Of all the rainy days we had in Taipei, finally there was a good enough day for us to explore the city. Although it was not raining, the sky still looked a bit gloomy so it affected the result of the pictures. We grabbed our chance to visit the famous landmark in Taipei city called The National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. I did not remember how to get there from our lodging because my friends guided us and we just followed them. When we arrived there, I was amazed at the imposing structure of the building.
Chiang Kai Shek was the former president of Republic of China (ROC) who escaped to Taiwan and established his own government in the island after his defeat at the hand of his communist rival, Mao Tze Dong in 1949. After his death on 5 April 1975, the government decided to build a memorial hall in memory to this legendary leader. A design competition was then held to select the best architecture design. Of all the models, the design of Yang Cho Cheng, who was also the architect of the Grand Hotel, won the committee’s heart. On October 31, 1976, the 90th birthday of Chiang Kai Shek, a groundbreaking ceremony was held and the construction began. The memorial hall was officially opened on April 5, 1980, exactly five years after the leader’s death. In 2000, Chiang's party, KMT, lost its presidency. Due to the political conflict between two major parties, the name of the memorial hall was at one point (between 2007 and 2009) changed to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall. The reason behind the renaming of the hall is to suit the present ruling party who worked for the Taiwanese independence. Chiang’s figure is either seen as a brutal and dictator leader who applied martial law in Taiwan for over than 38 years or a brave leader who defended Taiwan against the Chinese communist invasion. Because of this controversy, a new name for the hall, the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall was unilaterally announced by President Chen Shui-bian on 19 May 2007.
Located at the heart of Taipei in Zhongzheng district near the East Gate and occupying an area of 62 acres, the memorial park is the major attraction in Taipei. Besides the main hall, there are also nicely landscaped gardens, walkways and exercise areas. The park is open daily from 9 am to 6.30 pm but the plaza is open 24 hours for evening jaunts or jogs. The admission to the park is free.
