The Hualien Archeological Museum opened to the public on Sunday, giving a permanent home to 800,000 artifacts, including a 1,240kg stone trough considered the pride of the museum and a jade burial pendant that inspired its logo design.
To house the museum, the Hualien County Government received a NT$72 million (US$2.54 million) grant from the Ministry of Culture to renovate Shoufeng Township’s (壽豐鄉) Fengtien Market (豐田市場), which was originally built in 1984.
At the opening ceremony, Bureau of Cultural Heritage Deputy Director Wu Hua-tsung (吳華宗) praised the museum as an inspiration to the rest of the nation for providing local historical and cultural education.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
The founding of the museum is a large step forward for local archeology, showing that every area has its own history, National Cheng Kung University Institute of Archeology director Liu Yi-chang (劉益昌) said.
Other local governments should emulate Hualien County and bring their artifacts home, he said, adding that he would be willing to personally offer tours in the county to pass on knowledge of past cultures.
The museum is to provide educational programming and conduct research, in addition to storing and displaying artifacts in its three main galleries.
Exhibitions are to focus on the 3,500-year-old jade culture in eastern Taiwan presented from an archeological and experiential perspective, with the goal of getting visitors to “understand the value of historical objects.”
Due to its distinctive design, a 1,000-year-old jade burial pendant serves as a clear representation of the Huakangshan culture (花岡山文化), traces of which were uncovered at an archeological site of the same name on the bank of the Meilun River (美崙溪) in Hualien City and elsewhere in the county.
The artifact inspired the museum’s logo, which intertwines the pendant with an archeological pit to represent continuing dialogue between the past and present.
The museum’s most prized treasure is a massive stone trough, its only artifact that has national cultural asset status, as the rest have yet to be evaluated.
Peng Chun-yuan (彭群元), who donated the trough after it was discovered on his land, said at the opening that he was “happy it is receiving so much attention.”
The quartz and mica slab was found at the Yuemei archeological site (月眉遺址) in Shoufeng Township, which contains artifacts from the Huakangshan culture.
Archeologists believe that it was brought down from the Central Mountain Range, but since trough-shaped stone tools such as this are rare, its purpose is still unknown.
The Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau said that entry is free during the soft opening, while operating hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 9am to 5pm.
The museum is to be closed from Lunar New Year’s Eve on Feb. 11 to Feb. 13.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
RSS