National Museum of Taiwan History

[Omniloquacious]

Good article, Steven. It does look well worth a visit.

Is it permitted to take photographs inside, or were you granted special permission to do so because you were writing about it?

Are there good parking and eating facilities at the museum?

[Mucha Man]

...Are there good parking and eating facilities at the museum?

Are you turning completely Taiwanese on us, Omni?

[Omniloquacious]

...Are there good parking and eating facilities at the museum?

Are you turning completely Taiwanese on us, Omni?

But... but... can anything else be more important than the parking and eating?

Anyway, even if one can't park and eat to one's heart's content there, the opening of this museum adds another tick to Tainan's box in my search for the best place to live in Taiwan.

[StevenCrook]

Good article, Steven. It does look well worth a visit.

Is it permitted to take photographs inside, or where you granted special permission to do so because you were writing about it?

Are there good parking and eating facilities at the museum?

I didn't take any photos inside, as I knew they'd provide me with pictures to go with the article. Also, they seemed pretty keen on stopping photography inside - I don't know whether for copyright or conservation reasons.
It's out in the boonies so you'll probably want to go there by car. There's plenty of parking spaces; one criticism I didn't put in the article is that the bike racks (I went by bicycle) aren't easy to find, and aren't numerous.
I didn't notice any eating facilities.

[cranky laowai]

But... but... can anything else be more important than the parking and eating?

Shopping in the gift store?

[StevenCrook]

But... but... can anything else be more important than the parking and eating?

Shopping in the gift store?

Rest assured, on the first floor, right by the entrance, there's a bookstore/gift shop.

[Taffy]

Visited this museum on Friday, and I can honestly say it's one of the best museums I've visited in Taiwan. The exhibits gave a great overview of Taiwanese history, without glossing over the unpleasant bits. Pro-greens in general will tend to minimise the nasty side of the Japanese era, while pro-blues will stay quiet on 2-28 and the White Terror, but the museum steers clear of both of these pitfalls by treating everything pretty even-handedly. Obviously they can't cover every single incident (there is no mention of the French blockade of 1885, for example), but what is there reflects the sweep of the island's history very well. We also talked to a knowledgable member of staff who mentioned that they see very few "foreigners" there, which is a real shame. If you want a good introduction to Taiwanese history, a couple of hours following the exhibits round is a great way to do it.

[StevenCrook]

Visited this museum on Friday, and I can honestly say it's one of the best museums I've visited in Taiwan. The exhibits gave a great overview of Taiwanese history, without glossing over the unpleasant bits. Pro-greens in general will tend to minimise the nasty side of the Japanese era, while pro-blues will stay quiet on 2-28 and the White Terror, but the museum steers clear of both of these pitfalls by treating everything pretty even-handedly. Obviously they can't cover every single incident (there is no mention of the French blockade of 1885, for example), but what is there reflects the sweep of the island's history very well. We also talked to a knowledgable member of staff who mentioned that they see very few "foreigners" there, which is a real shame. If you want a good introduction to Taiwanese history, a couple of hours following the exhibits round is a great way to do it.

I'm just back from the Lanyang Museum in Yilan County, and while that's a good museum (and an excellent piece of architecture) I do think the NMTH far exceeds it as an engrossing place to learn about Taiwan.