The Ketagalan Culture Center is an exhibition hall located in the Beitou District of Taipei City. The museum promotes indigenous culture through various exhibitions and events and includes a library. The best part is admission is free. It is definitely worth a stop on your next trip to Beitou.

Historical Background:

The name “Beitou” is a transliteration from the Ketagalan language, meaning “witch.” Over 400 years ago, it was home to the Ketagalan people. To preserve and promote indigenous culture and art, the Ketagalan Culture Center, managed by the Taipei City Government’s Indigenous Affairs Commission, was newly built and opened in November 2002. The Ketagalan Culture Center was established in 2002. Originally built on top of the Beitou Shinto Shrine. is an exhibition hall located in the Beitou District of Taipei City, near Beitou Park. The Ketagalan people were the early plains indigenous inhabitants of the Taipei area. The center is named after them and serves as a venue for promoting indigenous culture in Taipei City.
The first three floors showcase indigenous artifacts and important collections from the Pingpu tribes. The public spaces of the center also serve as venues for performances, events, gatherings, and workshops, fostering emotional bonds within the urban indigenous community. The center also offers a thematic library with a diverse collection of books on Indigenous culture and art, helping visitors appreciate and understand Indigenous heritage.
The center is usually not very crowded even on weekends and holidays.

Hours:

9 AM to 5 PM
Closed Mondays

Activities:

Besides soaking in hot springs, there are many activities available in Beitou such as Rock ClimbingWater SkiingKani Kimono RentalEscape ExperienceBeitou Museum, and more on Klook here or KKday here

Tours:

You can check out tours to Beitou such as a Beitou and Yangmingshan Day TourBeitou and Yeliu Day TourBeitou and Tamsui Day TourBeitou and National Palace Museum TourBeitou Muslim Friendly TourBeitou Arts and Culture TourFlower Season Tour, and more on Klook here or KKday here.
You can also check out the Beitou Fun Package from KKday which includes a one-day transportation coupon, hot spring coupon, and coupon for over 8 souvenir shops in Beitou.

Where to Stay:

High end: We have stayed at and recommend the Yuanshan Grand Hotel, once the tallest building in Taiwan and still the most grand (book on Booking.com hereTripadvisor here, or Agoda here). 
We also recommend Fullon Hotel which has locations in Tamsui and Fulong near the beach (book on Booking.com hereTripadvisor hereAgoda here, or Hotels.com here). 
Budget Hotels: We have stayed at and also recommend Fu Chang Hotel in Ximending, which is within walking distance of Ximending shopping district (book on Booking.com hereTripadvisor here, or Agoda here). We have also stayed at and recommend Hai Xia Your Home which is right in front of Fulong Beach (book on Booking.com hereTripadvisor hereAgoda here, or Hotels.com here). 
Looking for a hotel? We recommend booking through Booking.com here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.

How to get there:

By MRT: 
Take the MRT to Xinbeitou MRT station. The museum is within walking distance. You can book tickets to travel to Taipei via inter-city bus on Klook here
By Car/Scooter: 
From downtown Taipei, take Provincial Highway 2 north to New Beitou MRT Station. Many of the hotels here provide free parking for guests. Looking for scooter rental in Taipei? Check out Klook here, or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  
By Bicycle: 
Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan’s landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can use Taiwan’s many Youbike sharing stations, or search for rentals on KKday here, and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here

Map:

Please see a list of places we will cover in the map below:

 

Before I get into this museum, I think it is good that you have a background of the indigenous tribes in Taiwan and where they are located. Most of the recognized tribes now live in Taiwan’s mountains and there are very few plains aborigines left.

Map of Recognized Indigenous Tribes in Taiwan:

Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indigenous_peoples_of_Taiwan#/media/File:Formosan_languages_en.svg

List of Recognized Indigenous Tribes in Taiwan:

English Name Chinese Name with PinyinLocation
Amis阿美族 (Āměizú)Hualien and Taitung
Atayal泰雅族 (Tàiyǎzú)Wulai
Bunun布農族 (Bùnóngzú)Central Mountain Range near Jade Mountain
Kanakanavu卡那卡那富族 (Kǎnàkǎnàfùzú)Namasa, Kaohsiung
Kavalan噶瑪蘭族、加禮宛族 (Gámǎlánzú / Jiālǐwǎnzú)Hualien and Taitung
Paiwan排灣族 (Páiwānzú)Pingtung
Puyuma
卑南族、比努優瑪樣族 (Bēinánzú / Bǐnǔyōumǎyàngzú)
Taitung
Rukai魯凱族 (Lǔkǎizú)Pingtung, Kaohsiung, and Taitung
Saaroa拉阿魯哇族 (Lā’ālǔwǎzú)Taoyuan and Namasa, Kaohsiung
Saisiyat賽夏族、獅設族 (Sàixiàzú / Shīshèzú)S’maungus, Hsinchu
Sakizaya撒奇萊雅族、奇萊族 (Sāqíláiyǎzú / Qíláizú)Hualien
Seediq賽德克族 (Sàidékèzú)Nantou
Taroko太魯閣族 (Tàilǔgézú)Taroko Gorge, Hualien
Thao邵族、水沙連族 (Shàozú / Shuǐshāliánzú)Sun Moon Lake, Nantou
Tsou鄒族、曹族 (Zōuzú / Cáozú)Alishan, Chiayi
Yami
達悟族、雅美族 (Dáwùzú / Yǎměizú)
Orchid Island

Our Journey:

I have been to the Ketagalan Culture Center once and I was impressed. It is a great place to learn more about Taiwan’s indigenous culture. I highly recommend visiting. The whole visit should take you less than an hour.

Entrance to the museum. Apparently, there are still some artifacts left from the Beitou Shinto Shrine 北投神社 behind the building, but I did not check.

Another view of the entrance with colorful tiles.

The Ketagalan Culture Center is a cultural art and education center for showcasing and promoting indigenous culture. In addition to displaying traditional daily utensils, musical instruments, ceremonial supplies, and contemporary art of the indigenous peoples, the Center also has special cultural galleries for the Taiwanese plains indigenous peoples group and Ketagalan tribes. Each year, the Center launches a special series of exhibitions, lectures, and musical and dance performances. Through the diversity of exhibitions, performances, and current event discussions, the Center hopes to integrate humanity, nature, and contemporary arts to jointly construct a cultural base for all Indigenous peoples.

Floor guide to the building.

The front entrance includes a small drink shop.

When I visited, there were colorful outfits from indigenous tribes all over Taiwan. These are traditional clothes from the Atayal Tribe 泰雅族 in northern Taiwan.

Traditional garb from tribes in the central mountain range – the Tsou, Bunun, Paiwan, Rukai, Seediq, and Saisiyat Tribe.

Origin of Exhibition
Taiwan’s indigenous people have interacted with foreign cultures over many years, and the costumes of each ethnic group show diverse and rich features and meanings. Presenting the indigenous costumes collection of the Ketagalan Culture Center, the permanent exhibition area has renewed its display to extend the exhibition “Time of Ceremonial Attire II.”
“Ceremonial attire” is just like special occasion dresses nowadays. The indigenous peoples would dress themselves circumspectly in rituals or festive events to attend worship and signifying identities. Indigenous costumes are unique for the exquisite weaving and embroidery skills of tribal women, who would assimilate legends and their observations of nature into various fabric and embroidery patterns, which have progressed through hundreds of years and become more and more splendid and valuable.
Taiwan’s five mountain ranges – Central Mountain Range, Xueshan Range, Alishan Range, Yushan Range, and Hai’an Range – are used as background for the “Time of Ceremonial Attire” exhibition, according to regional divisions. For the indigenous people, mountains are not only the places of birth and their origins but also the common resting places of ancestral spirits. Mountains are also used by the indigenous people to mark the traditional indigenous areas.
The exhibition has several sections, featuring “Taiwan Indigenous Areas,” “Era of Wearing Plant Materials and Animal Skins,” “Era of Ceremonial Attire,” “Reappearance of Pingpu Clothing,” “Craftsmanship Inheritance,” and “The Ketagalan.” Using a costume-evolving timeline, the exhibition tries to introduce the meanings of patterns, which signify interpretations of the holy mountains as well as myths and legends of various aboriginal groups, and to lead the audience to appreciate the beauty of Indigenous costumes.

Garb from the Rukai Tribe 魯凱族 and Paiwan tribe 排灣族 from the central mountain range in southern Taiwan.

Garb from Alishan and Yushan – Bunun Tribe 布農族.

Clothing from the Saaroa Tribe 拉阿魯哇族 in the mountains of Kaohsiung.

Red clothing from the Bunun Tribe 布農族 and Kanakanavu tribe 卡那卡那富族.

Red robe from the Taroko Tribe 太魯閣族 on the left and Seediq Tribe 賽德克族 in the center.

Garb from the Saisiyat Tribe 賽夏族 in the mountains of Hsinchu.

Kavalan 噶瑪蘭族 clothing from Hualien.

Puyuma 卑南族 clothing on the left and Amis 阿美族 clothing in the center.

Sakizaya 撒奇萊雅族 indigenous clothing from Hualien.

Puyuma Headbands on display.

Traditional weaving spindles on display used to make traditional clothing.

View down to the first floor.

Map of Katagelen sites around Taipei.

“Taiwan is an island nation surrounded by warm seawater. The Amis people (also known as the Pangcah) residing on the east coast, have a lifestyle closely tied to the ocean. Their daily diet and offerings for rituals come from the intertidal zones and estuaries. The ocean is a critical resource for gathering and a sacred space that carries the ethnic knowledge and wisdom. This exhibition features the artistic creations of the Amis people from the Makota’ay community in Fengbin Township, Hualien County. It depicts the daily dining scenes of Makota’ay, the collective fishing and feasting (pakelang) that follows weddings, funerals, and celebrations, and the annual sea worship ceremony (misacepo’). The exhibition addresses the current issue of marine resource depletion.
In the coastal Amis language, “adihay ko foting” means “a lot of fish” and carries the blessing of an abundant catch. By exploring the traditional gathering culture of indigenous peoples and contemporary environmental restoration efforts, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect on how we can protect the future of the ocean.”

Seawater exhibit.

Traditional seafood cuisine.

Wooden fish exhibit.

A small amphitheater.

More ocean exhibits including a fish trap.

Shells on display.

More displays talk about how ecological conservation is embedded in Indigenous culture.

Be sure to check out our full guide to Beitou here.
You can also check out our Taipei Museum Guide here.

You can also see our full guide to Taiwan here.

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