National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (國立中正紀念堂, pronounced Guólì Zhōngzhèng Jìniàntáng) is one of the landmark buildings in Taipei. It's a monumental hall, designed by the famous Taiwanese architect Yang Zhuocheng (楊卓成), who also designed the Grand Hotel and the nearby National Theater and National Concert Hall of the Republic of China. The construction of the massive 79m tall hall in traditional Chinese architecture begun in 1976 and was completed in 1980. It opened exactly five years after generalissimo and president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) has died. It's located at Taipei's biggest public square named Liberty square (自由廣場) in the Zhongzheng district.
The building is a combination of white and blue, which symbolizes freedom and equality. The octagonal roof is covered with glazed tiles in order to reflect the sunlight. The tip on the roof is gold and directed to the sky, symbolizing the connection between heaven and earth. Although the structure was build in a modern way, it wants to show the strength and the spirit of the Chinese culture (Info source).
If you ask me, what I think about the building, I'm not really sure. The architecture is of course stunning and a masterpiece. However, I'm not really a fan of such huge monuments to past leaders, especially if they weren't democrats. I have to say, though, there is a feeling of humility and respect, when you enter that 16m tall gate. The monumentality of the building is something that makes you feel small and portrays the Republic of China big and glorious. It's understandable, that the ROC, when it lost the war on the Mainland, had to recreate something colossal in order to show Beijing, that it continues to thrive and remains a glorious and powerful state. In the 1980s Taiwan was experiencing an economic boom that is comparable to the one China experiences now, but of course on a larger scale. Building landmark buildings was important for the small nation at that time. However, now every mid-sized Chinese city has a forest of skyscrapers and other monumental landmarks and Taiwan can't compete with that. All it can do is focus on preserving the beautiful nature and protecting the democracy, the freedoms, the traditions and historic sites found all over the beautiful island. Taiwan is small, but the power lies within people's hearts, not buildings. This memorial hall shall be a reminder of the past, a past that thought big, but wasn't always good to the people.
These are my best photos of Chiang Kai-shek's Memorial Hall:
[My TAIWAN page][My TAIPEI page][All photos by MKL, 2010]
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