Port 06 Taipei, Taiwan

by Ed · April 10, 2024

Wènhòu! Greetings once again!

We have blue skies on 20 Mar, 2024, as we arrive in Taipei, Taiwan! A little foreboding – we need to enjoy our blue skies now because we won’t see them for a few days.

We approach the cruise terminal on the left. That’s Insignia’s home for the day.

Our bus cruises through the streets! There is no traffic at all! Strange!

Our first stop is the Taiwan National Museum.

A statue of Sun Yat-Sen, the first president of the Republic of China after the end of the Qing Dynasty around 1911.

Beautiful silk paintings are on display in several areas of the museum. This one depicts the daily life in Taiwan.

A cleverly-designed wine vessel is displayed! The head can be removed to pour the wine!

This platter displays a beautiful phoenix design. This platter dates to the 1600s, in the Qing Dynasty.

A beautiful display shows the eight Immortals, cast in solid gold!

This pagoda is a stunning sculpture carved out of a single piece of ivory! The bells on every corner hang freely!

Another beautiful silk painting is displayed on a wall. This one is animated!

A stellar piece of jade is carved into this bok choy cabbage with a grasshopper on top!

Here is the creme-de-la-creme! A single piece of ivory has been carved into this phenomenal piece of art! There are fourteen concentric balls in this piece, all carved in place inside the outer piece! The balls all turn! A true master must have devoted his life to this one piece of work.

We leave the National Museum to go see a change-of-the-guard ceremony. On the way, we pass some of Taiwan’s military installations. This bomb-burst formation sculpture is displayed in front of the Taiwanese Air Force base. Looks a lot like what the US Air Force Thunderbirds do!

In front of the Navy base is this anchor sculpture!

We arrive at the Martyr’s Shrine. There is a change of the guard every hour!

Two guards are posted at the street gate, and two more at the temple at the far end of the complex.

The guard marches with incredible machine-like precision!

The entry to the Martyr’s Temple has two large panels depicting the Taiwanese battle for independence in both the War for Resistance against Japan and the civil war between the Republic of China and the communist forces.

Back at the street gate, we watch the two guards change. Once they are on their pedestals another pair of men walk around them and straighten and tuck their uniforms until they look perfect! We are told these men have to stand straight, with absolutely no motion for one hour. They aren’t even allowed to blink during that hour! I’m having trouble with this last bit.

Back on the street, I find this little jewel hiding behind a row of trees. This is pretty rare!

We then head to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial! This was completed in 1980, five years after his death.

Looking through the gate and into the plaza we see three primary structures inside!

The Music Hall is on the left. Concerts and singers perform here.

On the right is the Opera Hall. This is larger than the Music Hall because in the 1970s opera was more popular than concerts. But that has changed greatly! Few operas are held and many concerts are held!

At the end of the plaza is the memorial to Chiang Kai-Shek. It is a marvelous structure that reminds me of the Faro a Colon (Christopher Columbus Lighthouse) in the Dominican Republic!

A pair of lions stand guard in front of the memorial. This is the smiling male!

Inside a massive statue of Chiang Kai-Shek commands the room! There are museums, videos, and other items on display on the floors below this.

Time to head to our last stop! We always need to keep our eyes open for fun sightings! I love this one!

We arrive at a nice viewing point for the Taipei 101. This 101-story building was the tallest building in the world when it was built. It has unique pendulum counterweight in the top to help it react to earthquakes! It is now the 10th tallest buildint in the world.