A tale of two Memorial Halls (part 1)

Over the last 3 weeks I've been trying to understand more of Taiwan's history and culture. Two of the most interesting and enlightening places I've visited have been the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Both are grand and impressive buildings, standing in massive courtyards, in contrast to the otherwise crowded city. The halls were built to honor two men who are seen as founding fathers of China and Taiwan.

Sun Yat-Sen is viewed by many as the founding father of the Republic of China, not to be confused with the People's Republic of China. He's also the face on the NT$100 bill (though, since its worth about USD$3, its not that impressive.) Sun died before he could see his government crumble after WWII, and he is still revered in both Taiwan and Mainland China.



The memorial is just northwest of the Taipei 101. You can see it in some of the pictures I took from the top floor, its the building with the large orange roof. Inside are relics from Sun's life, theaters that show documentaries, a library, and a large auditorium that hosts different events. There was some kind of school function the day I was there.



The centerpiece of the memorial is a massive statue of Sun Yat Sen, guarded by two soldiers standing motionless at attention. I honestly thought they were statues when I walked in the room.



Outside on the courtyard were people jogging, relaxing, or flying kites.


Kite-flying seems to be pretty serious business out here.


On the patio outside the hall, there were groups of kids playing music and dancing. I don't know if this was part of a class, or just what kids do here.


Since it was only a block north, I checked out the Core Pacific City, an impressive, modern shopping center.


The building is truly massive, 11 stories tall, and just as impressive inside. However, it was surprisingly empty. I was told that despite being only 8 years old, its considered the 'old mall', and that people are going to even bigger malls built closer to MRT stations.