Taiwan Today

The National Palace Museum in suburban Taipei is one of the great treasure houses of Chi­nese culture. But the Taiwan visitor should not regard it as the only one. There are other magnificent collections of Chinese art and arti­facts. That of the National Museum of History is within walking distance of downtown Taipei and has the added attraction of a park-like set­ting. The building itself is of six stories in the olden Chinese palace style. Housed here are more than 50,000 exhibits, some as distinctive as the holdings of the National Palace Museum.

Established in 1955, the National Museum of History has major collections of ancient bronzes and money, carvings, jade, pottery and porcelain, furniture, embroidery and costumes, classical and contemporary paintings, rubbings, manuscripts, documents and historical writings. Collections are being steadily enlarged. A permanent exhibition opened in 1976 shows the life and times of Peking Man, who lived in North China some 500,000 years ago. Just back of the Museum of History is the Taiwan Provincial Arboretum with one of the loveliest lotus ponds in Taiwan. The lotus is a favorite of Chinese painters, and the pond is frequented both by professionals and art classes of beginners. A favorite Taipei family Sunday outing is a visit to the Museum and then a walk along the quiet paths of the Arboretum.

The Arboretum is an enterprise of the Taiwan Provincial Government's Forestry Research Institute, which is housed in the building at upper right. Besides the lotus, this garden has some 700 species of tropical and subtropi­cal palms, other trees and shrubs. Specialists are engaged in bamboo and medicinal plant re­search. They also learn reforestation lessons for application throughout Taiwan. There are several greenhouses and roofed planting areas. The National Museum of History and Arboretum serve as important tools in Taiwan education.