Taipei and Surrounding Area - Part II

Taipei and Surrounding Area - Part III

Wulai, Grass Mountain, Chihnan Temple, Peitou, Keelung, National Palace Museum, and the Martyrs' Shrine


Updated 13 September 2014 / Added 8 March 2004



Wulai and Grass Mountain (Yangminshan) are located about an hour's drive from Taipei. Peitou is located on the northern outskirts of Taipei. All are known for their hot sulfur springs and spas. Taiwan has one of the highest concentrations (more than 100 hot springs) and greatest variety of thermal springs in the world varying from hot springs to cold springs, mud springs, and seabed hot springs. (35mm slides converted to digital images.)

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Map of Taiwan, 1971
Nan Hua Publishing Co, Ltd., Taipei
(Click on Map to Enlarge)
Shihlin (National Palace Museum), Peitou, and Yangmingshan (Grass Mountain) are located
in the northern/northeastern outskirts of Taipei. Wulai is located due south of Taipei.


Wulai 1970

Wulai (click here for website) known for its mountains, hot springs, and scenic views.

(Click on photos to enlarge)
1970 photos by Carpenter (left photo) and Lentz


Grass Mountain (Yangmingshan) 1970

Yangmingshan National Park (click here for website). "Grass Mountain", known
for its beautiful parks, hot springs, and scenery, became a national park in 1985.

(Click on photos to enlarge)
1970 photos by Carpenter

1970 photos by Lentz

1970 photos by Lentz


Yangmingshan 2011 - Then and Now
(Click on photos to enlarge)
March 2011 photos by J. Valkwitch (Shulinkou 1971-72)
March 2011 Yangmingshan photos.


Zhinan Chihnan Temple 1970

Chihnan Temple (click here for website). Chih Nan Temple (Ch. 指南宮, Zhĭnán Gōng; also called 仙公廟, Xiāngōng Miào) is a Taoist temple on the slopes of
Houshan (猴山, "Monkey Mountain") in Muzha, a suburb of Taipei, Taiwan. The temple is famous for its stairway of "1000" steps. It was founded in 1882.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Stairway of 1000 steps (first photo-bottom left)     1970 photos by Carpenter

Peitou

Peitou (click here for website) known for its Japanese style hotels, hot sulfur springs and mountains.
During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan during the second world war, Peitou was a favored spot
for Japanese army officers and kamikaze pilots who would often spend their last nights in Peitou.

Circa 1968 postcards, credits: unknown (Click to Enlarge)
Aerial view of Peitou and one of its large hotels (circa 1968 postcards). The hotel is also visible (far right) in the aerial view shot.

Peitou 1970
(Click on Photos to Enlarge) 1970 photos by S. Swallom


Keelung 1971

Eighteen miles north-northeast from Taipei on Taiwan's northern coast is the seaport of Keelung (click here for website). The many bars in the Keelung harbor area catered to American and other sailors enjoying shore leave while their ships were in port. Dawg Flight at Shulinkou was known to occasionally travel to Keelung by taxi from Taipei (30 min.) to take in the nightlife...when there were no ships in port.

Goddess of Mercy, Chung Cheng Park, Keelung Harbor
1971 Keelung Photos by C. Gnath         right photo courtesy of "taipics.com"
(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

High above Keelung City and overlooking Keelung Harbor is the statue of Goddess of Mercy, the landmark of Chung Cheng Park. At a height of 80 feet it is the biggest Goddess statue in Southeast Asia. It Inside the statue is a stairway leading to the top. The first immigrants to Taiwan used to fight with each other for land. In order to stop the disputes, they set up a temple for yearly worship. The temple was in Kao Sha Park during the Japanese occupation and moved to Chung Cheng Park.


The National Palace Museum

  The National Palace Museum (click here for website) located in Waishuangshsi in the scenic northern Taipei suburb of Shihlin, 20 minutes from downtown Taipei, Taiwan. The museum ranks as one of the four best museums in the world. The museum displays the world's greatest and rarest collection of traditional Chinese artworks, art crafts and historical documents, around 700,000 items in all. Most of the items were collected by China's ancient emperorss representing the essence of Chinese culture spanning more than 3,000 years.
  In 1965 constuction commenced on the National Palace Museum building in Taipei. When completed a year later the Museum was christened the "Chung-shan Museum" in honor of the founding father of the nation, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. It first opened to the public on the centenary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's birthday, November 12, 1966. Due to the insufficient space to put on display over 655,707 artifacts, the museum underwent renovations in 1967, 1970, and 1996.

National Palace Museum 1966
(Click on photos to enlarge)

1966 photos by Les Duffin (Les is pictured on the far left-bottom row)
1966 photos of the National Palace Museum, the year it opened.
In the following year (1967) two new wings to the Museum were completed during the first stage
of expansion as shown in the 1969 photo, 1970/71 postcard, and 1971/72 admission ticket below.


National Palace Museum 1969 and 1970s
(Click on photos to enlarge)
Photo credits: (1.) J. Crum (courtesy of "TaipeiSignalArmy.blogspot.com")   (2. thru 5.) L. Duffin
(1.) 1969 photo of the National Palace Museum (National Chungshan Museum).   (2. thru 5.) 1970s photos of the National Palace Museum and its entrance gardens (photo 2).
The 1969 and 1970s photos above show major expansion and extensive renovations to the original building only a few years after it first opened in 1966 (see photos above).
Credits: (1.) unknown   (2.) courtesy of "Taipics.com"
(Click on images to enlarge)
(1.) National Palace Museum admission ticket from 1971 or 1972.   (2.) National Palace Museum postcard from 1970 or 1971.


National Palace Museum 2011 - Then and Now
(Click on photos to enlarge)
March 2011 photos by J. Valkwitch (Shulinkou 1971-72)
March 2011 photos of the National Palace Museum.


The National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine
Taipei's Martyrs' Shrine (click here for website) overlooking the Keelung River near the Grand Hotel was built in the memory of 330,000 men who lost their lives in the revolutionary
years leading to the formation of the Republic of China and those who were martyred in the Sino-Japanese war and Chinese Civil war. It was completed and opened to the public in 1969.

Martyrs' Shrine 1971
(Click on photos to enlarge)

1971 photos by C. Gnath
The National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine and the ROC Navy Honor Guard, 1971.


Martyrs' Shrine 1971
(Click on photos to enlarge)

1971 photos by L. Duffin
The National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine and the ROC Marine Corp Honor Guard, 1971.



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