During the flight, Tokyo, Japan was visible from the airplane.

Tokyo again.

The front of Chiang Kai-Shek Airport. We arrived when it was dark, but this is a picture of the airport during the day. The airport is very similar to Dulles airport outside D.C. I believe they were designed by the same architect.

Before heading to Wendy's apartment, we stopped at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. It is famous because of its fancy architecture and large size.

Helen and I in front of it.

The front gate of the hotel.

Wendy, Helen, and Wendy's husband Zeno.

Us again.

The ceiling decorations inside are very ornate.

After getting a night's sleep (and trying to adjust to jetlag) we went to the National Palace Museum the next day. The museum has an enormous collection of porcelains, jewelry, paintings, and calligraphy mostly swiped from the mainland as the Nationalists fled. After the museum we went to a hot spring nearby, but I don't have any pictures of that.

A sample decorated room of artifacts.

A porcelain vase.

The fish image inside this vase rotates within the outer shell.

This porcelain from the Ch'ing dynasty was clearly influenced by German beer mugs of the time (the 18th century).

A scale model of the museum. They say the mountain behind the museum is used to store the artifacts that are currently not on display.

Very intricately detailed ivory carvings with their own jade carrying cases.

Close-up of another through a magnifying glass.

Jade lettuce, one of the most famous pieces in the collection.