Walls of Taipei

The Taipei City Walls (Chinese: 臺北府城; pinyin: Táiběi Fǔchéng) were established in 1884. In 1875 the Qing Dynasty established Taipeh Prefecture. Shortly thereafter, the Taipeh Prefect Chen Xing-ju (陳星聚) ordered the foundation of a new prefectural capital, with enclosing wall in 1879.[1] However the soil proved too soft to support so heavy a structure,[2] and the project was halted. Subsequently, governor of Fujian Cen Yu-ying and Taiwan magistrate Liu Ao undertook successive surveys to determine the proper location of the wall's foundations. Craftsmen were recruited for the construction in 1882, and the wall was completed in 1884.

Nearly five kilometers in length, it could be accessed by five gates. Jing-Fu Gate (景福門) to the East; Bao-Cheng Gate (寶成門) to the West; Li-Zheng Gate (麗正門) to the South; Cheng-En Gate (承恩門) to the North; and an auxiliary southern entrance known as Chong-Xi Gate (重熙門). The North Gate Auxiliary South Gate, and the buttresses of the East Gate were of particularly exquisite design.

In the first years of the Japanese colonial rule (ca. 1895), the city's walls and the West Gate were destroyed as part of the cities restructuring plan.[3] After Taiwan's retrocession in 1945, the East, South, and Auxiliary South Gates were rebuilt, but the original appearances were not maintained. The North Gate alone retains its original appearance. Its design is a 2-story closed blockhouse of solid construction with traditional Chinese wooden roof truss and streamlined carved ornamentations.[4]

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See also

References

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  1. ↑ Historical Sites in Taipei II. Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government. 2007 p. 48
  2. ↑ Davidson (1903), p. 212.
  3. ↑ Historical Sites in Taipei II. Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government. 2007 p. 49
  4. ↑ Historical Sites in Taipei II. Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government. 2007 p. 50

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