place is overrated. The staff need to be trained to speak English or other languages. There should be more and better accommodation for senior people with limited mobility. The experience of this visit has been very disappointing.

Today, I saw a cabbage with a grasshopper. It was beautiful. It was a little smaller than I expected, especially with all of the signage that led me to believe it was going to be: quite grand. Furthermore, it was a little unexpected that it was in an unannounced part of a dark exhibit. Pushing my way for a glimpse was difficult . . . a photo was even harder.

The line to buy tickets (or the lack of actual structured lines) is an absolute joke. I expect this in the PRC but not the ROC. People going every which way and no workers to get people into the appropriate lines for tickets, audio, audio return, etc. The people running this should be ashamed of themselves.

This remarkable museum has an an amazingly extensive collection of Chinese treasures and historical artifacts. Museum has a many exhibition rooms separated in three floors. Huge exhibition is displayed like the ceramics, pottery, calligraphy, jade sculptures, and more. The most famous treasure is jade cabbage with grasshoppers. That's really beautiful. But If you wanna enter this museum, you must join into the very long line to buy the ticket. In this time we visited, many signatures was collected into the first floor. So first floor was so crowded. But it has values to wait for the long time I think. In all over the many treasures I recommend you to watch the famous Ru ware. Ru ware is a famous and rare Chinese pottery. Fewer than 100 complete pieces survive in all over the world and this museum has complete 13 Ru ware.Ru ware's blue glaze, was so called "like the blue of the sky in a clearing amongst the clouds after rain" . And very interestingly Taiwanese and Chinese tourists have less interest in the Ru ware. So you can watch this treasure in the second floor of the museum, in the vacant atmosphere for the long and many time.That's quite rare experience I think. Once this ware was auctioned in the Sotheby's. It costs 20 million dollars.

It's one of those places you have to go to when you're in Taiwan just because it's an extensive collection of Chinese art and history that can't be found anywhere else. In fact, China has wanted it back for the past two decades because they got rid of a chunk of it during the Cultural Revolution. I digress. We went on what was considered an uncrowded day and to me, it was ridiculously crowded. Our tactic was just to go where the crowds weren't, hope they shifted to another room, then go see stuff and then move along. It was really disheartening seeing tons of people from China lacking basic etiquette. If people are lining up to see something, common sense (outside China) would be to wait in line. Nooooope. Here, they saw the line, cut it and went straight up to whatever they wanted to see, and elbowed people out of the way to do selfies or to get a close up photo. It was really annoying. I ended up being so frustrated by their behavior that I shoved back when people tried to cut in front of me or directly in front of me looking at a display; we're all trying to see stuff and that's just no way to act - wait in line! Bring your Taiwanese passport/ID because Taiwanese people get a slight discount - yeh! Also liked that the lockers for bags/jackets were coin operated and it refunded you your money when you collected your items. Another reason for the 3 stars which is outside the museum's control is the lack of public transportation. Considering how many people come here, why are there so few buses running? We waited over an hour for our bus. It was either wait or overpay for a taxi. Please have more buses!

A world class museum with really fantastic Chinese artifacts and works of arts. The historical pieces span the range of dynasties. There are numerous glass, jade, and ceramic objects, calligraphic works and fine paintings.

If you visit Taiwan you must visit the National Palace Museum. It's filled with treasures from all dynasties. If your interested in Chinese history this place is a must see.