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…
This is Duke. The statue of Sun Yat-sen looks a lot like the Lincoln Memorial. Did it look similar up close? Also, when you say that Sun Yat-sen is the founding father of the Republic of China do you mean Formosa China? I always get confused as to which is which.
ReplyDeleteThe statue does look like Lincoln's a bit but I don't remember the details. Sun Yat-sen helped establish a republic on the mainland once the last of the dynasties (Qing) fell in 1911. He was part of the Nationalists but then the Nationalists had to flee to Formosa/Taiwan after losing to Mao and the Communists in '49. China has such a long and complicated history...
DeleteChiang Kai Shek and Sun Yat Sen I remember studying when I was young. Very nice insides of the bldg. The lanterns beautiful and the lit dragons just fabulous. Taiwan gets the A report card for pics I think----i love the mini lights in the trees as a backdrop to the dragons. Just great.
ReplyDeleteOMG! Those pictures!!!!! The kittens and tiger! HOW GORGEOUS! I want them :) They are just stunning. And how beautiful the lantern festival was. Wish I was there. Nice photos, Greg!
ReplyDeleteI guess I should have said paintings on canvas - not pictures. They are paintings right?
ReplyDeleteyes...paintings. I took a few pics. Will send to u.
Delete