Zhongshan Hall

This building of brown tiles and solemn arches is Zhongshan Hall. It was built between 1932 and 1936 as Taipei Public Hall, a venue for concerts, banquets and major events, to a design by Ide Kaoru, the colonial government's architect.

1On top of the Qing offices

This plot once held the offices of the Qing provincial government. In 1895, for just a few days, they also served as the seat of the short-lived Republic of Formosa, proclaimed to resist the arrival of the Japanese. They then housed the Japanese Government-General until 1919, and were pulled down in 1932 to make way for the hall; some pieces were moved to the Botanical Garden, where they can still be seen.

2Handover day

After Japan's surrender in the Second World War, on 25 October 1945, this was the setting for the ceremony in which the last Japanese governor-general, Andō Rikichi, handed over the administration of the island to Chen Yi, representative of the Republic of China government. That same year the hall received its current name, in honour of Sun Yat-sen, known in Chinese as Zhongshan.

For decades this hall hosted presidential inaugurations, sessions of the National Assembly and banquets for visiting heads of state.

Today it is a national monument and still works as a concert hall and theatre.

3What to look for

• The earth-coloured tiles, typical of 1930s architecture.
• The three arches of the entrance.
• The reliefs and round windows on the facade.