Taiwan's First Highway Museum is Here—Come Explore Up Close on August 3rd to Learn About the History of Highway Development

▲ The “Happy Highway Museum” officially opened on August 3rd. (Photo provided by Wang Ming-de, Passenger Service Center, Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, ROC; all subsequent photos are from the same source)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

On the 69th anniversary of the establishment of the Directorate General of Highways,Taiwan’s first highway museum—the Directorate General of Highways Happy Highway Museum—

▲has also been completed and officially opened to the public starting at 9 AM on August 3rd, aiming to provide people with an easily accessible space to learn about the development and stories of Taiwan’s highways.

Appreciate Taiwan’s highways through projection.

▲ The Happy Highway Museum covers approximately 140 pyeong (about 460 square meters) in total area, divided into three main sections: the Permanent Exhibition Area, Special Exhibition Area, and Reading & Resting Area.

Exhibiting a variety of cultural relics related to highways, helping the public understand Taiwan’s highway history.
Permanent Exhibition Area

▲ It displays key figures, documents, artifacts, stories, and materials related to the Directorate General of Highways since its inception in promoting highway engineering and supervision. Using multimedia and projection technology among other exhibition methods, it enhances visitor experience and interactivity. From early landmarks such as the Xiluo Bridge, Central Cross-Island Highway, MacArthur Highway, the Golden Horse bus and Golden Horse Girls, as well as models of the Nationalist China and Zhongxing buses; to more recent developments including the construction of east-west expressways, privatization of highway bus services, the evolution of license plates, three generations of supervision information systems, and the highway disaster prevention system; to future plans such as eco-highways and the Su-Hua Highway improvement project—these are all must-see highlights.

The evolution of license plate designs is directly displayed on the wall, allowing the public to learn about the history of license plate changes.
Special Exhibition Area

▲ Rotating special exhibitions on specific themes will be held periodically. The first special exhibition is confirmed to run from September 1st to September 18th, featuring the results of paper document restoration. It will showcase 6,000 restored pages of precious paper records from 1946 to 1947 during the early post-retrocession period, with exciting content to look forward to.

The seating area in the resting zone not only features vibrant colors but also includes a message board where visitors can leave comments.
Reading & Resting Area

▲ Displays books and publications related to the Directorate General of Highways for visitors to read, and provides an online information platform where visitors can browse various convenient services and information offered by the Directorate General online.

Director-General of the Directorate General of Highways, Chao Hsing-hua (center), and Chief Engineer Chang Yun-hung (first from right), specially invited former Deputy Director-General Zhang Ren-de (first from left), former Director-General Chen Shih-i (third from left), Liang Yue (third from right), former Deputy Director-General Chen Chun-hsiung (second from right), as well as Director Wu Hui-ling of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ General Affairs Department (second from left), to jointly unveil the Happy Highway Museum.

Visiting the Happy Highway Museum is both an intellectual and emotional journey, where you can savor and revisit the big and small stories of Taiwan’s highway development from both broad and detailed perspectives. To celebrate the opening, a special stamp-collecting event is being held: collect all four commemorative stamps placed around the exhibition area on a souvenir postcard, and you can exchange it for a limited-edition commemorative ceramic coaster. Only 1,000 are available, so first come, first served. Interested visitors are encouraged to take this opportunity and visit soon.www.thb.gov.twThe Happy Highway Museum is open Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM. Visitors may register and exchange for entry passes at the Directorate General of Highways guard station. Group tour reservations are also available. For reservation details, please visit the Directorate General of Highways (twhwmuseum.thb.gov.tw) or the Happy Highway Museum website (

) for more information. Agencies and groups are welcome to make use of this service.
Happy Highway Museum
Opening Date: August 3, 2015 (Monday)
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM; closed on weekends and national holidays
Admission: Free
Address: 1F, No. 65, Dongyuan St., Wanhua District, Taipei Citywww.thb.gov.tw Group Tours: 4 time slots per day, each accommodating 5–40 people; advance reservation required. Reservation link:twhwmuseum.thb.gov.tw 
Inquiry phone: 0800-231-035 (24 hours), 02-23070123 ext. 2704
First special exhibition: September 1 to September 18 – Highway Bureau Paper Archives Restoration Achievements Exhibition