Sperm Whale Exhibition Hall – Tainan City, Taiwan - Atlas Obscura
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Sperm Whale Exhibition Hall

Taijiang National Park
Tainan City, Taiwan

Nestled between the Sicao Green Tunnel and Dazhong Temple, an antiquated exhibition hall boasts the complete skeletons of mother and child sperm whales. 

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Sperm Whale Skeleton mmmmngai@rogers.com / CC BY-SA 2.0
Sperm Whale Skeleton mmmmngai@rogers.com / CC BY-SA 2.0
Dazhong Temple—the Exhibition Hall is just visible to the right lienyuan lee
Taijiang National Park visitor center Guanting Chen / CC BY-SA 4.0
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Situated in Tainan’s massive Taijiang National Park, between Sicao Green Tunnel, one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations, and the imposing, 300-year-old Dazhong Temple, a small, unassuming building contains two complete sperm whale skeletons—a beached mother and child, now exhibited with charming red bows in the hollows of their skulls.

The skeletons form the centerpiece of the exhibition hall, but around the perimeter glass cases contain numerous preserved specimens of marine life, including seashells, crabs, baby sharks, tropical fish, and several catches from the deep sea. Also on display are artifacts of traditional Taiwanese equipment for fishing, cooking, and other daily activities.

Know Before You Go

The exhibition hall is open weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is 10 NTD, or free with a ticket to see the Sicao Green Tunnel.

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May 21, 2024
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Nearby
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