Yang ming oceanic culture and art museum - Community Services ...

arouNd taipEi
Yang ming oceanic
culture and art museum
showcasing of a century of
taiwan shipping history
TExT & IMAGES: KATRINA BROWN
Sitting next to Keelung Harbor, just one minute from Keelung
Train Station, is a historic building that – for once – looks
like someone truly cares for it. Housing over a century of
shipping history, this is the Yang Ming Oceanic Culture and
Art Museum.
Having taken my children
here a few times over
the past year, I became
intrigued with the history
of the museum, and wondered why
a shipping company would want to
spend time building an educational,
hands-on center for the whole family
to enjoy. So, I arranged an interview
with the dynamic manager Meg
Huang ( 黃 岢 梅 ) to answer these
questions.
As I am not well-versed in Taiwan's
political history, Ms Huang patiently
explained the complex history of Yang
Ming Marine Transport Corporation
to me. Through its links with
China Merchants Steam Navigation
Company (CMSC), Yang Ming dates
back to the Qing Dynasty. CMSC
split during the Chinese Civil War,
and the Taipei-based China Merchants
Group was formed. Yang Ming
Marine Transport Corporation was
established on December 28th, 1972.
Yang Ming and the China Merchants
Group merged under instruction by
the Executive Yuan in 1995.
The building housing the Yang
Ming Oceanic Culture and Art
Museum (YMOCAM) was built in
1915 by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (Japan
Mailboat Steamship Line). With its
‘classical’ style, steeple and arches, it
was seen as both an important piece
of architecture in Keelung and an
important piece of the port's naval
history from the time of Japanese
Occupation. The steeple was
destroyed during World War II. At
the time of Taiwan’s 1945 retrocession
to China, the building was taken over
by the China Merchants Group. Yang
Ming took over the building after the
merger of 1995.
According to Ms Huang, it was
very important to Yang Ming Marine
Transport Corp that they preserve the
history of the building, and let people
share in the history of the shipping
industry. So, in 2003 they started
renovation of the building.
perManent and teMporarY
eXhiBits
There are two Yang Ming museums:
the other, the YM Museum of Marine
Exploration Kaohsiung (YMMOME),
is in Kaohsiung; shaped like an
ocean liner, it sits by the water on
Cijin Island. Both museums have
permanent and year-long exhibits.
10 JUNE/JULY 2012 www.communitycenter.org.tw

Apparently some people found last
year's ‘Literature of Boats’ display
“a bit deep”, but my young children
loved it and went three times. The
3-D animation of a Northern Song
Dynasty scroll showing life along the
river is not to be missed, so see it at
the Kaohsiung museum if you can.
This year's exhibit in Keelung
is ‘The Fantasy of Whales and
Dolphins’. Ms Huang told me that
over thirty species of cetaceans
(whales and dolphins) can be found
in the waters around Taiwan. This
is more than one-third of the eighty
species found worldwide! From a
sound recording of cetaceans’ calls to
a co-operative mural of a mother and
baby killer whale, there are a number
of displays for children to touch
and feel, leaving them with a deeper
impression of the importance and
beauty of ocean life.
Another feature this year is an
animation recreating an earthquake
and tsunami, in response to the Japan
earthquake of March 11th, 2011.
My five-year-old found this a bit
scary, although feedback from other
parents has been that other children
love it.
Many historical gems are
permanently on exhibition, including
marine instruments from the past,
a working Morse-code system,
building materials from the Japanese
colonial era, and important historical
documents. These documents
include those related to the shipping
of the National Palace Museum's
treasures and relocation of an
estimated 2.9 million taels (approx.
11,020,000 kg) of gold from China
to Taiwan during Chiang Kai-shek's
move to Taiwan.
Multi-Media
The museum has two navigation
simulators, loved by kids and adults
alike. The outside of the simulator
is from a real ship. The computer
program for the simulators is
custom-designed, and the painting
of Keelung Harbor on the screen
which you navigate through is by a
commissioned artist. There are also
custom-made captain's jackets and
hats to wear, and taking photographs
is encouraged.
To promote an understanding
of the stages of shipping products
from the point of origin to one's
home, there is a shipping container
simulator. Children can fill up a
small shipping container with blocks,
weigh the container, decide what they
want the blocks to represent, then
‘ship them off’ to the country of their
choice.
Much effort has been put into
the labeling of displays, so there
is enough English to make the
trip educational for non-Chinese
speakers. Volunteers are proactive
and friendly. If you’d like an
English-language tour, call or contact
the museum by e-mail first.
The museum is cooperating with
Hualien's Dolphin Center to sell
memorabilia on their behalf. There
are DIY gifts, books, cards, and CDs.
Proceeds from sales will go to helping
save the dolphins and whales of
Taiwan.
As I finished my interview with Ms
Huang and watched her hurry off to
talk to new visitors to the museum,
I pondered how lucky Taiwan is
to have people like this preserving
local history and educating the next
generation. I'll be taking my children
there again soon.
Long-term expat
Katrina Brown
is a teacher and
freelance writer. Her
popular blog www.
kidzone-tw.com introduces
family-friendly events and spaces
around Taiwan.
As part of their work with youth, the
museum is holding an international
painting competition for children
aged four to 15. For info, see: http://
www.ocam.org.tw/en/news for
details.
Yang Ming Oceanic Culture and
art Museum
4, Kanghsi Street, Keelung City (next
to Keelung Train Station)
Telephone: (02) 2421-5681~3
Email: museum@yangming.com
Getting there
Take the train to Keelung Train
Station ( 基 隆 火 車 站 ; 40 minutes
from Taipei). The museum is across
the road from the station entrance.
There is parking across from the
museum entrance for drivers.
Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 9 am to 5 pm
Entry: Adults NT$100
High School Students NT$50
Elementary school students and
younger, and over 65s free.
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