Lorescape Places · Taipei

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall · Taipei, Taiwan · Completed 1980

Beneath the White Walls and Blue Roof: A Memorial's Many Faces

The same plaza has held honor guards, concerts, and countless rallies that changed Taiwan.

Completed in 1980, the hall was built to commemorate former president Chiang Kai-shek. Its white marble walls rise to a blue octagonal roof — the eight sides echoing the "eight virtues" — and 89 steps lead up to the main chamber, marking the years of his life.

The bronze statue in the great hall and the hourly changing of the honor guard are must-sees; the vast plaza in front witnessed the Wild Lily student movement of the 1990s and other gatherings that shaped Taiwan's democracy, and was later named Liberty Square.

The building thus carries many faces — a memorial of the authoritarian era and a stage of democratization at once. Its meaning remains a subject of ongoing conversation in Taiwanese society.

Don't let a landmark be just a photo stop. With Lorescape, standing before the hall, you can hear every face it has worn.