Established in 1908, the museum is the oldest in Taiwan. The colonial government of Japan set up the
Taiwan Governor Museum (臺灣總督府民政部殖產局附屬博物館()), which officially opened on 24 October 1908, to commemorate the inauguration of the North-South Railway. The museum had a collection of over 10,000 items in its initial stages. In 1915, the new building of the museum in
Taihoku New Park was inaugurated and became one of the major public buildings during
Japanese rule. In 1935 it was used to house the
First Cultural Pavilion at
The Taiwan Exposition: In Commemoration of the First Forty Years of Colonial Rule. After the
handover of Taiwan from Japan to the
Republic of China, the Department of Education of the
Taiwan Provincial Government took over the administration of the museum in 1949 and renamed it
Taiwan Provincial Museum until 1999. The museum underwent two major renovations in 1961 and 1994 respectively. Since 1999, the museum has been administered by the Central Government and renamed "National Taiwan Museum." Throughout the years of war and political transition and after twice being renamed, it stands as the only museum established during the colonial years, which is still in operation on its original site. In 1998, the
Ministry of the Interior declared the museum a "National Heritage." On 21 November 2017, the museum reopened after two months of renovation works. == Capital Museums System ==