Dec. 13: 2-28 Memorial Peace Park

Monday we traveled to the 2-28 Memorial Peace Park. The park was renamed such in 1996 to honor the Taiwanese killed in an uprising against Chinese Nationalist rule. The uprising happened on Feb. 28, 1947. Opinion on the park is heavily divided on the park based on political ideology. The Green Party, made up mostly of Taiwanese who lived on the island before 1949, sought to change the name of the park to honor the uprising while the Blue Party, made up of those who fled China after the Communist takeover, dislike the renaming. 

The park has a pretty fountain with an interesting pagoda in the middle. There were also some interesting artificial ponds. From the park you can see the Shin Kong Life Tower which was the tallest building in Taipei until the 101 was built. The Shin Kong Life Tower has 51 floors including a mall and an observation deck on the 46th floor. We didn't go to the observation deck but we may go back later to check it out. We did eat lunch in the food court. 

We also visited the Presidential Building which is in the same area as the 2-28 Memorial Park and Shin Kong Life Tower. The building was originally built in 1919 by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation. It is a pretty building and the architecture looks a little bit different than most of the other buildings. The tower in the middle was the tallest structure in Taipei when it was built and the Japanese ordered that no taller buildings be built so they could keep an eye on the surrounding area from the tower.