TSMC is the chip-making king of the world; however, few people know that you can visit their museum in Hsinchu at their headquarters. Even though the museum is small, there is plenty of interesting history and tech on display here, and the best part is it’s free! It is definitely worth a stop on your next trip to Hsinchu.
🏯 Planning your trip to Hsinchu? 🪁
Here are some top travel tips for you:
- Best time to visit: Summer when it is warm and less windy
- How to get there: Taiwan High-Speed Railway and Inter-City Bus
- Best place to stay: Golden Motel or CD Motel
- Book tours and activities in Hsinchu on Klook
- Stay connected with a local SIM
- Rent a car to explore distant sights
Background of TSMC Museum of Innovation:
The TSMC Museum of Innovation showcases the history, technological achievements, and global impact of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers. Through interactive exhibits, visitors can learn about advanced chip manufacturing, semiconductor technology, 3D silicon stacking, and advanced packaging, as well as how TSMC’s innovations support high-performance computing, smartphones, the Internet of Things, automotive electronics, and artificial intelligence. The museum highlights TSMC’s pioneering pure-play foundry business model, which enables companies such as Apple, NVIDIA, AMD, Google, and MediaTek to develop innovative products without manufacturing their own chips. It also demonstrates how TSMC’s commitment to research, technological advancement, and continuous innovation has made it a cornerstone of the global technology industry.
Rules:
Children aged 7 and under are not allowed.
No walk-ins allowed; online appointment only
Hours:
Monday to Saturday, 9:00~12:00 / 13:00~17:00 online appointment only
Closed:
Sundays, National holidays, and other necessary closing days that will be officially announced
Price:
Free, but no walk-ins allowed; online appointment only
How to Book Tickets Online:
The only way to book tickets is by online appointment on their website. The best way to book tickets to the museum is to book right after 9 AM on the first of each month, which is when new tickets are made available for the next month.
- Online reservations can be made 24 hours a day for reservations starting the next day to the end of the next month. The new tours will be released at 9 AM on the first of next month.
- The museum will release empty slots when reservations are canceled.
- If you find a suitable tour slot but not your preferred language, let them know.
Website:
Where to stay:
Most of the accommodation in Hsinchu is near the city center. If you only visit downtown, you can consider a day trip from Taipei.
We have stayed at and recommend the Golden Motel, a high-quality motel near Green Grass Lake (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Trip.com here), and CD Motel, another high-quality motel in downtown Hsinchu (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, or Trip.com here). Unfortunately, I cannot recommend any further hotels that I have stayed at in Hsinchu because usually we stay at my wife’s uncle’s house.
You can find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.
How to get to Hsinchu?
You can book tickets to travel to Hsinchu via inter-city bus on Klook here.
You can book tickets to Hsinchu via high-speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here.
Book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here.
How to get to TSMC Innovation Museum:
As always, we recommend renting a scooter as the best way to see Taiwan. However, you can also a great deal of Hsinchu by taking the train, inter-city bus, or local bus. Getting around in a car is also a convenient option as there is plenty of parking pretty much everywhere in this less crowded county.
By Train/Bus: From Hsinchu Train Station, take bus 5608 to the museum. The bus ride should take around 40 minutes.
By Scooter: Take Take highway 122 in East Hsinchu, then turn right on Jieshow Road. Keep going on Lixing sixth road until you reach the museum. Looking for scooter rental in Hsinchu? You can search Klook here or KKday here to look for options.
You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. 122 in East Hsinchu, then turn right on Jiesho我 Looking for scooter rental in Hsinchu? You can search Klook here or KKday here to look for options.
You can also check out our scooter rental guide here.
Car Rental: If you are looking for car rentals in Hsinchu, 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 search on KKday here and Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here.
Tours:
You can find more tours and activities in Hsinchu such as You can find more tours and activities in Hsinchu such as river tracing, wild hot springs, white water kayaking, backpack rafting, Little Ding Dong Theme Park, Leofoo Village Theme Park, Window on China Theme Park, glamping, camping, stone spa, horse riding, Yukids Island, Tom and Bei Bei Parent-Child Paradise, bee keeping experience, cycling, dried persimmons experience, Jump Wave Trampoline Park and more on Klook here or KKday here.
Map:
Our Journey:
We have been to the TSMC Museum of Innovation once. I had been trying for years to reserve a spot, but I was not smart enough to wait until the first of the month at 9AM. I finally set an alarm in my Calendar and got tickets! Originally, I wanted to bring my 6-year-old son, but it turns out that kids 7 and under are not allowed, so my wife and I went on a school day. Both my wife and I own stock in TSMC. We drove in our own car from Taipei, which took less than an hour. Parking was provided. Be sure to get there at least 15 minutes early!
There is a small parking lot next to the museum for guests.
There are also busses and shuttles that come to the museum from the city and within the science park.
The signage to the museum is pretty clear.
First view of the front of the museum.
Feel free to take a selfie here.
View from the front entrance.
Inside the museum, they will first take you on an audio tour in your language of choice.
In the audio tour, they will give a brief introduction of the museum and TSMC.
You also have a chance to watch a VR video about the future of technology. It doesn’t have to do with TSMC except it shows the power of semiconductor chips.
Here you can see the advancement in chip technology over time, and how it helps make video go faster and with higher resolution.
Here is another interactive display showing chip technologies.
There is also an interactive display showing the history of TSMC and its subsidiaries around the world.
There are foundries in Europe, the US, Japan, and China.
Certificate of the New York Stock Exchange when the company was listed.
Video of the chip-making plant.
The videos are also in various languages.
Applications of TSMC’s chips.
And then there is a whole long wall all about Morris Chang.
Map of the museum, and they gave us a free Lego key chain!
The front of the brochure.
Free Lego figurine.
We also got this magnet as a keepsake.
There is also plenty of scooter parking here, if you can find a spot. That concludes our tour of the museum. Thanks for joining us!
Check out our guide to Hsinchu here.
You can also check out our full guide to Taiwan here.
