The battleship country and its amazing capital

Taipei is perhaps one of the most interesting and undervalued tourists by Asian capitals, which has also become famous thanks to the 101-storey Taipei-101 skyscraper, which for several years was the tallest building in the world. Add to this a lot of ancient Confucian and Buddhist temples, colonial buildings and the jungle approaching the city, mention the good command of Taiwanese in English and get a city where you want to return. Moreover, citizens of most countries of the world (alas, not Russians) do not need a visa here, which makes the country even more attractive for tourism. By the way, in the center of Taipei is a monumental mausoleum in the part of the creator of Taiwan, General Chiang Kai-shek.

Perhaps the phrase "colonial development" causes you to associate with the British and French, or, at worst, with the Spaniards, right? In Taiwan, the colonialists were ... Japanese. You will be surprised, but the seemingly European monumental buildings in the city center were built by the Japanese between 1895 and 1945, when they owned the island. For example, the Presidential Palace in central Taipei was built in 1919.

Well, I would never say that this is Japanese architecture! It is not entirely Japanese, but the Japanese built it, imitating the European imperial style. Here and today is the office of the President of the Republic of Taiwan.

Through the large park from the Presidential Palace is the Memorial of Chiang Kai-shek, the creator of the Republic of Taiwan and the permanent president from 1949 to 1975, when he passed away at the age of 87. On the day of his death, national mourning lasting a month was declared. This man is still akin to God for ordinary Taiwanese, for he saved them from Chinese communism and gave a very comfortable life in one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

I emphasize that this is a memorial complex and a historical museum, but not the burial place of Chiang Kai-shek. The creator of the state is buried in his residence in Dashi, 30 km south of Taipei (Cihu Mausoleum).

The memorial park includes a number of museums, a huge library and a park.

Many Japanese tourists come here. It is noteworthy that during the war years, the Japanese committed atrocities in mainland China, but at the same time were quite loyal to the Taiwanese. There is no antagonism regarding Japanese occupation on the island; on the contrary, it is the Japanese who are considered the founders of the Taiwanese economic miracle. They built here railways, factories, power plants, ports. And Kai-shek himself graduated from the Japanese military academy and actively collaborated with the Japanese military during the occupation of China. After losing the civil war to the Communists of Mao Zedong, Kai-shek with his supporters fled to Taiwan.

The streets of Taipei resemble the streets of Singapore, Tokyo, or Hong Kong. Perfect cleanliness, civilization.

By the way, in front of the same skyscraper Taipei-101 in the form of a lotus stem.

Kaisi monuments are found throughout the city, there are no fewer than the Atatürks in Turkey.

These are all Japanese buildings, and not at all some British ones.

The building has a military tribunal with columns.

By subway, you can leave from the center of Taipei directly to the mountains.

The last station is called Taipei Zoo, and there really is a wonderful zoo, one of the best in Asia.

Further, you can either climb the mountains by cable car or by bus. The bus is three times cheaper.

The funicular is three times more expensive, but more picturesque.

From the top of the mountain, a panorama of a huge city with the towering Taipei-101 building opens.

Buddhist temple on the right noticed?

Without a doubt, this is one of the greenest cities in the world.

Also, not far from the capital, there are other natural sights, which you can actually reach by metro, or change to a bus and then 15-20 minutes by city bus.

By the way, Taipei was not my first visit to Taiwan. Three years ago, I first came to this unrecognized country, and immediately on the front lines of Taiwan and China - on the island of Jinmen. There is a paradise for lovers of military history! You will find there an underground base of submarines.