Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

About this place

A vast national monument built in memory of Chiang Kai-shek, the former president, which in recent years has also taken in the memory of the martial-law era Taiwan lived through from 1949 to 1987. It stands at the east end of one of the city's largest squares. The hall is gleaming white under a blue octagonal roof, reached by a broad flight of 89 steps, and sits in a neat garden of ponds, bridges and trees. At the far end of the square stands a huge white gate with five arches and blue roofs, flanked by the National Theater and National Concert Hall under red and gold Chinese roofs. The square is the heart of the city's public life, hosting festivals and concerts, with residents walking and exercising there in the morning, and the garden has ponds of colourful fish and birds. The best time is sunset, when the buildings light up. The square and hall are free, with changing exhibitions on the ground floor. Taipei's metro reaches it easily, and an EasyCard works on the metro, buses and in shops.