Annie Lin share these photos and writes:

My son, Jerry Wu and I visited my parents in Taiwan, then we went to the Presidential office (總統府), Ximending (西門町), Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (蔣中正紀念堂), The National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院), Chiang Kai-Shek Shilin Residence Park (蔣中正士林官邸), and Tamshi Fishers’ Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭) for our summer vacation in Taipei (台北),Taiwan (台灣). We wished you were here!

The exhibition on the first floor of the Presidential Office pertained to Governor-General’s Office, Presidential Office, Architecture, The Governors-General, The Presidents..The whole story of Taiwan. There was free admission, you could buy a post card with the Presidential postmark at the Presidential post office. We had a picture taken “with” Ma Ying-Jeou (馬英九) President standing beside us, even though he was not really there, but it was cool, and good for education to learn more about Taiwan.

Ximending is the place where Taipei young and trendy gather, buy their clothes and go to the movie. There were shopping centers, movie theaters, Red House (紅樓), and restaurants…We ate at Gourmet House for our lunch. Jerry enjoyed his delicious food.

The national Chiang Kai-Sherk Memorial Hall is a famous monument, landmark and tourist attraction erected in memory of Chiang Kai-Shek, former President of the Republic of China. The monument, surrounded a park, and stands at the east of memorial hall square. The structure is framed on the north and south by the National Theater and National Concert Hall. There was on display a painting of Chiang Kai-Shek and Sun Yat-Sen on the train from Guangzhou to Shadguan in preparation for the Northern Expedition. Chiang’s office state car (1972 G.M.). The memorial office of President Chiang had the sedan chair used to carry Chiang when he inspected military bases on and around Taiwu mountain in Kinnep.

The National Palace Museum is at No. 221 Sec 2. Zhishan Road, Taipei 11143, Taiwan. You may visit their website for more information http://www.npm.gov.tw This extraordinary collection of historic art treasures, fascinating for its depth and breadth, has miraculously escaped destruction over hundreds of years. Some pieces date back to the tenth century. There was an Orientation Gallery, an Antiquities Special Exhibition Gallery, The mystery of Bronzes, and much much more…The National Palace Museum in Taipei displays in five galleries important and unique treasures and artifacts from Chinese history among items on display are: Jade Cabbage (翠玉白菜) , Mao Gong Ding ( 毛公鼎) , and Meat-Shaped Stone ( 肉形石) . The “Jadeite Cabbage” is a piece of jadeite carved into the shape of a cabbage head, and with a close look at the naked eye, a large and a small grasshopper will appear camouflaged in the leaves. The ruffled semi-translucent leaves attached is due to the masterful combination of various natural color of the jade to recreate the color variations of a real cabbage. A very famous bronze called Mao Gong Ding, now kept in Taiwan, belongs to the late Western Zhou Dynasty. It bears an inscription of 497 characters, the largest ever discovered on any bronze unearthed. It is an account of how the King of the Zhou Dynasty, Xuan (宣王); admonished, commended and awarded Mao Gong Yin; it also reveals the instability of the Western Zhou regime at the time. The “Meat-Shaped Stone”, a piece of jasper, a form of agate, the strata of which are cleverly used to create a likeness of a piece of pork cooked in soy sauce. The dyed and textured surface mores the layers of skin, lean meat, and fat materialized incredibly lifelike. No photos inside, but I had pictures taken while Jerry and I wore “The National Palace Museum” T-shirts at entrance. Here is only museum to see Jade Cabbage, Mao Gong Ding, and the Meat-shaped Stone.

The Chiang Kai-Sherk Shilin Residence Park-We reached it with a short walked from Shilin (士林) MRT (捷運) station; the place had been Mr. Chiang and Song Mei Ling’s (宋美龄) residence. You will see their pictures inside on the shop’s wall. The park had beautiful with love landmark and rose garden.

Tamshi Fishers’ Wharf is a very scenic spot at the western tip of Tamshi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Lover Bridge of Tamshi. a white-colored cable-staged bridge. derived its name since it was started on February 14, 2003. Valentine’s Day. You may appreciate the sunset from the bridge, but we walked across bridge during day time. Here had boats to go Shilin(士林) and Bali (八里) across Tamshi River. Jerry liked riding on the boat, me too.

All of places that we went to in Taipei, Taiwan were beautifully landscaped. A trip to learn more about the history and culture of my former home. We “Wish You Were Here!”