The National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan). It is a memorial to the ROC's National Father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and was completed in 1972. The total building area covers 29,464 square metres (7.3 acres) in an open space of 115,000 square metres (28.4 acres). It contains displays of Sun's life and the revolution he led, and is also a multi-purpose social, educational and cultural center for the public.
Description
The changing of the guard ceremony
The main entrance to the hall contains a statue of Sun Yat-sen. Every hour, there is a formal changing of the guards, which is a popular tourist attraction. The building also includes a performance hall, an exhibition center of about 10,000 square feet (1,000 m2), a multimedia theatre, an audio-visual center, lecture halls, and a library with over 300,000 books.
The building itself is sited in Chung-shan Park. It includes gardens, decorative historical walls, and an exhibition and performance area surrounding Lake Cui (Chinese: 翠湖; pinyin: Cuì Hú), also known as Emerald Pond.
History
Taiwan's government began to prepare the construction of the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in 1964. In 1965, President Chiang Kai-shek officiated the groundbreaking ceremony. The design plan by architect Wang Da-hong was selected in a public contest one year later, and modified under the instruction of Chiang, to emphasize Chinese architectural characteristics. The main construction was completed on 16 May 1972. Chiang's funeral was held in the main hall of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in 1975. Originally, the Memorial Hall primarily functioned as a place to display the historical relics of Sun's life and the Xinhai Revolution. It was later opened to exhibitions and performances. Taiwan's highest movie award ceremony, the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, is held annually in the Memorial Hall Auditorium.
Initially affiliated with the city government of Taipei, the Memorial Hall became part of the Ministry of Education, together with the Chung-Shan Building in Yangmingshan, in 1986.
Transportation
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is accessible within walking distance East from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station of the Taipei Metro (Blue) Bannan Line towards Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre.
