New taipei: The Gold Museum announced that its 220-kilogram gold brick has increased in value to more than NT$700 million (US$23.3 million), making it the museum's premier exhibit and a major attraction for tourists.

According to Focus Taiwan, the museum, located in New Taipei's Ruifang District, has had the gold bar on loan from the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2004, when its value was approximately NT$115 million.

In the last 21 years, escalating gold prices have elevated its value to around NT$718 million. The sizable ingot is under constant surveillance, with security personnel and digital monitoring, and is housed in bulletproof glass. The museum secures insurance annually, with premiums rising alongside international gold prices. However, it did not disclose the specific cost of this coverage due to security and contractual reasons.

From January to July this year, approximately 180,000 people, predominantly Taiwanese, visited the museum. The brick's display case includes small openings, allowing visitors to touch the gold surface. Museum director Lin Wen-chung mentioned that the nearby mountain towns of Jinguashi and Jiufen, now part of New Taipei's Ruifang District, were historically renowned as the top gold mining areas in East Asia.

Lin also highlighted that the gold brick was once acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the largest in the world. However, this record was surpassed in 2005 by a 250-kilogram brick from the Toi Gold Mine in Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.