The Taipei Guest House () is the historical building located at 1

Ketagalan Boulevard Ketagalan Boulevard () is an arterial road in Zhongzheng District in Taipei, Taiwan, between the Presidential Office Building and the . It is long and has a total of ten lanes in each direction with no median. History The former name of this ...

Bo'ai Special Zone The Bo'ai Special Zone is a restricted zone in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan, which was established to protect the Presidential Office Building. As part of the historical center of Taipei, the zone also houses several critical government o ...

Zhongzheng District Zhongzheng District (also Jhongjheng District) is a District (Taiwan), district in Taipei. It is home to most of the national government buildings of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), including the Presidential Office Building, Taipei, P ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is owned by the

Government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China, is the national government of the Republic of China whose ''de facto'' territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other island groups in the "free area". Governed by the De ...

and used as a

state guest house A state guest house is a building owned by the government of a country which is used as an official residence for visiting foreign dignitaries, especially during state visits or for other important events. Americas Canada * 7 Rideau Gate in O ...

for receiving state guests or celebration activities.

History

Gotō Shinpei Count was a Medical Doctor with Doctor of Medicine, a Japanese politician and cabinet minister of the Taishō and early Shōwa period Empire of Japan. He served as the head of civilian affairs of Taiwan under Japanese rule, the first direc ...

was responsible for maintaining its construction budget, and was recalled to Japan to meet with

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

members after it was reported that funds set aside for the

Taiwan Grand Shrine The Taiwan Grand Shrine () was the highest ranking Japanese Shinto shrine in Taiwan during Japanese colonial rule. It was located in Taihoku, Taiwan (now Zhongshan District, Taipei). Among the officially sanctioned Shinto shrines in Taiwan, Ta ...

were being spent on the Taipei Guest House. Until 1920, the Taipei Guest House was the residence of the

Governor-General of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The Jap ...

during the Japanese period, situated about 100 meters from the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan (now the Presidential Building). Imperial members and heads of politics often visited here.

Emperor Showa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

(Crown Prince Hirohito) also stayed here when visiting Taiwan. After Taiwan was handed over to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs

George Yeh George Kung-chao Yeh (1904–1981), also known as Yeh Kung-chao, was a diplomat and politician of the Republic of China. Educated in the U.S. and the U.K., he graduated from Amherst College in 1925 and later Cambridge University. He taught Engl ...

and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Isao Kawada signed the

Treaty of Taipei The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (), formally the Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan () and commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei (), was a peace treaty between Japan and the Republic of China (ROC) signed in Taipei, Taiwan o ...

here in 1952. In 1988, Taipei Guest House was designated by the government of Taiwan and administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan.

Architecture

The main architecture of the building is concave shaped, having a roof in Mansard style and high Roman pillars, mainly in a style of French

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

palace buildings. Inside the building there is a resplendent suspension light decorated with crystal, baroque gold leaves and flowers and gold foil; outside the building there is a modern Japanese curtilage garden. Taipei Guest House is the representative work of Taiwanese buildings under Japanese rule, also called the most graceful

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

residence house. Taipei Guest House is open to the public on the first Sunday in even months from 4 June 2006.

Transportation

The building is accessible within walking distance south east of

NTU Hospital Station National Taiwan University Hospital () is a metro station in Taipei, Taiwan served by Taipei Metro. Station overview The station is a two-level, underground station with an island platform. It has four exits, two of which are equipped with elev ...

Taipei Metro Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei City, New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the State-owned enterprise, government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation ...

References

External links

Taipei Guest House

Taipei Guest House
(English)
Taipei Guest House
at the Bureau of Cultural Heritage website {{refend 1901 establishments in Taiwan Baroque architecture in Taipei Buildings and structures in Taipei Houses completed in 1901 Houses in Taiwan Palaces in Taiwan Tourist attractions in Taipei State guesthouses National monuments of Taiwan Neoclassical architecture in Taiwan

History

Architecture

Transportation

See also

References

External links