If the Puppetry Museum and the Museum of Drinking Water didn’t convince you there are lots of great little museums across Taipei, perhaps this one will – the Museum of World Religions. In my last visit to Taipei I made a special effort to try and visit some of the lesser known museums in Taipei that are a bit off the obvious tourist track.
Of all the small museums I visited in Taipei, I imagine the Museum of World Religions was the most intriguing of them all since it really has something unique with lots of potential. As far as I know – this is a unique concept. It allows the visitor to see the wide variety of religions currently popular across different places in the world and examine some of the basic differences, and more importantly – similarities, between the beliefs.
(Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem makes an appearance for Islam)
To know more about the museum, I recommend taking a couple of minutes to watch this next video :
Here’s a bit about the museum from the government website :
Situated south of downtown Taipei and east of Xindian River is the Museum of World Religions. Located atop the Sogo Department Store in Yonghe, the Museum of World Religions has become a showcase for learning world religious cultures and a venue for promoting "Life education". The museum incorporates a large amount of multimedia interactive exhibits, which aim to bring the audience a comprehensive understanding broaching the perspectives of religious artistic traditions, classical literature, music, religious ceremonial rites and architectural feats, as well as experiencing firsthand the museum’s primary philosophy of "Love" and "Peace". It also aims to present every visitor with a memorable lifetime experience of appreciating the beauty of religion.
At the exhibit, the "Avatamsaka World" aims to create a sacred space in the celestial skies; the "Great Hall of World Religions" serves to showcase the spirit of every major religion; the miniature religious buildings aim to recreate the facade and interior furbishing of famous religious buildings and use the latest mini camera technology to give the visitor a close-up view. The children’s exhibition – "the forest of love", features a premiere children’s education hall devoted to life education, which utilizes interactive media facilities for the children to experience the essence of love through games and exploration. Come visit the Museum of World Religions, as it invites you to appreciate various religious cultures and inner tranquility. It is fun and educational, so why not pay the museum a visit in your next leisurely outing.
What can you expect to see? following a short introduction movie at the entrance you enter a large hall separated by religions and showcasing a few major exhibits for each religion. Most of the detailed explanations, I’m afraid, are in Chinese with very limited English, but regardless – it makes for an interesting tour…
Islam :
Buddhism :
Daoism :
Hinduism :
Shinto:
Christianity :
Sikhism:
Ancient Egypt :
Maya:
Zarathushtra:
and even Judaism :
It’s all very well presented and tastefully designed…
The lower floor has another exhibition with interactive multimedia and movie theaters…
And to wrap it up, on the center hall is a collection of important religious structures from all over the world…
Though it’s a bit far away from everything else, if you’re staying in Taipei for longer than a few days, definitely drop by and have a look.