Taipei (Taiwan)

We arrived in the port of Keelung that is about 30 minutes outside of Taipei.

We proceeded to our two excursion stops: National Palace Museum and C.K.S. Memorial Hall.

In the 1930s, the conflict between China and Japan threatened the priceless artifacts held in the city of Beijing. Consequently, 25% of the holdings were transported to Taiwan for safekeeping. The National Palace Museum exhibits some of these articles. We only had two hours and were surrounded by 100s of people. I left with a minimum understanding of the items but a great appreciation for the beauty of the craftsmanship.

Statue of Sun Zhongshan, the Father of Taiwan.

The pictured items below were crafted during Chinese dynastic rules from 300 B.C.E. to the 1300s.

The production of porcelain items has historically been associated with the Chinese people. Beautiful items were on display.

More familiar blue and white patterns from the Ming Dynasty

Painted pottery figure of standing lady from Tang Dynasty 618-907 C.E. This is especially interesting because the figure shows a well fed woman.

Our next stop was the C.K.S Memorial Hall that is dedicated to the memory of Chiang Kai-shiek who served as President of the Republic of China prior to the introduction of the Communist Party.