Department of Cultural Affairs

By Psyche Cho
Staff Reporter

The principal building of the Shilin Official Residence, the abode of late President Chiang Kai-shek and then First Lady Soong May-ling in Taiwan, is now open after remaining inaccessible to the general public for decades.

Located in Shilin District, Taipei, the deep-green two-story building accommodates a principal reception area and private rooms where the couple spent most of their days during the period from 1950 to 1975, a total of 26 years.

“What matters is not the architecture itself but those who reside in it,” noted President Ma Ying-jeou in the unveiling ceremony January 2. He went on to say that he hoped that future generations would have the chance to garner a perspective on what happened in the past.

Meanwhile, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin mentioned in a speech on the same day that the official abode is where some critical decisions were made that had a great impact on the course of the nation’s history.

The Shilin Official Residence, which includes a public park, gardens, a church and a pavilion, has been open since 1996. The first floor of the main building is now also accessible to the public after undergoing more than two years of repair work.

Inside, the western-styled building is decorated with traditional Chinese installations, in particular several paintings done by Madman Chiang. The space layout on the first floor includes an entrance hall, a small living room, a large living room and a restaurant, where the couple received influential figures such as the late US president Richard M. Nixon.

Hundred of visitors crowded the site on the first day it was open, vying to be the first ones to get into the official residence. Entrance is free of charge until June this year, and the facility is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 16:30 p.m.