TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院) announced its 2026 exhibition lineup on Wednesday (Dec. 24), revealing that over 3.5 million visitors will have visited the museum's Taipei and Chiayi branches by year's end. Museum officials previewed exhibitions and provided updates on building projects at both northern and southern branches during a media tea gathering.
Vice Director Yu Pei-chin (余佩瑾) previewed 2026 exhibitions, including a reshuffling of calligraphy and painting displays. New works will focus on calligraphy models collected and copied by emperors and literati, while another explores animals in Chinese paintings. The famous Jadeite Cabbage returns to the Taipei branch in February after a display in the Czech Republic. The Southern Branch will present horse paintings to celebrate the Year of the Horse.
During the spring, the museum will host exhibitions on mythical beasts, tracing the origins of deities and animals from ancient times to the Qin Dynasty, as well as exploring the cultural significance of dragon boat festivals. In the summer, the museum will present an exhibition featuring paintings that showcase sports scenes throughout Chinese history, marking the celebration of the FIFA World Cup. The exhibition will include depictions of cuju, an ancient form of football. The Southern Branch will showcase misspellings in ancient calligraphic works and correction methods.
In the second half of 2026, the Southern Branch will host its annual Asian art festival, with a focus on Himalayan art. The Northern Branch will present an exhibition on Chinese mathematics, featuring ancient mathematical texts and illustrating the development of mathematics in China and the West. The Northern Branch will also showcase newly acquired artifacts from the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education in China and Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外交部).
The museum held three anniversary exhibitions and created unique merchandise to celebrate its centennial. The museum held exhibitions overseas, including in Japan, France, and the Czech Republic. Hsiao Tsung-huang announced the museum reached its visitor targets, attracting 2.4 million visitors to its northern branch and 1.1 million to its southern branch.
When asked about safety, Hsiao emphasized that the National Palace Museum has undergone comprehensive upgrades, and security patrols will become more frequent. These concerns became pressing after the October theft of precious jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris.
“For our ‘Beauty Speaks for Itself’ exhibition, we had hoped to hold it at a museum in Paris. However, when we spoke with them this time, everyone advised us to slow things down, as jewelry exhibitions have become a sensitive topic,” said Hsiao. He added that while he hopes for large-scale international loans and overseas exhibitions every two years, the unpredictable nature of such incidents makes the situation uncertain. ◼