| Introduction | National Taiwan Museum was established in 1908, being the country's oldest natural history museum. The building opened in 1915 and was a representative masterpiece of public architecture. It is also the only museum from the colonial period that continues to operate at its original location, having survived war and regime changes. The essence of Taiwanese native culture is stored here. The museum also includes the Land Bank Exhibition and Nanmen Park.
The museum currently houses a collection of 110,000 pieces, 40,000 of which belong to anthropology. These include a portrait of Koxinga, reportedly produced before his time, Kangxi's Map of Taiwan, a scroll illustrating the country during the early Qing dynasty (18th century), Flag of Taiwanese Democracy, representing the struggle against the Japanese during the late 19th century. It also includes Zuozhen Man, Taiwan's earliest anthropological fossil, and relics from Yuanshan Culture, representative of traditional agricultural in northern Taiwan during the Neolithic Age. These are important collections from the pre-historic period. It also houses the world's most complete set of Taiwanese aborigine relics, pre-historic objects, and historical and ethnic items. There are 108 natural type specimens, of which there are 56 types or subspecies. The Earth Science section contains nearly 20,000 pieces in 4 categories: fish, shells, fossils, and minerals. The Zoology section contains over 20,000 pieces in 9 categories: mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, crustaceans, insects, plants, charts and maps, and models. There are over 20,000 plant specimens, including vascular, bryophyte, algae, and living plants. |