Our first stop was the National Palace Museum. It houses nearly 700,000 pieces of art and artifact. The initial collection came from the Ming and Qing dynasty and were housed in the National Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, Beijing. The art was moved to Taipei in 1945. The most famous exhibits are the Jadeite Cabbage with Insects & Stone Meat, carvings that are remarkably lifelike.
Nearby is the Garden of Perfected Benevolence, also known as the Zhishan Garden. Here, you'll find a sculpture--the Cage-Changing Goose Portrayed by Calligraphy Master Master Wang His-chih.
The Pine Wind Pavilion
The West Bridge
One of 3 ponds in the Garden
One of the most famous shopping streets in Taipei is Dihua Street, especially during the Chinese New Year. Come here to get all your supplies to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
A popular stop on Dihua Street is Xiahai City God Temple. This temple is dedicated to the “Matchmaker,” a 43 cm tall old man with a long beard. Pray to this god and you'll find your ideal partner within 6 months.
Taipei is full of temples and one of the most famous is Longshan Temple. It's Taipei’s oldest temple.
Bronze dragon pillars are outside the Front Hall while Mazu is in the Rear Hall.
The next day we toured the Presidential Building where the president and vice-president still work. It was constructed between 1912-1919 and served as the office of Japanese Generals until 1945. It became Taiwan’s Presidential Office from 1949 onward.
You can tour the Entrance Hall and Presidential Reception Hall.
Just a minute east from the Presidential Building is the 2-28 Peace Park. It serves as a memorial to the Feb 28 incident in 1947, an anti-government uprising that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang resulting in the death of thousands of civilians.
Monument for the Victims of the White Terror
2-28 Memorial Monument
Pavilion within the park
One of two ponds in the park
Stone bridge on one of the ponds
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was completed in the 1980s. The memorial hall sits in Liberty Square. The octagonal roof resembles the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
Inside is a giant statue of Chiang Kai-shek.
2013 12 06
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