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