Zhongzheng

The building you’ll see heading south at the end of Guanqian Road from K Mall is the beautifully restored National Taiwan Museum (國立臺灣博物館; guólì táiwān bówùguǎn). The museum was completed in 1915 to house artefacts dug up by Japanese archeologists, and today the museum is one of Taipei’s finest colonial buildings, with a Neoclassical facade and 32 Corinthian columns flanking a magnificent whitewashed lobby.

Despite containing four floors of exhibition rooms, only a small part of its huge collection can be displayed at one time, mostly through temporary exhibits in the basement and on the first and third floors (these almost always have English labelling). The only permanent displays are on the second floor, with a marginally interesting area dedicated to Taiwan’s animals and plants, and the far more absorbing original collection of aboriginal artefacts. Highlights include some rare píngpŭ finds, such as tools and wood carvings, as well as a small prehistoric area containing a remarkable ensemble of Neolithic pottery and tools, many from the Beinan site, and a replica of the skull of Tsochen Man, unearthed in Tainan County and estimated to be between 20,000 and 30,000 years old. At the time of writing this section had only basic labelling in English.

On Ketagalan Boulevard stands the imposing redbrick Presidential Building (總統府; zǒngtǒngfŭ), its 60m tower for years the highest point in the city. The president and vice-president still work here and security is understandably tight: the entrance is at the back of the building at Boai and Baoqing roads, where you must show some form of photo ID (passport preferably). English-speaking guides are provided free of charge – it’s not possible to tour the place without one and many exhibits have Chinese-only captions.

Constructed between 1912 and 1919 by the Japanese to mimic British imperial architecture, the building served as the office of Japanese governor-generals until 1945, assuming the function of Taiwan’s presidential office from 1949. The first-floor rooms are arranged around two inner gardens that form the Chinese character for “sun” (日) when viewed from above (also the first character for “Japan”). Here you’ll find an informative exhibit on all nineteen Japanese governor-generals, including the fourth governor, the Kodama Gentaro – the Taiwanese used to say “his spit is law,” a fairly vivid indication that colonial rule wasn’t all green tea and sushi at the time. The building also contains exhibits on Taiwan’s five post-Japanese-era presidents, the history of the site itself, a basic history of the island and temporary art displays.

On eight or so Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year the building has an “open house”, which means you get to see some of the other areas (including the impressive Entrance Hall and Presidential Reception Room), wander around the first floor independently and take photographs (forbidden on weekdays).

Ten minutes’ walk from the southern end of 2-28 Peace Park is one of Taipei’s grandest sights, the collection of monumental architecture surrounding Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂; zhōngzhèng jìniàntáng). It doesn’t seem to matter that all this was completed in the 1980s – these buildings are some of the largest examples of classical Chinese architecture anywhere in the world.

Built as a shrine to commemorate the man that – admire him or loathe him – did more to create modern Taiwan than any other, the memorial hall sits at the centre of a grand plaza (known as “Liberty Square” since the DPP renamed it in 2007), its striking 70m octagonal roof designed to resemble the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and covered with blue glazed tiles. Start by climbing the 89 granite stairs to the main hall, which contains a giant bronze statue of the Generalissimo under an elegant red cypress wood ceiling; though it seems a bit like a mausoleum, Chiang isn’t buried inside. Inscribed onto the marble wall behind the statue are the three pillars of Chiang’s political thought, loosely adapted from Sun Yat-sen’s “Three Principles of the People”: Science (科學; kēxué), Democracy (民主; mínzhŭ) and Ethics (倫理; lúnlǐ). The hourly changing of the guard here is an elaborate ceremony that takes around ten minutes. Downstairs at ground level you’ll find a series of renovated art galleries and a special section of exhibition rooms that tell the story of Chiang’s life through photographs, paintings and personal effects, all labelled in English, though you might tire of the predictably flattering commentary. His two shiny Cadillacs are also on display. Don’t miss the gift shop either, where Chiang’s image – rather like Mao’s in China – now adorns designer T-shirts, bags and trendy cards.