We were lucky that our trip coincided with the official open house of the Presidential Office Building of the Republic of China (Taiwan) that only happens once per month and on that month it happened to fall on April 2 so the first thing we did that day was visit the Presidential Office Building.
The Presidential Office Building from a distance.
The surrounding area of the Presidential Office Building. Lots of empty space for vehicles!
Looking north towards the Shin Kong Life Tower in the distance. (I cannot believe that building opened in 1993, it looks like a relic of the 70s or 80s!)
Looking east you can see Taipei 101 in the far distance. You kind of wonder why there is so much pavement and so little greenery and I think that is because during the authoritarian era, the Chinese Nationalist Party used to conduct Soviet-style military parades to remind the mainland authorities that they were still alive and kicking.
A nice pop-up pamphlet of the Presidential Office Building.
A closer up view of the building. Whats interesting is that the building was actually built by the Japanese during the colonial era as the office of the Japanese Governor-General.
You would have thought that the government would only select 6 feet tall (183 cm) guards? (I guess there is no height requirement?)
Inside the main hall.
Statue of Republic of China founder, Sun Yat-sen.
One of the courtyards in the building.
I thought this was an interesting piece of artwork, the "Happiness Piggy Bank".
The "Taiwan Heritage Room" for general receptions.
The "President's Hall" where only VIPs are welcomed.
I wonder which seat is reserved for the President?! Usually in formal VIP meeting rooms, you can tell which seat the leader sits on and which seat the VIP sits on.
Another courtyard.
I think this is the inauguration room where the President is sworn in after elections. The current President, Ma Ying-jeou is actually shorter than I thought, if this cardboard cutout is correct.
The Vice-President's cardboard cutout.
Some sort of contemporary artwork.
The tower of the Presidential Office Building.
"Welcome to the Presidential Office Building"
The evolution of flags in the free area of the Republic of China. The top is the evolution of flags in the Taiwan area and the bottom is the evolution of flags in Kinmen, an island off the mainland Chinese coast, the last bit of territory that the Republic of China controls on the mainland area.
Its interesting to note that the Taiwan area had gone through 5 different regimes since 1624: Dutch colony, Ming Dynasty loyalist stronghold, Qing Dynasty, Empire of Japan and finally the Republic of China.
A model of the Presidential Office Building.
Artifacts used by former Presidents. Here the artifacts from Chiang Kai-shek are displayed.
His ceremonial sword.
His uniform.
Next we have the artifacts from his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, the second President. I find it interesting that he seems to bear no resemblance to his father!
His Jiang Zemin-like glasses are also on display.
Unlike father, the son preferred a more informal look.
An honorary Doctorate of Law from the fine institution known as the University of West Florida.
And now to the current President, a plastic model of him and his wife.
The 23 nations that the Republic of China has full diplomatic relations with.
Gifts from its diplomatic allies.
Famous products of Taiwan, like the GIANT bicycle.
I don't know if I would consider a netbook a famous product anymore?
The set up for a musical performance from a university.
After we finishing the tour of the open house of the Presidential Office Building, we walked around the nearby area.
The Zhongshan Hall, which was where the Japanese surrendered Taiwan to the Republic of China government in 1945.
Memorial of the war against Japan.
The wide open square in front of the Zhongshan Hall.
Next, we took the metro around 30 minutes north to the town of Tamsui (淡水), a major tourist attraction. It is a popular sea-side town for viewing the sun set into the Taiwan Strait.
Tamsui station at the end of the metro line.
Because Tamsui is a major tourist attraction, there are a lot of touristy shops which mostly sell food souvenirs.
A traditional Chinese temple, Taiwanese-style, featuring colour changing LCD displays.
Maybe there is a good reason to display the date and time in a temple?
A more traditional facade.
Continuation of the shopping arcade.
The only other place I had seen a Playboy clothing store was in mainland China.
The Tamsui Red Castle (淡水紅樓), a Victorian red-brick building on a hill turned into a restaurant. One of the attractions according to the travel guides.
The view of Tamsui from the hill.
A creepy looking statue.
It actually commemorates George Leslie Mackay, a Canadian missionary and one of the first Westerners to have lived in Taiwan.
One of the churches that Mackay founded.
A view of the Tamsui River which flows into the Taiwan Strait.
The former British Consulate in Tamsui.
Lastly, before heading back to the hotel, ordering soft ice cream from a street vendor. The speciality of this soft ice cream was the crazy height of the soft ice cream on top of the cone!
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