National Palace Museum

The National Palace Museum is the most important museum in Taiwan and one of the great collections of Chinese art anywhere. Its Taipei home in Shilin opened to the public on 12 November 1965, the centenary of Sun Yat-sen's birth, and the collection now numbers almost 700,000 objects, with pieces reaching back as far as the Stone Age. The building sits in Waishuangxi, on the northern edge of the city, surrounded by hills and greenery, which gives it a calmer setting than most of Taipei's sights.

Only a small share of the collection can be on display at any one time, so displays change and each visit can be slightly different. Three objects draw the biggest crowds. The Jadeite Cabbage is a piece of jadeite carved into a head of bok choy, with small insects hidden among the leaves. The Meat-shaped Stone is a piece of jasper whose natural layers have been worked to look uncannily like a slab of braised pork belly. The Mao Gong Ding is a bronze cauldron from the late Western Zhou period that carries one of the longest surviving Chinese bronze inscriptions. Around them are many other works spanning thousands of years of Chinese history, so it pays to wander beyond the headline pieces.

The museum rewards anyone with an interest in history or design, and it works well on a rainy day. Families can keep children engaged by hunting for the famous pieces first, while serious visitors may want a full day. It is worth checking the website for current exhibitions before you go, as the highlights sometimes travel or move between galleries, and the museum also runs a Southern Branch in Chiayi County.

Opening hours have changed several times in recent years, so confirm them on the official website before you travel. Arriving at opening time on a weekday is the best way to see the most popular pieces without a crowd around the cases, as tour groups tend to arrive later in the morning. Allow at least two to three hours for the main galleries. Bags may need to go into lockers, and photography rules vary by gallery, so look out for signs.

To get there by public transport, take the MRT Tamsui-Xinyi Line to Shilin Station, leave by Exit 1 and change to a bus such as the Red 30, which runs to the museum. A taxi from central Taipei is straightforward if you are short of time. Shilin Night Market is in the same district, so it is easy to combine an afternoon at the museum with dinner at the market.