Kodama Gentaro

Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館)

When it comes to my personal time, it’s rare that I ever find myself with nothing to do. Over the years I’ve curated a long list of places to go, things to do, and restaurants and coffee shops to check out. So, no matter where I find myself in Taiwan, I’m never far from somewhere I want to visit.

Something I’ve had to learn the hard way however, is that it is important to confirm that the places I’d like to visit are actually open to the public prior to leaving home. On far too many occasions, I’ve shown up only to find a locked door resulting in disappointment. To solve that from happening, I’ve had to further organize my list based on various factors and variables that most people would likely consider far too obsessive.

At the top of my list, you’ll find some of the nation’s most elusive destinations, and are those that are essentially only open to the public on special occasions - Places such as the Presidential Palace and other historic Japanese-era buildings in Taipei for example, which are currently home to important government offices, are some of the most difficult to check out, and if and when they’re open to the public, advance notice is often required for a permit for my camera gear. That being said, even though it seems like a hassle, when I’m able to check one of these destinations off my list, I rarely ever find myself disappointed.

So, when the opportunity presented itself to make a long-awaited visit to the ‘Taipei Guest House’, I woke up bright and early, hopped on a bus to Taipei, and spent a half day enjoying the absolute beauty of one of Taiwan’s most important heritage sites. Having been at the top of my list for what seemed like years, it’s one of those buildings that is only ever open to the public on special occasions, and unfortunately for me, when it is open, I’m usually stuck at work. That being said, there are (arguably) very few historic buildings in Taiwan that are able to compare to the spectacular architectural beauty of the Guest House, so with the rare opportunity to visit, I made sure to make the most of my time and also made sure to get all of the photos that I needed as I wouldn’t be able to visit again for quite some time.

Given how difficult it is to visit, I probably shouldn’t have been all that surprised to discover that there are very few authoritative resources available regarding the building and it’s history. So when I started the research portion of writing this article, there wasn’t a whole lot to rely on, save for an unusually detailed Wikipedia entry, and the typical information provided by the Ministry of Culture, which maintains open-source documents on most of the nation’s heritage sites.

Most of my go-to resources for the research I do weren’t offering much assistance, so this one required a trip to Taipei to the National Archives for some additional research as well as a trip to the library of Chung Yuan University (中原大學) to check out the work of one of the university’s professors, who has written extensively on the subject. I’m not really complaining though, visiting the archives is one of my favorite things to do as it is a treasure trove of invaluable information.

The Taipei Guest House, which was originally the Governor General of Taiwan’s official mansion, has played an important role throughout history - hosting important dignitaries such as members of the Japanese royal family, in addition to hosting diplomatic receptions and ceremonies for foreign dignitaries. So, for a building of such historic significance, I’m going to attempt to do my best to tell its story, properly and I hope that the photos I took during my visit do it justice.

I’ll start out by detailing the history of the Governor General’s Mansion and it’s architectural design, then move onto it’s post-war role as the Taipei Guest House, and end by offering information about how you can visit as well. By the end, I hope that if didn’t die of boredom reading the article that you’ll be inspired as inspired as I was to visit, when the building is open!   

Taiwan Governor General’s Mansion (臺灣總督官邸)

By 1899 (明治29年), four years into Japan’s occupation of Taiwan, the colonial government had initiated a significant number of urban development projects around the island, hoping to be able to more efficiently bring the island under its control, as well as extracting its rich natural resources. The development projects included public works, a railway, civic buildings, and the reshaping of the towns and villages that would make up Taiwan’s future cities. In the capital, Taihoku, the government had been busy tearing down the Qing-era City Walls, and pretty much anything that stood in the way to make way for the ‘Chokushi Kaido’ (勅使街道 / ちょくしかいどう), otherwise known as the Imperial Road. That road, which is known as Zhongshan North Road (中山北路) today, essentially started in the location where the Governor General’s Mansion was planned to be constructed and went all the way to where the Taiwan Grand Shrine (臺灣神宮 / たいわんじんぐう) would be constructed, all for the purpose of allowing anyone visiting from the royal family to take a direct route from where they were staying to the shrine.

With the construction on the shrine and the mansion meant to start and completed at the same time, the thought was that these two symbols were meant to put Japan’s ‘power’ and ‘modernity’ on display, helping to convince the people of Taiwan that they were better off under the stewardship of the empire. The Governor at the time, General Kodama Gentaro (兒玉源太郎 / こだま げんたろう), who is remembered fondly for his eight year tenure contributing to the improvement of Taiwan’s infrastructure and the general living conditions, argued that the mansion was meant to symbolize the power of the emperor, and that no expense should be spared to ensure that it would be as imposing as it was beautiful.

Financed directly by the Japanese treasury, the high cost of constructing the mansion became a contentious issue back in Tokyo, especially given that some of the funds allocated for the Grand Shrine were being used for the mansion. Thus, Governor General Kodama’s right hand man, Gotō Shinpei (後藤新平 / ごとうしんぺい), who was the head of Taiwan’s Civil Affairs Office (台灣民政長官) at the time, was recalled back to Tokyo to explain personally to the Japanese government.

The mansion from the front gate, what is now the roundabout on Ketagalan Boulevard

While the grilling he received from the Imperial Diet probably wasn’t his idea of a good time, Goto reiterated that the mansion represented the authority of the emperor in Taiwan, and given that few Taiwanese understood Japan’s power and prosperity, the stateliness of the mansion would help to convince them that they were part of something much larger and prosperous than they could have imagined.

Designed by architects Togo Fukuda (福田東吾 / ふくだとうご) and Ichiro Nomura (野村一郎 / .のむら いちろう), who are also credited with quite a few other buildings in Taiwan, the Governor General’s Mansion was completed on Sept. 26, 1901 (明治31年), at a total cost of 217,000 Yen, which is about the equivalent of $2.2 million US dollars today.

Note: Calculating Meiji-era Japanese currency against today’s standards is somewhat of a difficult process given that most records only date back to the restructuring of the Japanese economy, and massive inflation during the post-war period. To calculate the number above, I used the following formula: In 1901, the corporate goods price index was 0.469 where it is currently 698.6, meaning that one yen then is worth 1490 yen now. (217,000 x 1490 = 323,330,000) 昔の「1円」は今のいくら?1円から見る貨幣価値‧今昔物語

Indigenous Taiwanese visiting the Governor-General’s Mansion

As mentioned above, the completion of the mansion was meant to coincide with the consecration of the Taiwan Grand Shrine, with the timing of the completion of both projects important given that ceremonies were planned to be held on the sixth anniversary of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa’s (北白川宮能久親王) death. Passing away during the conquest of Taiwan in 1895, the prince was enshrined within the Grand Shrine as “Kitashirakawa no Miya Yoshihisa-shinnō no Mikoto”, and his widow Tomiko (島津富子) traveled to Taiwan to take part in the ceremony, officially becoming the first member of the royal family to stay in the mansion.

Link: Taiwan Grand Shrine | 臺灣神宮 (Wiki)

The rear veranda.

Nevertheless, despite the amount of money that was used to construct the mansion, it was built at a time when the Japanese were yet to fully appreciate the awesome power of Taiwan’s termites, so after about a decade, the building had started to show signs of structural instability - This posed a considerable problem for the colonial government as it was not only used as the official residence of the Governor General, but also as his office. Similarly, it was thought that the mansion wasn’t actually designed to accommodate royal visitors, who often traveled with large entourages, which meant that a restoration and expansion project would have to take place to solve these issues.

In 1911 (明治44年), Governor General Sakuma Samata (佐久間左馬太 / さくま さまた), who is credited with introducing baseball to Taiwan a year prior, ordered the restoration and expansion of the mansion and enlisted a superstar architect, Moriyama Matsunosuke (森山松之助 / もりやま まつのすけ) to head up the project. With a budget of 150,000 Yen (approximately $1.5 million USD). The restoration process took two years to complete, and during that time, the Governor General and his family were moved to a temporary residence nearby.

Moriyama converted the exterior of the building from its original neo-renaissance style (新文藝復興樣式) design to a baroque design (新巴洛克形式), and converted the roof into a French-style Mansard design. Likewise, the interior space of the building expanded considerably and no expense was spared with regard to the mansion’s interior design; Imitating French palace design with Victorian floor tiles, fireplaces imported from Europe, rugs, sulk curtains, chandeliers, ornate stucco sculptures and decorations throughout the building.

In terms of the expansion, a total of 978㎡ (296坪) was added to the interior on the second and third floors, 333㎡ (101坪) for the balconies that surrounded the building, 36㎡ (11坪) for the porte-cochère (covered car port at the front of the building), and 19㎡ (6坪) for the dining room.

From 1901 until 1945, the Governor General’s Mansion housed sixteen of the nineteen Governor Generals who ruled over Taiwan during the Japanese-era. While no expense was spared in its renovations, a few short years after the project was completed, Moriyama Matsunosuke’s magnum opus, the iconic Government-General of Taiwan (臺灣總督府廳舍) building, known today as the Presidential Office (總統府), was completed and official government activities shifted from the residence to the massive new building a short distance away.

Link: Governor-General of Taiwan | 臺灣總督 (Wiki)

Nevertheless, the mansion continued to serve a dual-role as an official residence as well as receiving important guests and dignitaries, hosting members of the royal family, and was the ideal location for important government events - the most important of which came in 1923 (大正12年) when it hosted Crown Prince Hirohito (裕仁 / ひろひと) during his tour of Taiwan - just two years prior to ascending the throne as Emperor Showa (昭和天皇).

In 1945 (昭和20年), when the Second World War came to an end, the Japanese empire was forced to relinquish control of Taiwan as per the terms of their surrender. Leaving the island in a far better condition than they found it five decades earlier, the Republic of China took over and the Governor General’s Mansion became the official residence of the Provincial Governor of Taiwan (臺灣省主席). Then, in 1949 (民國38年), when the Chinese Nationalists were forced to retreat to Taiwan, after suffering devastating losses in the Chinese Civil War (國共內戰), they brought with them almost two million refugees, and the situation on the island changed completely.

Renamed the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館) in 1950 (民國39年), the residence was put under the control of the Presidential Office, although it wasn’t used as one of the dozens of homes that President Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣介石) frequented during the remainder of his life in Taiwan. In 1952, in what could be interpreted as rubbing salt in their wounds, the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (中日和平條約), more commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei (台北和約) was signed at the Guest House, which was one of the iconic images of Japanese power in Taiwan, now under the control of the Chinese Nationalists. From then on, the Guest House has been used frequently for affairs of state, and has played host to foreign dignitaries and allies of the Republic of China, who are wined and dined in the historic building.

The building has been restored on two occasions in the post-war era, once in 1977 (民國66年) when the interior was refurbished and then again from 2002 to 2006 (民國90年-95年) after a powerful typhoon made landfall in Taiwan, causing considerable damage. Once the restoration of the building was completed, costing the government an astounding NT$400,000,000 ($13.5 million USD), the Guest House continued in its capacity serving as a venue for hosting state functions, but for the first time in more than a century, it was made available on select occasions for tours, allowing the general public to get a glimpse of the interior for the first time.

Governor General’s Mansion Timeline

  • 1895 - Control of Taiwan is ceded to the Japanese at the end of the First Sino-Japanese war (淸日戰爭).

  • 1895 (明治28年) - A temporary Governor General’s Office is set up within the Qing Dynasty’s Provincial Administration Hall (臺灣布政使司衙門), prior to moving to the ‘Western Learning Hall’ (西學堂), a school constructed by the Qing to study western civilization.

  • 1900 (明治30年) - The first major urban development plan of the Japanese-era is completed for Taipei, and plans are drawn up to simultaneously construct a stately Governor General’s Mansion and the Taiwan Grand Shrine (臺灣神宮 / たいわんじんぐう).

  • 1901 (明治31年) - Construction on the mansion is completed on Sept. 26, and the first person to stay inside was the widow of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (北白川宮能久親王), who came to Taiwan to inaugurate the Grand Shrine on the sixth anniversary of her husband’s death.

  • 1911 (明治44年) - Having suffered an incredible amount of structural damage caused by termites, the mansion undergoes a period of expansion and restoration, with famed architect Matsunosuke Moriyama (森山松之助) overseeing the project and resulting in the design of the building that we can enjoy today.

  • 1913 (大正2年) - The restoration and expansion project on the mansion is completed.

  • 1920 (大正9年) - Governmental affairs shifts from offices in the official residence to the newly constructed Government-General of Taiwan (臺灣總督府廳舍 / たいわんそうとくふ), currently the Presidential Office Building (總統府).

  • 1923 (大正12年) - The mansion hosts Crown Prince Hirohito (裕仁 / ひろひと) during his tour of Taiwan, prior to his ascension to the throne as the Showa Emperor (昭和天皇) two years later.

  • 1945 (昭和20年) - The Second World War comes to a conclusion with the formal surrender of the Japanese Empire and control of Taiwan is ambiguously awarded to the Republic of China.

  • 1945 (民國34年) - The mansion becomes home to the Provincial Governor of Taiwan (臺灣省主席) for a short period of time.

  • 1949 (民國38年) - Facing defeat in the Chinese Civil War (國共內戰), a massive retreat is ordered by the Kuomintang, and millions of Chinese refugees are brought to Taiwan.

  • 1950 (民國39年) - The mansion is turned over to the Presidential Office (總統府) and is officially converted into the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館).

  • 1952 (民國41年) - The Treaty of Taipei (台北和約) is signed by representatives of the post-war Japanese Government and the Republic of China, formally ending the hostilities of the Second World War.

  • 1963 (民國52年) - The Guest House is formally lent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to facilitate the entertainment of foreign guests and dignitaries visiting Taiwan at state functions.

  • 1977 (民國66年) - The interior of the building is restored by the government.

  • 1998 - The Taipei Guest House is designated as a National Monument (國定古蹟), one of the highest levels of recognition awarded to heritage buildings under the current government system.

  • 2001 (民國90年) - A considerable amount of structural damage to the building, likely as a result of Typhoon Toraji (颱風桃芝), forces the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to shut the building down.

  • 2002 - 2006 (民國91年-95年) - The Taipei Guest House enters a four year long period of restoration that costs about NT$400,000,000 ($13.5 million USD).

  • 2006 (民國91年) - After more than a century, the Taipei Guest House is opened up for the enjoyment of the public, however, only on very select occasions as it continues to serve as the venue for hosting state functions.

Now that I’ve gone through the history of the building, I’m going to spend some time describing it’s architectural design, which is quite significant given the age and importance of the building.

First though, as a show of respect for one of my favorite local writers, Han Cheung’s article about the mansion in the Taipei Times is probably one of the best English-language articles about the building that you’ll find, so I recommend giving it a read at some point.

Link: Taiwan in Time: An extravagant colonial palace (Han Cheung / Taipei Times)

Architectural Design

The architectural design of the building is a tale that is told in two different chapters, namely the extravagant ‘first generation’ design, and the ostentatious ‘second generation’ design, which built upon what came before it. Touching on its designers earlier, it’s important to repeat that the mansion, completed in 1901, was the brainchild of Togo Fukuda and Ichiro Nomura, a pair of accomplished architects who designed a fair number of the earlier buildings constructed during the Japanese-era. Building upon his predecessors work, Moriyama Matsunosuke, a man who I personally consider one of Taiwanese history’s most prolific architects, swooped in and made the sweeping changes to the building’s design, which also helped to ensure its longevity, and is one of the reasons why we’re able to continue enjoying it today.

Note: I’m pretty sure that not everyone pays as much attention to these things as I do, but if we take a look at the work of Moriyama, many of the iconic buildings he designed are still standing and in operation today, including the Taichung Prefectural Hall (台中州廳), the Monopoly Bureau (専売局), the Taipei Prefectural Hall (台北州廳), Tainan Prefectural Hall (台南州廳), the Taipei Railway Bureau (台北鐵道部), the Taipei Aqueduct (臺北水道水源地) and the Presidential Office (總統府).

First Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第一代總督官邸)

First-Generation Mansion from the front.

As previously mentioned, there are some very noticeable differences in the design of the first generation mansion, and what came later. In both cases however, the architects sought to mimic the architectural design that was popular in Europe at the time. The first generation mansion designed by Togo Fukuda and Ichiro Nomura adhered to the ‘Neo-Renaissance’ style of design popularized in France and inspired by Italian architects. The end result was a building characterized by its rectangular and circular decorative elements on the exterior of the building. Staying true to the revival-style design, the building featured a rectangular main-wing in the center with asymmetrical wings on both the left and right. It also adhered to what is known as ‘flat classicism’ in that the exterior walls feature very few decorative elements, placing greater importance on proportion, harmony, and linear symmetry.

One of the questionable aspects of the ‘asymmetry’ of the wings however. was that the original western wing was a flat square section that prominently featured a dome, one of the important aspects of European architectural design that made a comeback with the revival style. The eastern-wing meanwhile was concave in design, and instead of a dome, featured a roof-covered balcony, with an almost 360 degree view of the area surrounding the mansion.

The two-story residence was constructed using a mixture of brick and stone with wooden roof trusses in the ceiling, helping to keep the roof in place. Surrounded on all sides by covered verandas, the one area where you’d find curved arched spaces in the design.

The usage of the interior space was unlike what you’d expect from a traditional Japanese-style mansion in that only the east-wing of the second floor was reserved as the private residence of the Governor-General and his family, while the first floor was home to a reception lobby, administration office, meeting rooms, a banquet hall, and a game room.

Where much of the beauty of the original design came into focus was within the interior where there was beautifully laid parquet flooring and stucco columns located throughout the building that played both functional and decorative roles. Given that the mansion was meant to imitate that of a European palace, the interior also featured beautiful chandeliers, silk curtains, and many other imported decorative elements.

Finally, one of the lasting design elements of the building were the gardens that surrounded the building, featuring European-style gardens in the front and a Japanese-style garden to the rear.

Unfortunately, almost all of the remaining photos of the first generation mansion were taken of the exterior, so describing the beauty of the interior design is something that can only be done through the interpretation of historic records.

Second Generation Governor-General’s Mansion (第二代總督官邸)

In what one could assume was simply a natural progression from the Renaissance-Revival architectural style of the first generation version of the mansion, architect Moriyama Matsunosuke completely redesigned the mansion into a style more commonly associated with what is known as either Neo-Baroque, or Baroque-Revival, a style which would become quite prominent in both Taiwan and Japan in the early 20th century.

Possibly taking inspiration from Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace (迎賓館赤坂離宮 / げいひんかんあかさかりきゅう), one of the Japanese government’s two current official state guest houses, Moriyama’s alterations to the building were decorative in nature, but also practical in that his work ensured the longevity of the building’s structural health. The project got underway in 1911 when then Governor General Sakuma Samata ordered the restoration and expansion of the mansion, and during the two years that it took to complete, the Governor-General and his office vacated the residence.

Moriyama’s vision threw out all of the straight lines and the ‘flatness’ of the original and replaced them with curvaceousness and an array of rich surface treatments carved into the facade of the building. The most noticeable differences can be found in the center of the main wing of the building where Moriyama completely redesigned the roof, windows and the second-floor balcony. Most notably, within the triangular section between the upper part of the balcony and the third floor, the once empty section features some pretty important carvings. Displaying the official logo used during the Japanese-era to signify Taiwan, an important part of the stamp that signified the office of the Governor-General. Likewise, in all of the flat empty sections of space above and below the windows, decorative elements were added to show off the ‘flowing nature’ of baroque architectural design.

Given that Taiwan’s termites were having a wonderful time with the wood used to construct the building, having learned their lesson the hard way, Japanese architects came up with methods to solve these problems. In this case, Moriyama replaced the original wooden roof trusses in the building with steel trusses and converted the roof into a two-sloped Mansard-style design, a style common among the architecture of French palaces. In this case, the roof allowed for circular dormer windows (ox-eye 牛眼窗), a favorite of Japanese architects at the time, but more importantly, these changes allowed for the construction of a third floor, increase in the interior space of the building.

Link: Mansard Roof (Wiki)

With 978㎡ (296坪) of floor space added to the mansion during the expansion, design of the interior space likewise required a considerable amount of attention, and with a budget that was nearly half of the original cost of construction, no expense was spared. When the project was completed, the mansion would have appeared similar to what you’d expect from a typical French palace. Featuring stucco sculptures, columns, stained glass windows and beautiful white walls mixed featuring golden mosaics and carvings throughout the interior.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that my experience walking through the mansion was similar to walking through parts of the Vatican. I felt like I was transported back to my travels through Europe, which isn’t a feeling you often get while visiting historic buildings in Taiwan. I suppose that shouldn’t be particularly surprising though, given that these decorative elements are all indicative of Baroque design. Exploring the second floor, especially, it should be quite easy to see why with all of the flowing golden arches and the network of pillars that you’ll see in each of the rooms open for the tour.

Another important aspect of the restoration project that should be mentioned was to add a bit of modern technology was added to the building, included retrofitting for modern lighting and central heating systems. I’m not particularly sure why a heating system was necessary given Taiwan’s climate, but in addition to central heating, seventeen fireplaces were imported from Europe along with rugs, silk curtains, chandeliers and Victorian floor tiles to complete the redesign.   

Having experienced and enjoyed Moriyama’s work in a few of Taiwan’s other historic Japanese-era buildings, it’s easy to see why he was chosen to be the designer of so many of the colonial government’s most important construction projects. The legacy that he’s left here in Taiwan is one that we’re fortunately able to continue enjoying more than a century after he hopped on a boat and headed back to Japan.

Link: The helmsman who shaped the style of Taipei City (Shelley Shan / Taipei Times)

Interestingly, despite his love of European Baroque revivalist design, when Moriyama returned to Japan in 1921, he took on an assignment designing the ‘Imperial Pavilion’ at Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden (新宿御苑 / しんじゅくぎょえん), dedicated to the Showa Emperor. The pavilion, which is now regarded as the “Taiwan Pavilion” was constructed using Taiwanese cypress and traditional red clay bricks, took inspiration from traditional Taiwanese architectural design, an obvious nod to his years here.

Visiting the Taipei Guest House (臺北賓館)

After more than a century, tours of the Taipei Guest House opened to the public in 2006, just after the building had finished being restored. Having entered an era of democratic openness and transparency, I imagine it’s only understandable that the government couldn’t very well justify spending so much money restoring a building that so few of the nation’s taxpayers would ever be able to enjoy.

Starting from June 4th, 2006, the Guest House was set to be open to the public on the first Sunday of even months, essentially making it available to the public six days a year. However, over the decade since tours started, the number of days that the building is available has slightly increased, but the availability of these tours depends on the annual schedule of events taking place within the building.

So, even though it is supposed to be open on certain weekends, depending on whether or not any state functions are taking place, you might end up being a little disappointed if you try to visit without checking beforehand.

Suffice to say, with Taiwan closing its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic, the building was open for tours more often than in previous years, but there is no indication as to whether or not this will become the norm in years to come as the world opens back up for tourism. Additionally, given the number of international policy makers finding their way to Taiwan as of late, it’s only understandable that the number of official events taking place at the mansion will increase, which means that the number of public tours will decline.

If you would like to visit the Guest House, it’s important that you pay close attention to the yearly calendar of openings on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official website, which is linked below:

Link: Open House Schedule | 假日開放參觀

I caution you however that Taiwanese Government Websites are notorious for randomly disappearing, so if either of the links provided above aren’t working, I recommend heading over to Google and typing “Taipei Guest House” or “台北賓館” where you’ll likely find whatever new website they’ve started using in addition to the schedule of open houses for the year.

A tip that you may find helpful is that whenever the Guest House is officially open for public tours, the Presidential Office is as well, so if you’re feeling ambitious, you might be able to enjoy a tour of both buildings on the same day, although for someone like me, I’d find it far too difficult.

While touring the building, you’ll be able to walk around the open areas freely, but there are quite a few sections of the building, and the gardens, which are off-limits to guests. You’ll notice that there are volunteers watching at all times to make sure you don’t stray off into an area where you’re not welcome. Similarly, if you’re carrying a lot of photo gear, it’s important to remember that flash photography is prohibited within the building, and you’re also not permitted to use a tripod.

Interestingly, if you break any of the guidelines set for visits, it’s likely that you’ll be asked to leave immediately, which will also result in a two year ban - So try to be on your best behavior!

Getting There

 

Address: (臺北市中正區凱達格蘭大道1號)

GPS: 25.039810, 121.515870

Located within the heart of the governing district of the capital, the Taipei Guest House is situated a short distance from the Presidential Office (總統府), the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂), the East Gate (景福門) and the 228 Peace Memorial Park (二二八和平公園). Similarly, it is within walking distance of several of Taipei’s MRT stations, so getting there should be relatively straight forward.

While the Guest House is located closest to the NTU Hospital MRT Station (台大醫院捷運站), you could also elect to walk a short distance from either Taipei Main Station (台北車站), Ximen Station (西門捷運站) or Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station (中正紀念堂捷運站). For most people however, the chance to visit the Guest House is one of those things where you won’t want to waste too much time on a walking tour of the capital, so your best option is to make your way directly to the NTU Hospital station and take either Exit 1 or Exit 2 where you’ll walk a short distance along Gongyuan Road (公園路) to the front gate on the corner of Gongyuan and Ketagalen Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道).

Bus

As far as I’m concerned, the MRT is probably your best method of getting to the Guest House, but there are quite a few people who swear by Taipei’s excellent public bus system, so if you’re one of them, you’re in luck as you are afforded a number of options in this respect given that it is located next to one of the city’s most important hospitals. You’ll find that there are a number of bus stops within walking distance, but I’m only going to provide the bus routes for the closest bus stop to save both myself and yourself some time.

NTU Hospital MRT Station Bus Stop (捷運台大醫院站): 2, 5, 18, 20, 37, 222, 241, 243, 245, 249, 251, 295, 513, 604, 621, 640, 644, 648, 651, 656670, 706, 835, 938  East 0, 信義幹線, 仁愛幹線

Click on any of the links above for the route map and real-time information for each of the buses. If you haven’t already, I recommend using the Taipei eBus website or downloading the “台北等公車” app to your phone, which will help you map out your trip.

Link: Bus Tracker (臺北等公車) - Apple | Android

Youbike

If you’ve decided to ride one of the city’s popular Youbike’s to the Guest House, you’re in luck as there are Youbike docking stations located near the NTU Hospital MRT Station exit, where you can dock your bike and then walk over to the Guest House. You can also find additional docking stations on either side of the East Gate as well as along the entrance to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend downloading the Youbike App to your phone so that you’ll have a better idea of the location where you’ll be able to find the closest docking station.

Links: Youbike - Apple / Android

The Taipei Guest House has hosted princes and princesses to presidents, prime ministers, etc. - As one of Taipei’s most important destinations for state functions, the stately mansion has played host to countless events over the past one hundred and twenty years, and will continue to serve an important role for marketing Taiwan to the rest of the world.

Now that we, the little people, are able to enjoy a taste of the Guest House, it’s become a pretty popular tourist destination, especially for domestic tourists. If you’re in Taiwan and you have the chance to visit, you should probably take the opportunity to enjoy a tour. It’s highly recommend however that anyone wanting to visit pay close attention to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (linked above), which provides the list of dates on the annual visitation schedule, so that you don’t miss out.

References

  1. Taipei Guest House | 台北賓館 (Wiki)

  2. Taipei Guest House | 台北賓館 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs / 外交部)

  3. Taipei Guest House (Digital Taiwan)

  4. 臺北賓館 (國家文化資產網)

  5. 台北賓館:不曾被遺忘的華麗建築 (公共電視台 異人的足跡)

  6. 國定古蹟台北賓館調查研究/原台灣總督官邸 (黃俊銘)

  7. Taiwan in Time: An extravagant colonial palace (Han Cheung / Taipei Times)

  8. Lafayette East Asia Image Collection (Historic Photos)


Huguo Rinzai Temple (臨濟護國禪寺)

The Great Hall

People often ask me how I'm able to find so many 'interesting' places to take photos of and write about. When I think about it, its a bit of a strange question. Sure, some of the places I visit are a bit ‘different’ than most other expats but I've never really considered them all that obscure.

After over a decade of living in Taiwan I feel like I’ve pretty much exhausted all of the ‘typical’ well-known tourist attractions meaning that as a long-term traveller, I have to be a bit more adventurous and try harder than the average tourist.

To that effect, I suppose that there are quite a few places that I visit and blog about aren't likely to be introduced in Lonely Planet or any other English guide books. In truth, everyone knows about places like the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall or Longshan Temple. There’s not much new to discover or to talk about when it comes to tourist spots like these while the lesser known spots keep me on my toes and means that I get to learn more and more about Taiwan and its history.

As the nation opens up more and more to global tourism and becomes an important destination for the worlds travellers, its probably more important than ever that there are English resources available for travellers - especially those who come looking for something off the beaten path. One of the problems with this however is that travel resources and information regarding tourist spots outside of Taipei are rarely very helpful.

I guess that is why I try hard to introduce Taiwan as best as I can through the photos that I take and the research and translations that I do about the places I visit. I hope that I’m able to help make this beautiful country a little more accessible to the outside world.

Sun shining on the beautifully restored roof

Surprisingly, the spot I'm writing about today is one that I've passed by probably over a thousand times while riding Taipei's MRT and yet had always avoided. While I have a bit of a reputation for always wandering around Taiwan’s temples, from time to time there are some that even I try to avoid - and often for good reason!

Most of Taiwan's temples are easily accessible to the public and when you visit, no one will bother you with religious stuff or push anything on you. There are however quite a few temples belonging to certain organizations that would prefer visitors spend more time converting or donating than exploring. (See: Nature Loving Wonderland) I had always mistakenly thought that this was one of those places and I avoided going in to save myself the hassle.

I finally found a reason to visit however as I found out that there was a Japanese Colonial Era Buddhist Temple sitting right in the middle of this odd-looking temple complex. A Japanese temple of this size that is still left standing is something almost unheard of these days in Taiwan and is not the kind of thing I’m going to pass up, so I visited as soon as I could.

That being said, I did get harassed for a few minutes while inside, but it was more of an effort by someone to learn English rather than push any religious ideology!

The Linji Huguo Zen Buddhist Temple (臨濟護國禪寺) is one of the oldest and most well-preserved buildings of its kind remaining in Taipei from the Japanese Colonial Era and is a beautiful place to visit - So much so that I regret not having visited much sooner!

Yet another example of learning not to judge!

History

The Japanese Colonial Era began on April 17th 1895 when representatives from the Qing Dynasty signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki (下関条約) which signaled the end of the first Sino-Japanese War and forced China to cede both territory and copious amounts of cash to the Japanese Empire.

The colonial period which ended up lasting for a half century had its fair share of resistance from the local people and the colonial powers were certainly guilty of a great many atrocities, however the general feeling today is that people of this country share a strong bond with the Japanese and enjoy a friendship that is based off of mutual understanding and respect for each other.

When the Colonial Era started, the Japanese wasted no time starting to develop the island with modern infrastructure and also the means to create a thriving economy. As Taiwan was part of the Japanese empire, the Japanese made sure to construct buildings of Japanese cultural influence while at the same time building schools, banks, roads, etc.

Some of the buildings that were constructed included the various Martial Arts Halls, Shinto Shrines and Buddhist temples which were meant to help endear and convert the people of Taiwan into loyal citizens of the Japanese empire.

In 1900, then Japanese Governor of Taiwan Kodama Gentaro (兒玉源太郎) requested monks from the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism to come to Taiwan, build a temple and promote Zen Buddhism in Taiwan on land nearby the newly constructed Taiwan Grand Shrine (台灣神社).

Rinzai (臨濟宗) is a sect of Zen Buddhism which is descended from the Chinese Lingji school founded during the Tang Dynasty by Linji Yixuan (臨濟義玄). Rinzai Buddhism simply put emphasizes the usage of kōans (公案) which are best described as paradoxical anecdotes or riddles that have no solutions and are meant to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and promote enlightenment. Practitioners of Rinzai believe that through the usage of these riddles that the path to enlightenment (the ultimate goal for Buddhists) could be accelerated.

As one of Japan's various sects of Buddhism, Rinzai had flourished since its introduction in 1199 but came close to extinction when the Meiji Restoration (明治維新) started in 1868. The reforms brought on by the government focused their attention on several aspects of Japanese society that were deemed to be ‘feudalistic’ or ‘foreign’ as well as bringing an end to the Tokugawa Shogunate, the daimyo and the samurai class which were considered a burden on the state despite their cultural importance.

Orchids overlooking the century year old temple. 

Buddhism, which was the most widely practiced religion at the time was also targeted and replaced by Shintoism as the state religion in an attempt to cultivate Japanese nationalism, the notion of Japanese cultural superiority and the idea that the emperor was divine.

Buddhism was perceived by the Meiji as a religion of foreign origin and therefore inferior to the culturally superior state Shinto religion. Making matters worse was the fact that Rinzai was once closely linked with the former feudalistic social system and for centuries enjoyed the perks of being under the patronage of the Samurai class. This meant that in order to survive, Zen Buddhism had to quickly change and adapt to the new social order or face destruction.

The changes that were made by the various schools of Buddhism altered the core approaches and interpretations of the Buddha’s teachings to coincide with an unquestioning support for the Japanese government, its policies and the divinity of the Emperor. The new uneasy alignment with the Japanese government allowed for Japanese Buddhism to survive, but also forced it to abandon some of its key principles and practices and help promote militarism.

Buddhism’s conformation to state ideology however was not something so easily accepted by the government and during the period of the Meiji Restoration over 4,500 Buddhist temples were either closed or destroyed and monks were either drafted into the Imperial army or forced to return to ordinary life depending on their age.

While Buddhism faced difficulties during the Meiji Restoration in Japan, Taiwan was a bit of a different story where monks were sent with military regiments in order to provide spiritual service to the army which in the early days of the colonial era had to quell several rebellions.

Coincidentally the monks who came to Taiwan in the early days of the colonial era made similar attempts to convert the population that Christian missionaries did. The Japanese government supported these efforts for a while but ultimately stopped funding the monks as there was a larger push to promote Shintoism in Taiwan.

Governor General Kodama Gentaro who was himself affiliated with the Rinzai sect invited his university classmate Iori Genshu (梅山玄秀), a well-known Rinzai monk from Osaka to come to Taiwan and become the abbot of the temple which was to be constructed.

Construction on the temple took over a decade and was completed in 1911 (明治44年) with the original name Chin'nanzan Gokoku-ji Temple (鎮南護山國禪寺) which ultimately means that the temple was meant to help Protect the Southern Lands of the Japanese Empire.

Design

Beautiful Japanese architecture constructed with Taiwanese cypress. 

In the decades since the end of the Japanese Colonial Era the temple complex has been expanded upon and buildings have been built up that surround it and block it from the outside. Part of the reason why I never really knew that this temple existed in such a popular and busy tourist location is that it was pretty much hidden from plain sight by a temple design that seriously looks like it was crafted in the 80s.

The original complex consisted of a Main Hall, a Gate and some administrative buildings but today it has expanded considerably with two large halls, an administrative office, a large dormitory for the monks or guests of the temple and an area on the small mountain behind it where there are graves and statues of the Buddha.

I’m not going to touch on all of the new additions but the Main Hall, the Gate and the grave site of former temple abbot Iori Genshu are all important to mention.

Main Building (大雄寶殿)

The Great Hall 

The Main Building of the temple complex is the main attraction for visitors coming to the temple. It is the oldest remaining wooden structure built in Taiwan during the Japanese Colonial Era and also one of the largest. Built entirely of Taiwanese Cypress, a kind of wood that the Japanese lovingly refer to as hinoki (檜木), the temple is not only beautifully constructed with this wood but also extremely aromatic, especially if the past few days had some rain. 

The building known as the Hall of Great Strength (大雄寶殿) houses the main shrine which is dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha (釋迦) and is a common name for a main hall of the Buddhist temple which contains an image of the Buddha.

The temple is designed with architecture that was typical of the Edo Period (江戶時代) which was the period of rule where the Tokugawa Shogunate (德川幕府) controlled Japan between 1603 and 1868 ending with the restoration of the Meiji Emperor.

The main hall is elevated off of the ground and has the easily identified four sided ‘hip and gable roof’ (懸魚) that resembles a mountain and has “owl’s tails” (鴟尾). The special thing to notice about the temple though is that on each of the owls tails you will find something known as an Onigawara (鬼瓦) as well as the word “Town” or “Guard” (鎮) on each of the end tiles (瓦片).

An Onigawara, otherwise known as an ogre tile is a type of roof ornament that depicts a Japanese ogre or what we might refer to as a “demon” in English. The tricky thing about referring to these “oni” (鬼) as demons is that they aren’t specifically evil in the English sense of the world although they are meant to be fearsome and have the ability to scare away evil spirits which might attempt to visit the temple. Practically speaking, the Onigawara tiles were meant to assist in protecting the roof from weathering and also the weather.

For more about Onigawara, Japanese imagery and another Japanese-Era building in Taiwan, check out my friend Alexander’s blog about the Fenyuan Town Hall in central Taiwan.

Link: Fenyuan Town Hall (芬園庄役場) (Synapticism)

The end tiles on the roof each end with a circle and have the Chinese character “鎮” on them which refers both protection and the original name of the temple.

When it comes to the roof, you have to pay a bit of attention to the details that went into its construction and make sure not to miss the wonderful designs that are distinctly Japanese and are not something that you’ll commonly see in Taiwan these days.

The inside of the main hall is currently off-limits to visitors as the hall is going through an on-going renovation project. You are able to view the inside from the main entrance but they have blocked it off for outside guests. The interior of the temple is made completely of wood which shines in the afternoon sun.

The main shrine room of the Great Hall - Off limits to visitors at this point. 

As mentioned above, the temple is dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha (釋迦牟尼) but there are also shrines dedicated to Guanyin (觀世音菩薩) and Ksitigarbha (地藏菩薩). Above each of the Buddha’s are plaques that read “Compassionate and Kind” (慈悲為懷), “Transcending Time” (現壽者相) and “Commandments and Longevity” (戒壽並尊) respectively. 

The temple has been going through a long period of renovation over the past few years and while the outside has ultimately been completed, the interior still has quite a bit of work to do before its completed. The original renovation commenced in 2007 and ended in 2010 with the temple raising over $85 million NT (3 million US) for the project. Fresh cypress was shipped in from the forests of Yilan on Taiwan’s east coast while the roofing tiles were specially ordered from Japan to help with the temple’s authenticity.

Old Gate / Bell Tower (舊鐘樓山門)

The Old Gate / Bell Tower

The old gate to the temple seems as if it is still under renovation and although it is for the most part completed it is mostly just for decoration. Today it is the resting place for hundreds of pigeons who hang out all day. The door to the gate is closed and people are unable to pass through it anymore but its fine because there is an alternate entrance to the temple beside it. The gate is designed in the same way as the Main Hall with the same roof and the same wood.

Historic Japanese-era photo of the bell tower.

The sad thing about the gate though is that there is a giant stone slab next to it that had the original name of the temple as well as the date it was opened. The problem is that while most of the characters are still there to help identify the temple, the time period has been vandalized which is something I complained about in my blog about the former Taichung Shinto Shrine. The gate would have said something like “明治44年” on the side, but considering political sensitivities after the end of the Second World War, it was likely demolished like quite a few other buildings of Japanese cultural significance.

Getting there

Getting to the temple is extremely easy - All you have to do is hop on Taipei's MRT system's Red Line and take the train to Yuanshan MRT station (圓山捷運站). In addition to this beautiful historic temple the Yuanshan MRT station is an area of the city where travellers could easily spend an entire day checking out the beautiful Flora Expo Park (花博公園), the historic Lin An-Tai Mansion, Taipei's Confucius Temple (台北孔廟) and of course Bao-An Temple (保安宮) all of which are in walking distance from the station.

 

It isn't likely that you'll find this temple in English guide books, but as it has recently been recognized as one of the top religious tourist destinations in Taiwan, I suspect that will eventually change. This beautiful century-old Zen temple doesn't require a lot of time to visit but is a great place to visit to experience a living piece of Taiwan's history.