Jadeite Cabbage
The star piece.
CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CEphoto, Uwe Aranas — CC BY-SA 3.0
One of the world's great museums of Chinese art, founded in Beijing in 1925 and re-established in Taipei's Shilin district in 1965. It holds nearly seven hundred thousand works and artefacts spanning eight thousand years, most of them moved from Beijing's imperial palace and other institutions. The museum stands in a grand building in classical Chinese style with green and yellow tiled roofs, reached by a broad stairway between gardens and green hills. As the collection is far too large to show at once, the displays rotate constantly. Its most famous pieces are the Jadeite Cabbage, a piece of jade carved into a Chinese cabbage with green and white leaves, and a natural stone carved to look like a piece of braised meat. The halls also hold ancient bronzes, delicate imperial porcelain, paintings, calligraphy and astonishing miniature curios. The main exhibition costs TWD 350; arrive in the morning before tour groups, and flash-free photos are allowed in most galleries.
The star piece.
Delicate work.
Coloured roofs.
Shilin District, on the hills of northern Taipei
The Jadeite Cabbage, jade carved as a Chinese cabbage, though it is sometimes on loan, so check where it is shown.