Built in 1921, the Beitou Museum began its life as Kazan Hotel, Beitou's most prestigious inn, celebrated for its Japanese timber construction and sweeping views of Guanyin Mountain. Step into its tatami-lined corridors and time seems to slow. The building has, in fact, accompanied Beitou through nearly a century of transformation. Director Hong Kan notes that recently declassified records reveal the hotel was leased to U.S. military personnel for three years after World War II, operating as an exclusive, off-limits club. It later served as a dormitory and guesthouse for Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials before being sold to private ownership in 1965. Its singular atmosphere drew filmmakers to its doors, a testament to Beitou's own place in the history of Taiwanese cinema. In 1998, the Taipei City Government designated the building a municipal historic site.

Culinary Curation as a Living Practice

In 1984, the space was converted into a private museum housing more than six thousand artifacts spanning everyday folk culture and indigenous heritage. Yet Director Hong Kan is quick to point out that "the most precious piece in the collection is the building itself." To safeguard this cultural asset, the team spent five years restoring the structure using traditional historic preservation methods before reopening in 2008 as a hybrid venue offering dining and event services. "We had to exemplify the building's value through what we serve," says Hong. No other activity, he argues, engages all five senses the way food does. Working within the constraint that open flames are prohibited in historic sites, the kitchen developed a culinary style centered on steaming, boiling, braising, and roasting—techniques that echo the dining sensibility of the Japanese-era inn while aligning with contemporary interest in health-conscious cooking.

The restaurant builds its set menus around seasonal ingredients: tender local bamboo shoots in early spring, earthy mushrooms with their subtle fragrance in autumn and winter. The flavors of each season unfurl course by course. The head chef also develops dishes in dialogue with current exhibitions. During a special exhibition on Taiwanese toys, a chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) arrived adorned with a small carrot-carved fish—"like scooping goldfish at a night market," in the chef's own words—drawing a smile from every guest who saw it.

Once a retreat accessible only to the privileged few, the Beitou Museum has reoriented itself as a museum for everyone. With a collection rooted in the objects of ordinary daily life, the venue now hosts events tied to life-cycle rituals—zhuazhou first-birthday ceremonies, manyue one-month celebrations and elder birthday banquets—with coming-of-age ceremonies potentially in the works. In this way, a century-old landmark becomes an intimate stage for family stories. These are not merely events; they are culture being carried forward and reborn.

☛ 　Beitou Museum has been selected as one of the Ministry of Culture's inaugural 100 Culture Bases.