During the rise of Communism Chiang Kai-Shek, leader of the Nationalist Party in China fled to Taiwan. We have been to the Forbidden City and seen the empty buildings, stripped of their contents. We have done a historical walk in Shanghai and been shown the place where all the treasures were stored. Now we are here at the National Palace Museum to see the treasure itself.

There is so much that was removed from mainland China to Taiwan that only about 1% of the collection is on display at any time. Nevertheless there was much to see.

Although it was relatively easy for us to travel here this is not the case for our Chinese friends. They have to get a special visa which is possible to obtain but apparently only a limited number are issued each year. There are people in China who would dearly love to see this part of their heritage but who can’t.

The weather today was weird. From the look of this photo it was beautifully sunny and whilst it was warm and bright it was at the same time, rather strangely, spitting with rain!

Once inside the (dry) building we spent several hours viewing the artifacts. There were so very many beautiful things. Here are just a few to give you a sample.

But my favorite piece was this.

Exquisitely crafted from the natural colors of jade it looks so lifelike. There is even a locust carved on it which symbolizes fertility.

All this and more was brought here. Just imagine what the Forbidden City would be like if these were in situ! And allegedly several thousand boxes went ‘missing’ in transit!

I love the simple elegance and shape of this Chinese design

Apologies for the photo dump. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience. I wanted the audio tour but the queue to get it was too long! It’s a popular place.

Finally we met up with Ginny who we haven’t seen in ages and who lives round the corner from us in Shanghai but happened to be home this weekend too. Seeing her was a treat as she took us for dinner in Tamsui, a port part that we wouldn’t have thought to visit but was very lively

Thankfully working in an American school means that we got Friday off to celebrate Thanksgiving and so Kevin and I made the most of the long weekend with a little jaunt over to Taiwan. It is only a two hour flight so this made a nice break.

What is Taipei like? Well, much like China in many respects but with subtle differences. They speak Mandarin here (but use traditional characters). There are many more foreign brand shops available and LGBTQ+ areas. You can also easily access the internet. Goodbye VPN – I can’t tell you how liberating that is! And uploading this blog is SO much faster.

After the gleaming skyscrapers of Shanghai, Taipei felt a little as though it hasn’t had much money spent on it. Maybe that was the district we were staying in. For some strange reason Kevin really struggled to get us a hotel and there was only one free room in the whole city this weekend. This was in a budget hotel which was good for the wallet but reminded us of a 1960s Blackpool guesthouse with wallpaper everywhere and cheap fittings. The bed was comfortable though which was the main thing.

The atmosphere in Taipei is more relaxed than in China with many more night markets touting delicious smelling. street food (except for the stinky tofu stalls – enough said). China closed many of theirs down worried about illegal trading but lost much of the ambiance which these night markets bring.

Perhaps Taipei should be compared more to a provincial city which doesn’t attract masses of funding than the Tier 1 cities of Beijing and Shanghai. China has a whole army of street sweepers who keep the streets at home extremely clean so that was a noticeable difference.

Unlike in mainland China, here in Taipei you see homeless living on the streets and walls with much graffiti. We are so used to seeing this in other countries that it made me realize that I haven’t seen ANY in Shanghai at all. One of the advantages of living in a communist country I guess.

Taipei has a new craze: Gachapons

These are Japanese style vending machines where you get a mystery toy. They are hugely popular and are on every street corner!

Also popular were these mini KTV booths in the metro stations. We saw several people using them. Karaoke is a staple entertainment in Asia but they are usually in big halls. These were the first micro booths I have seen

And finally we paid a visit to Taipei 101 which was sparkling very festively.