Museum of Old Taiwan Tiles

In one of the Museum of Old Taiwan Tiles' working photographs, a man bends over a red-tiled roof. Blue-green flower tiles lie at his feet, freshly removed. Their cement bed has crumbled; the flowers are doing just fine. A few cling stubbornly to the low wall. They need to be persuaded down before the excavator arrives.

The next photograph has considerably more weight behind it. Two thick ropes hold a plaque bearing the clan-hall name 濟陽, Jiyang. Little pink flowers run all the way around its frame while a worker tackles the surrounding brickwork. This is the museum's record of a rescue at Jiyang Hall in Xinhua. Behind the comfortable business of admiring intact tiles lies some seriously muscular demolition work.

Founder Hsu Chia-pin and his team have rescued, repaired and collected these pieces to build the museum in Chiayi. In the early twentieth century, a prosperous household could set imported coloured tiles into its façade and combine a wish for good fortune with an absolutely shameless display of wealth. Today's tile obsessives also work with Taiwanese ceramic craftspeople and local artists, firing new patterns by the kiln-load.

The museum's own building has a story: it was the Defeng timber business, built in 1938, and retains its cypress interiors. Be good and take your shoes off at the door. Guided tours run on the half-hour from 10:30 to 16:30.

Entry is NT$100. Arrive before the last admission at 17:00; the doors close at 17:30. Tuesday is the regular day off, with national holidays open. The old building does not have a fully accessible route.