In 1924, the government established the Qing Court Aftermath Committee to take over the curation of exhibits and artefacts collected by the Qing Court. This led to the founding of the National Palace Museum, which opened to the public in 1925.
In 1949, the government moved to Taiwan and the exhibits were placed in temporary storage. The Palace Museum checked exhibits that had been taken to Taiwan and began to sort them.
In 1957, a small display room was opened. In 1965, Waishuangxi was chosen as the new home for the Palace Museum collection. The new building was competed and opened to the public in 1966, and in August of that year President Chiang Kai-Shek wrote the name “Zhongshan Museum” by hand in Chinese calligraphy. The impression was engraved on a horizontal tablet placed over the main gate to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.
The museum opened officially on November 12, 1966, which would have been Sun Yat-Sen’s 100th birthday. Almost at once it was found to be too small, and planning was launched for an extension.
The renovations began at the end of 1966, initially focusing on expansion of the left and right wings of the building, which was completed by August 1967. The office area was increased by about 860 m2 and the display area by about 1983 m2.
In 1968, the second phase of the expansion project was planned, and work started in April 1969 and was completed by March 1970. About 1917 m2 of office space and about 3835 m2 of exhibition space were added.
In April 2004, modifications were carried out in two phases: the public space in the Main Hall and the exhibition routes were adjusted, the surrounding environment was improved, and “seismic retrofitting”. The museum reopened in February 2007.
![Taiwan.gov.tw [ open a new window]](/images/egov.png)
