2011 Taiwan Taipei 1 Taiwan

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(1) Happy birthday, Taiwan (ROC)

Several days before my arrival to Taiwan, there was official celebration of the event. The photo below is a note left in a museum by a visiting school kid. I didn't know this until I arrived there.
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The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China began on October 10, 2011 on the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution.

(2) 「龍山寺」 (Longshan Temple)

The Longshan Temple was in the Old City of Taipei, Taiwan. It was a focal point of the community and devotees came to the temple from morning to night.
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I was quite surprised to see how vibrant it was inside the temple as most temples in Japan remain very quiet. People were continuously visiting the temple and brought offerings and burnt incenses.
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The way people worship god was quite different from the way people do in Japan.
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I happened to visit the temple later while a service was in progress. It is hard to comprehend how the service was held by just looking at photos. Therefore, I took two short videos from the scene (click the link below the photo).
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(3) Bird Street

The Old City of Taiwan retains the traditional way of life. This was one such example. There is a street in the Old City that literally means "Bird Street". The birds were to be purchased and used to compete each other for better singing (that is my understanding).
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(4) Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Chiang Kai-shek took over Taiwan after he lost a war with communists on the mainland. He massacred the opposition in Taiwan and declared martial law and stayed in power until his death in 1975. The martial law was in place until 1987, which was the longest period of martial law in modern history (over 38 years). KMT justified the martial law claiming that the mainland (PRC) would invade Taiwan and take it over.
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The guards in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall had to stay still for an hour until the changing of the guards.
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(5) Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

The sign said: "Father of the Nation Memorial Hall".
Sun Yat-sen (孫文 or more commonly known 孫中山先生) is considered as Father of the Nation from both people in Taiwan and people in mainland China.
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Like Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, guards were in place.
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(6) Taipei 101

Taipei 101 was the highest tower in the world until 2010. The view from the Indoor Observatory (89th floor) and an Outdoor Observatory (91st floor) should be fantastic according to a travel guide book. But I didn't go there because the weather was not good (rain was coming). If you like fancy shopping (or window shopping), this is the place to be. But not me.
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Instead, not far from Taipei 101, I visited a historical memorial park (四四南眷村), which preserved old buildings for military personnel from mainland China who evacuated to Taiwan to avoid the war between KMT (led by Chiang Kai-shek) and communists. It was quite interesting to see those old buildings.
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But for a young couple, this place seemed just yet another date spot.
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The Tower stood out from other surrounding buildings but it was blended well into Taipei's busy business district.
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(7) 2-28 Monument

To introduce this monument, I would like to quote from Lonely Planet Taiwan
"… But there is a certain air of solemnity to this place, for it is dedicated to the memory of a massacre that began on 28 February 1947 (hence the 2-28), an event that heralded the start of Taiwan's martial-law era. …"
Estimates of the number of deaths (from the 2-28 incident) vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more.

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