From April 1 to June 25, 2009, six pieces of oversized hanging and hand scrolls are on display in Gallery 202 of the National Palace Museum (http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/visiting/exhibit/exhibit_08.htm?docno=563). The list include “The Eighteen Lohans” from the Ming Dynasty as well as “Lohans,” “Mañjuśri,” and “The Western Paradise” from the Ch’ing (Qing) Dynasty.

To heighten public awareness of the need to conserve marine ecosystems, a photo exhibition titled "Under the Sea" (http://www.ntm.gov.tw/tw/exhibitions/3a1.aspx?id=68) opened on March 25, 2009 at the National Taiwan Museum and runs till May 31. A total of 116 photos, all taken by members of the Underwater Photography Association, are displayed showing the marine life and ecology among the coral reefs in Taiwan waters. The exhibition is put on jointly by the museum, the Biodiversity Research Center of Academia Sinica, the Taiwan Underwater Photography Association, and the Taiwanese Coral Reef Society.

Master Chang Dai-Chien (1899-1983) is unquestionably the best-known and most influential Chinese artist of the modern era. This year, to celebrate the 110th anniversary of his birth, the National Museum of History is holding a Memorial Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition by Chang Dai-Chien (http://www.nmh.gov.tw/en-us/Exhibition/Content.aspx?Para=0|21|493&unkey=53). Some of the finest paintings from the Museum's own collection of works by Chang and works lent by various public and private institutions are displayed. The exhibition runs from April 10 to June 14, 2009.

On February 26, 2009, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA) joined the world’s most ambitious seed bank project and signed the agreement of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV; http://www.nordgen.org/sgsv/) with the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) at a celebration activity marking the first anniversary of SGSV in Norway. The SGSV, funded by the Norwegian government and inaugurated on February 26, 2008, is built into the side of a permafrost-covered mountain on the island of Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean. It is designed to store in deep freeze the seeds of the world’s plant and crop varieties as insurance against global catastrophes. More than 100 countries have endorsed the vault. COA will provide about 12,000 seed samples of rice, grains, and vegetables to SGSV for preservation in the future.

The 8^th World Games will be held in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan this year (http://www.worldgames2009.tw/wg2009/eng/index.php). The Opening Ceremony is on July 16 and the Games will last 11 days, with the Closing Ceremony scheduled for July 26. An estimated 4500 athletes from 99 countries will compete in 31 sports which include artistic and dance sports, ball sports, martial arts, precision sports, strength sports, and trend sports. The presale of tickets for the Games will start at 7-Eleven ibon from April 1 at 12:00 pm in more than 4,000 7-Eleven convenience stores around Taiwan. Ticket prices range from NTD 75 to NTD 750.