Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 國立國父紀念館

Sun Yat-sen is a well known figure in modern Chinese history. He is considered the Father of the nation having led a revolution which toppled the Qing dynasty which has ruled the country for more than 200 years. Because of this, he is a rare figure in Chinese history who is respected in both Taiwan and Mainland China. He wasn’t successful in unifying the entire country though. He was named the country’s first president though it wasn’t a very long term. After his death his party splintered and lost power. Still, he was important enough that Taipei has a memorial hall dedicated to him.

The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 國立國父紀念館, as the name implies, was built to honor the father of the country. This large hall is designed not unlike the large palaces found in Beijing which were built during the Qing dynasty. As big the structure is from the outside, one would find that the hall is dominated by the central hall which houses the larger than life statue of Sun Yat-sen sitting on a chair. There is an interesting changing of the guards which happen at regular intervals and it is worth waiting for it. The guards would march in slow but perfect cadence. Watching them, you would want them to just get on with it since each step would take a second or two. The guards who were replaced also do the same march out of the hall. Once that is done, visitors can have a closer look at the statue.

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/SunYat-senMemorialHall.kmz} zoom=19]