The National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall

After visiting the university, I hopped back on the subway and traveled just three stops and arrived at probably my most anticipated Taipei sightseeing destination: the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.

This area reminded me of a miniature ‘Tiananmen Square’ or a much smaller ‘National Mall’ in D.C. Its focal point is the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall along with the two ‘halls’ on either side: The National Theater Hall and The National Concert Hall – both absolutely, strikingly gorgeous buildings.

For many, this area is THE ‘photographic mecca’ of Taipei. The area contains the memorial, national performance centers, and an attractive park surrounded by walkways that can be visited by day or night. In fact, I did come back later that night to view the flood-lit performance centers (which was impressive) but it was really too dark to take good photos.

The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is the famous symbol of both Taipei and the Republic of China (i.e., Taiwan - not the mainland). It is a famous monument, landmark and tourist attraction erected in memory of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, former President of the Republic of China and revolutionary. It is here that the nation's flag is raised every morning, and the huge court yard in front of the memorial serves as a place for both national celebrations as well as a platform to voice one's disapproval of the government. The memorial consists of a large bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek, watched over by two motionless honor guards who are replaced every hour – just like the ones at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall across town. Also like Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Hall, the statue is in a sitting posture.  Downstairs, there is a museum of Chiang's life, complete with his sedans, utensils, papers, and uniforms.

The Memorial Hall is white with four sides. The octagonal roof rises approximately 250 feet above the ground and is covered with blue tiles. The blue and white colors of the building and the red color of the flowerbeds reflect the colors in the flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The octagonal shape picks up the symbolism of the number 8, a number traditionally associated in Asia with abundance and good fortune - if you're curious, the number 4 is the 'unlucky' number. Two sets of white stairs, each with 89 steps to represent Chiang's age at the time of his death, lead to the main entrance. The hall was completed in 1980.

Completed in 1987, The National Theater Hall and National Concert Hall are Taiwan’s twin, primary, national performing arts venues that host Taiwanese plays, dance troupes, concerts, and international events among others. Taiwan's National Symphony Orchestra performs at the National Concert Hall. Both are two of the first major performing arts facilities to be established in Asia. What I like about the buildings is that – though modern in function and purpose – they recall the traditional elements of Chinese palace architecture. Each structure can host at least two events simultaneously. Outdoor performances can be staged on the square as well. Both host a constant stream of events by local and international artists each year - you can pick up free bi-monthly programs showing what is upcoming. The pipe organ (which I did not get to see) in the National Concert Hall was the largest organ in Asia at the time of its installation in 1987. Both structures house art galleries, libraries, shops, and restaurants. 

 

I walked around the square for a couple hours and it was great; it was such a nice day, the area was very clean, the architecture stunning, and people were having a good time. I bought a bottle of Heineken (that's all they had - by the way, the national beer is simply called 'Taiwan Beer' - can anyone say monopoly?) at a very small outdoor café outside the Concert Hall. I visited the museum beneath Memorial Hall which was nice. There was an orchestra playing in the lobby hall. I really liked this entire area.

It was now around 4:30pm and I still had one more sight to see before heading out for some dinner and drinks on my last night in Taipei. It already had been a long day; I had already visited the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Longshan Temple, National Taiwan University, and the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall/Square. Next, Taipei 101.

By the way, the concert hall is the second pic below and the theater hall is the third – they both look strikingly similar.  Enjoy the pics...

National Taiwan University

Leaving Longshan Temple, I headed back to the subway, transferred a couple lines, and arrived about 20 minutes later at National Taiwan University (NTU).  As in the States, I like visiting colleges and their towns/areas.

NTU is Taiwan's pre-eminent institution of higher education and is located on the the south side of Taipei (Longshan Temple – from where I came – is on the east side).  Like many other universities throughout the world, NTU has satellite campuses elsewhere as well.  NTU was founded in 1928 by the Japanese during the Japanese colonial era and was then known as the Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University.  After World War II and Taiwan's retrocession to Chinese sovereignty, the Republic of China government resumed the administration of Taihoku University and reorganized and renamed it National Taiwan University in 1945.  NTU offers the bachelor's degree, master's degree, and doctorate degree in many disciplines.  Traditionally, medicine, electrical engineering, and law are the three most selective majors.  Taiwan’s current President attended NTU - as well as many predecessors.  The campus grounds are surrounded by several blocks of shops, bookstores, eateries, cafes, and tea houses.  You can shop for clothing, accessories, books or trinkets.  Next to several bookstores are many American fast food restaurants.

As the pics below hopefully attest, this campus was nicer than I thought it would be for a “city” university.  Very clean, green, and manicured.  The inside campus roads were beautifully lined with palm trees.  Some buildings were covered with ‘winter’ ivy which was nice.  The campus arena looked fairly large and new.  There were some pleasant ponds and lakes where you could read & relax.  I saw an agricultural field.  I found a tiny shop on campus and bought a nice maroon NTU tee which I was happy to find – though I have not worn it on the mainland yet – probably due to their ‘touchy’ relationship, though the tee is in English and not sure if the mainlanders would know what it is anyway.

It was around 2pm when I decided to get some lunch.  Directly across the street from the main entrance (the entrance are the first and second pic all the way at the top of this post) of the university are shops and eateries.  But I had read beforehand to skip that and go to the street/alley hidden behind and parallel to that one for better and cheaper eats so that’s what I did.  The first pic below is kind of what the area looks like surrounding the campus and the last two pics are of a tiny vegetarian (Taiwan-style buffet – you are charged by weight) eatery I found on that ‘back/hidden’ alley.  It was cheap and great.  I got some soup, rice, broccoli, cauliflower, fungus, tofu, sesame wheat-gluten, and a few other things.

I was now full, hot, and my feet hurt from walking all over campus, but I hopped back on the subway as I still had much to see and time was running out…

Longshan Temple

After visiting the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, I hopped on the nearby subway and traveled approximately seven stops and visited Longshan Temple.  This temple is where countless generations of Taipei citizens have come to pray.  It was built in 1738 by settlers from China and is considered one of the oldest and most famous temples in Taiwan.  However, the temple has been destroyed either in full or in part on numerous earthquakes and fires but, thankfully, Taipei residents have nevertheless consistently rebuilt and renovated it.  As the temple is dedicated to Guanyin (the Buddhist representation of compassion) it is officially defined as Buddhist, but there is a great amount of folk religion mixed into the fabric of the beliefs at this temple.  This temple is far removed from the skyscrapers and shopping malls of East Taipei.  The area around Longshan Temple, Wanhua, is one of the original districts of Taipei.  And, while much of the traditional architecture has been lost, the area still maintains a traditional feel.  There are all sorts of traditional streets and shops surrounding the temple.  The temple’s layout is square and Longshan Temple is seen as an example of Taiwanese classical architecture, with southern Chinese influences commonly seen in older buildings.  The temple was pretty crowded when I went there and it was such a gorgeous late morning - those clouds from earlier now dissipated.  I only stayed there for about a half-hour as I still had other sights to see, as again, this was my last full day in Taipei.  I felt this was an authentic ‘old school’ type of temple - the outside water-display across the street notwithstanding.  I hope you enjoy the pics below.  Again, lots of dragons which are always cool…

National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

The next morning was the start of my last full day in Taipei (only had two of them).  I was originally going to start at Taipei 101 which is one of the tallest buildings in the world where you can go up to the observatory to get a nice view of the city and surrounding area but I noticed while walking there that there would be too much cloud cover (see immediate pic below) – the clouds would have blocked any views.  So I decided I would go there later in the day (future post coming) when the clouds dissipated.

Taipei 101 was about a 20 minute walk from my hostel.  Instead of starting out at Taipei 101, I decided to walk approximately 10 minutes and go to the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. 

The National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is constructed in the memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen who is the founding father of the Republic of China.  The construction of the Memorial commenced in 1965 in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth.  It was opened in 1972.  A park named Zhongshan Park marks the front yard of the Hall.  On the inside, there is a 19-foot bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, watched over the day by motionless military honor guards (army, navy, and air force).  Every hour, there is a formal changing of the guards, which is a popular tourist attraction.  Also inside are a library, exhibition halls, symposium hall, study room, projecting room, and a national-level auditorium (2,500 seats) which has weekly lectures and seminars on aspects of art and life.  The auditorium is a multi-functional theater for artistic performances, national ceremonies, and for award presentations.  It is also a popular site for public concerts.  Much of the exhibition halls contain displays of Sun’s life and the revolution he led.

The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall has grown into much of a community center, and is much less touristy than the newer and larger Chiang Kai-shek Memorial (future post).

Outside the Memorial Hall, like much of S.E. Asia, a Chinese New Year lantern festival was going on.  Some of the pics below of some lanterns were taken the evening before when I was walking around the area as well as the morning when I visited the Hall.  The last pic is of a stage behind the Memorial Hall whereby they were getting ready for performances either later that day or evening.

After visiting the Memorial Hall, I hopped on the subway to go to another temple…