National Museum of Taiwan Literature, Literature museum in Tainan, Taiwan
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature uses an old administrative building with columns, arches, and light stone facades in western central Tainan. The rooms are spread over two floors and connect exhibition halls with reading rooms and archive areas.
The city of Tainan erected the city hall in 1916 under Japanese colonial rule following European architectural plans. After Taiwan's return to China in 1945, the administration continued using the building until its conversion into a literature museum began in 2003.
The building displays names and quotations from Taiwanese authors on panels along the corridors, with multiple languages appearing side by side. Visitors see poems and novel excerpts that reflect the island's literary development and make different writing traditions visible.
The museum opens Tuesday through Sunday and offers free audio guides in several languages at the entrance. Most exhibition texts appear in Chinese and English, so international visitors can understand the collections well.
Many rooms retain the original wooden doors and window frames from the colonial period, which have been restored and still function. The ceilings show decorative stucco work that was uncovered during renovation and carefully preserved.
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