Taipei Palace Museum’s Northern Branch to resume regular hours as new Dragon Sutra reservations open

The National Palace Museum’s Northern Branch will return to its regular schedule on Sept. 15, but visitors seeking the popular Dragon Sutra exhibition will still need to book in advance.

The exhibition, titled “The Dragon Sutra: A Grand Symphony of Imperial Power, Faith and Art,” became unexpectedly popular after a claim that seeing it could bring seven lifetimes of blessings. During the summer vacation, crowds stretched from the first floor to the third floor, prompting the museum to extend daily opening hours and offer discounted evening tickets from Aug. 8.

Those special opening arrangements will end on Sept. 13. Sept. 14 is the museum’s regular Monday closure, so from Sept. 15 the Northern Branch will open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and close on Mondays. The exhibition will add two special Monday opening days, Sept. 28 and Oct. 26, during its run through Nov. 8.

The museum said it would keep the reservation system to protect gallery order and visitor quality. Photography and video recording will remain prohibited inside the exhibition halls. Reservations for available opening days between Sept. 15 and Nov. 8 will begin online at 10 a.m. on Sept. 3.

The exhibition is located in rooms 103 and 104 of Exhibition Hall 1 at the Northern Branch. A photo spot and blessing cards will be available outside the galleries.