Taiwan in Five Days Part 2

The first blog post in this series covered the reason for traveling to Taiwan, arriving in Taipei, the subway and Hotel 73. In this post I will talk about some of the things that I did in the city itself.

 Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
This is a great historical site. We walked here from our hotel. When you approach the area there is an ornate archway that is the gateway into the square. I have seen many different names for this square including Liberty Square, Democracy Square and Freedom Square. I am not sure of the official name. After entering through the archway there are two buildings, the National Theater on the right and the National Concert Hall on the left. They are beautifully decorated and very colorful in the traditional Chinese architectural design. There are ornamental plantings along each side. There is also a pond and park/gardens on both sides. At the far end of the square stands the Memorial Hall which is shaped like an octagon, with eight sides. To the Chinese the number eight is associated with fortune and wealth.

View from steps of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall