Maps & Architectures
Venturing into the Ruins – Taipei Military Sanatorium, Beitou Branch

Have you ever noticed those abandoned spaces in the hidden corners of a city? Crumbling away, overgrown with weeds, and surrounded by “no entry” barricade tape, they look discouraging enough. However, they were once alive with human activity, and traces of their former glory still remain.

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Wanchin Basilica at the Center of the People’s Spirits.

In 1984, Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II bestowed the basilica status (“basilica” is the highest honor for Catholic churches) on the Wanchin Church, the community and religious center for the Wanchin villagers. In the early years of missionary work in Taiwan, the missionaries were aware of the necessity to downplay religion in order to avoid developing aversion among the local people. Thus, local cultural flavors were taken into consideration during the construction of the church, and the church is a combination of both Chinese and Western cultural styles.

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Witness to Sunrises and Sunsets–A Red Fort of Multiple Cultures

Perched on top of a hill by the Tamsui port, this redbrick fortress overlooks the Tamsui River and faces Guanyin Mountain across the river. Such a commanding view puts the fort in an important strategic military position. With its fusion of Dutch and British architectural styles, the fort is one of the oldest Western-style buildings that still exist in Taiwan, and was classified as a national historic site. The fort, known to locals as “Fort of the Red Heads,” was originally known as Fort San Domingo by the Spanish1, who built the fortress in the 17th century. By the time the Dutch took over the fort, it was already a ruin. The structure standing today was built by the Dutch in 1644, and its appearance remains largely unchanged. The Dutch used it for military purposes. Following the opening of Taiwanese ports to foreign trade, the fort was leased to the British, and a consulate building was added to serve as the office for the British Consul.

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Traditional Wisdom Passed On — The Story of a Master Carpenter, Han-jen Hsu

Architecture is the face of a city. The Forbidden City is to Beijing as the Grand Mosque is to Mecca. Architecture reveals how people live and decorations on buildings serve as cultural symbols. Patterns and signs often provide clues to the faiths of different peoples. Great structures require both a builder and an architect to come to fruition — the former employs a large team of talents to carry out the physical construction while the latter infuses his extensive knowledge and cultural understanding into the design.

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Canal Is Formed When Water Comes: Qing Archival and Cartographical Materials on River Engineering in the National Palace Museum

China has been an agriculture-based country since ancient times. The stable development of agricultural economy is the foundation of social stability and the livelihood of the masses, as well as the basis for imperial regime and its financial income. It is in this connection that the imperial governments over the ages had pooled a large number of experts and a tremendous amount of resources into the ......

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Taipei Guest House

Construction of the Taipei Guest House began in April of 1899 and was completed on 26th September 1901. It then underwent several renovations in the period leading up to Taiwan's retrocession, the largest of which (1911 to 1913) gave the guest house's interior space its current size. The Taipei Guest House was mainly used by the Governor throughout the Japanese occupation as a venue to receive important foreign guests, and to receive local dignitaries to demonstrate the Governor's friendliness to the local people. ......

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