Saturday, September 27, 2008

National Taiwan Museum

National Taiwan Museum , established in 1908, is the oldest museum in Taiwan. It was set up by the colonial government of Japan during the . It is located in Taipei, Taiwan.

History



Established in 1908, the museum is the oldest in Taiwan. The colonial government of Japan set up the Museum on October 24, 1908 to commemorate the inauguration of the North-South Railway. The museum had a collection of over 10,000 items in its initial stages. In 1915, the new building of the museum in Taipei New Park was inaugurated and became one of the major public buildings during .

Under the -rule government, the Department of Education of the Taiwan Provincial Government took over the administration of the museum in 1949 and renamed it "Taiwan Provincial Museum." The museum underwent two major renovations in 1961 and 1994 respectively. Since 1999, the museum has been administered by the Central Government and renamed "National Taiwan Museum." Throughout the years of war and political transition and after twice being renamed, it stands as the only museum established during the colonial years, which is still in operation on its original site.

For a century, since the Qing dynasty, the museum has been standing in front of the Taipei Main Station, on the north-south and east-west pivotal crossroads of old Taipei. Its elegant architecture, abundant collections and unique geographical position have made the museum an important landmark in Taipei. In 1998, the Ministry of the Interior declared the museum a "National Heritage." The museum has witnessed Taiwan's history and recorded its natural and humanitarian developments. Through this window, one may catch a glimpse of Taiwan's evolution with regard to the fields of earth sciences, humanitarian developments, zoology, and botany.

The museum maintains its original scale, with five departments — anthropology, earth sciences, zoology, botany and education. The collection features specimens of Taiwan's indigenous animals and plants as well as cultural artifacts. Through its regular exhibitions and special exhibitions, publications and various educational programs, the museum is serving the public as an educational establishment.

System of Museums in Capital



"System of Museums in Capital" is a big project started by Council for Cultural Affairs in 2005. It takes National Taiwan Museum as the center and combine nearby historic monuments associated with Japanese rule in Taiwan such as 228 Memorial Park, , and Taipei Guest House. This system has become the best starting point to those who wants to know the history of Taiwan. This project includes:

* National Taiwan Museum
* old building
* Mitsui Bussan Company old building



The first two were originally used as the head office of the Land Bank of Taiwan . The recovery has started on February 8, 2007, and will be completed in May 2008.

The following historical buildings will also be restored and added into the system as museums:

* Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan Transportation Administration Railway Department , became the head office of Taiwan Railway Administration. It is under repair now and will be the Railway Museum in the future.
* 公賣局舊樟腦工廠: Completed in 1990
* 專賣局: Head office of the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation , it will be used for in industry exhibition the future.

Exhibitions



* Special exhibitions
* International exhibitions
* Touring exhibitions: every year, the museum organizes exhibition tours selected from among the special exhibitions that are suitable for showing in natural history educational halls around the island.
* Permanent exhibitions:
**Section on Taiwan's pre-history culture.
**Section on Taiwan's indigenous culture.
* Outdoor exhibitions: includes Bronze buffaloes, Collection of Stone Tablets, relics of the Giant Stone Culture, Old cannons, and Old locomotives.

Picture gallery

National Science and Technology Museum

National Science and Technology Museum is a museum of applied science and technology in Kaohsiung in south-west Taiwan.

Established in November 1997 is covers 19 hectares on Chiuju Road in Sanmin District. The floor area covers 112,400 square meters, and a result claims to be the largest science museum in the whole of Asia .

The architecture features geometric forms including triangles, rectangles, and circles, and the buildings are connected by straight bridges.

National Museum of Taiwan Literature

The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is a new museum located in Tainan City, Taiwan. It opened in 2003. The museum researches, catalogs, preserves, and exhibits literary artifacts. As part of its multilingual, multi-ethnic focus, it holds a large collection of local works in , , , and Classical Chinese.

It was planned as a national-level organization to fill in a long-perceived gap in how the Republic of China's institutions had handled the island's literature as a field of academic inquiry and popular discourse. The Council for Cultural Affairs under the Executive Yuan set up the initial planning office.

Tainan was chosen for its historical significance as a cultural center. The museum is housed in the former Tainan City Hall, itself a national historical monument.

National Museum of Prehistory (Taiwan)

The Taiwanese National Museum of Prehistory is located in Taitung City, Taitung County, Taiwan.

National Museum of Natural Science

The National Museum of Natural Science is a national museum in Taichung, Taiwan.

The Research and Collection Division of the museum is divided into departments for zoology, botany, geology and anthropology.

The architect and educator Pao-Teh Han was appointed as the first director of the museum in 1987, a post he held until 1995. He was involved with helping to set up the museum before that from 1981. The current director is Chia-Wei Li.

National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium

The National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium is an aquarium located on the west coast of Taiwan near Kenting.
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Kaohsiung Museum of History

Kaohsiung Museum of History is a museum located in Yancheng District in Kaohsiung and administered by the city government. The building of the museum was originally the Kaohsiung City Hall.