Shifen Waterfall

Shifen Waterfall is near Shifen Station in Pingxi Dist New Taipei City. The Height of Shifen Water fall is about 20 meters, the width is about 40 meters, that make it the broadest waterfall in Taiwan. The rock slope in the opposite direction of water flow make it similar to Niagara falls. Therefore some people call it Niagara of Taiwan though their size doesn't actually match.

Skinning Hut

    Skinning Hut locates near Longshan Temple. It’s one of Taipei’s oldest street. The buildings was constructed around 1850. In 1945 this area was reserved for elementary school, therefore, all the development was prohibited, therefore the street remain old style while the nearby area were being modernized. Later on Ministry of Education recognize the value of this old street, they announce the new protection plan for this area in 2003.

    They origin of the name “skinning hut” has three different version.

The first one says that there was a skinner store in this area. The second one says that they used to be tree bark removing station for imported Chinese Fir. The third one says the pronunciation of Chinese Skinning Hut"剝皮寮" is similar to the pronunciation of this place in Japanese.

Chiang, Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Chiang, Kai-Shek

Chiang, Kai-Shek was China’s leader during World War Two. And because of the civil war between KMT and Communism in China after World War Two, he was defeated by 毛澤東, therefore he retreat to Taiwan. Since then Taiwan and China was politically separated. 

Chiang, Kai-Shek got a mixed reputation in its people. The “White Terror” following 228 incident made quite a negative image of him.

228 incident is basically a confrontation between KMT’s army and Taiwanese in 1947. Many Taiwanese was arrested or killed by KMT.

Because of this, the name of the gate was changed in 2007 during DDP’s presidential period, DDP is the second largest political party in Taiwan.

Square of Freedom

    The original name, 大中至正 literally means very straight in Chinese, figuratively it implies Chiang, Kai-Shek was a very noble man. The expression also has Chiang, Kai-Shek’s name in it.

    Not everyone agrees.

    Because of Chiang Kai-Shek’s mixed reputation, Former President 陳水扁 changed the title on the gate to square of freedom.  

Hidden Code of the main Hall

1. The stairs have 90 levels which represents the age of Chiang Kai-Shek.

2. Three levels of fencing which represents three principles of democracy “of the people, by the people, for the people“

3. The blue roof, white walls, and red flowers planted near by the building represents Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, same colors with our flag.

4. The direction is facing west which represents Chiang Kai Shek’s ambition to go back to mainland China.

5. The which Marbles are from America, The gray marbles are from 花蓮.

6. The cypress of the ceiling is from Taiwan.

Display Room

1. Two cars, One is bullet-proof, but only being used for once. 
2. Sun, Yat-sen was saved by Chiang Kai-Shek during an incident in 1922. The drawing is showing a train bounded to 廣東 at the background. After that incident, Chiang Kai-Shek become one of Sun, Yat-sen’s favorite subordinate, and start getting power in the system
3. The time of the clock stop at 11:50, that is the time when Chiang Kai Shek passed away.  

Chiang, Kai-Shek, Chiang, ZhongZheng and Ancient Chinese Naming Custom

Chiang, Kai-Shek also known as Chiang, ZhongZheng. The reason that he has different names are because of the naming custom in China, although this custom has gradually forgotten by Chinese, it was still the case back in Chiang, Kai-Shek’s era. The first name of Ancient Chinese people are named by their father which is called 名 in Chinese, 名 was usually called by elders of the family. Once the person grow up, usually around 20 years old, they will give themselves another name, it’s called 字 in Chinese, 字 was usually called by peers and younger generations. 

Presidential Office Building of Taiwan

Presidential Office Building of Taiwan

    The building on the 200 NTD note is the presidential office building of Taiwan. And the person on the other side of the note is Chiang, Kai-Shek.

    

    Presidential Office Building of Taiwan was build in 1919 during Japanese Occupation. The designer was a Japanese Architect, 長野宇平治（ながの うへいじ）. The style is very similar to Tokyo Station which was also under construction by the time. The building served as Taiwan Governor Building during Japanese Occupation Era. And It has always been serving as the highest political office building since then.

    This building was the tallest building in Taiwan during Japanese Occupation. Therefore it  become the main bombing target by America Air Force during World War Two. Japanese tried very hard to disguise this building, however it was still hit by bomb in 1945. So the building you see today was reconstructed by Taiwan Government (Republic of China) after World War Two.

    

    Although it's a historical building, it's also a government building in use. Current President is still working in there.

Four Reasons For Visiting Taiwan

Taiwan is a place of many points of interest, no matter you are a natural lover, or cultural enthusiast, a gourmet, or an adventurer. You will find plenty of places to visit and plenty of activities to participate on the island.  Here are four reasons why Taiwan is a must go place.

1. Impressive Natural Environment:Taiwan is located at the boundary between Philippine Sea Plate to the East and the Eurasian Plate to the West. The interaction between two plates create the uniqueness of Taiwan's natural environment. One of the most significant phenomenon is the endless mountain range. You can observe tropical plantation to temperate zone  within a one day trip.

2. Rich Cultural Legacy:Taiwan is also a crossroad of many different culture, especially the influence from mainland China and Japan. 50 years of Japanese occupation leaves many Japanese life style in Taiwan. The preservation of Chinese culture in Taiwan is even richer than that in mainland China. For example, traditional Chinese characters is well preserved on the island while simplified Chinese character dominates in mainland China. National Palace Museum in Taipei have the most valuable collection from ancient emperors of China.

3. Adventurous Activities:The island also offer some adventurous activities, such as river tracking, scuba diving. These activities let you experience natural Taiwan with more senses than just sightseeing.

4. Delicious Food:Taiwan is one of the place with most of food variety in the world. You can find restaurant from all over the world easily, night markets offers special local cuisines that only available on the island. The best part is it doesn't cost you much to have a nice meal.