Gold Museum (Taiwan)

Coordinates: 25°06′35″N 121°51′26″E / 25.10972°N 121.85722°E / 25.10972; 121.85722

Gold Museum
新北市立黃金博物館

General information
Type	Museum
Location	Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan Taiwan
Opening	2004^[1]
Website
www.gep.ntpc.gov.tw

The Gold Museum (Chinese: 新北市立黃金博物館; pinyin: Xīnběishìlì Huángjīn Bówùguǎn), formerly called Gold Ecological Park, is a museum of the gold mining industry in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.^[2]^[1] The Gold Museum is an open-air museum consisting of several buildings and sites.

History

The museum was opened in 2004 by the Taipei County Government as Gold Ecological Park. After the formation of New Taipei City, the park was renamed Gold Museum, though as of December 2014, some signage still shows the old name, including the front entrance gate.

Architecture

The museum buildings used to be offices, dormitories, processing plants and other facilities of the Taiwan Metal Mining Corp. The Gold Museum includes the following: Gold Building, Experience the Benshan Fifth Tunnel, Crown Prince Chalet, Jin Shui Special Exhibition Hall, Gold Refining Building, and Four Joined Japanese-Style Residences.

Exhibitions

The Gold Building provides information about the discovery of gold in the area, with displays on the Benshan Tunnels, old mining equipment, mining transport systems and a brief introduction to the World War II Japanese Kinkaseki POW Camp on its first floor. The second floor introduces the properties of gold, with works of art made of gold and a world-record 220.30 kg 999.9 pure gold brick for visitors to see and touch.^[1]

The Crown Prince Chalet is a residence built in 1922 for the proposed visit of Crown Prince Hirohito to the area (a visit that never materialized). Decades later it was used by Chiang Kai-shek as lodging in the area.

Transportation

The museum is accessible by bus from Rueifang Station of the Taiwan Railway Administration.^[3]

References