Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 國父紀念館
A memorial to the founder of modern China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall was built in 1972 as a tribute to the founder of the Republic of China.
The hall contains displays of Sun's accomplishments from the revolution during and after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and today is a meeting ground for various social, educational, and cultural activities.
Although the hall's main purpose was intended to display historical relics of Sun's life and the Xinhai Revolution, it later was opened to performances and exhibitions.
The hall's construction began in 1965 by President Chiang Kai-shek, selecting architect Wang Ta-hung to design the hall while focusing on emphasizing pan-Chinese architectural characteristics (common during that era for all new construction).
The park surrounding the hall is named Zhongshan Park, as the most well-known and popular Chinese name for Dr. Sun is Sun Zhongshan (孫中山), and includes gardens, decorative historical walls, and an exhibition and performance area surrounding Lake Cui (翠湖), or Emerald Pond.
Take the Blue Line 5 to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station (國父紀念館), sometimes labeled as "S.Y.S. Memorial Hall".
President Chiang Kai-shek's funeral was held in the main hall after his death in 1975.
Greater China's most prestigious movie award ceremony, the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards (or the Chinese Oscars if you will), is held annually inside the hall's auditorium.
Dr. Sun is known by several Chinese names, including his birth name Sun Wen (孫文), his genealogical name Sun Deming (孫德明), his childhood nickname Dixiang (帝象), his courtesy name Zaizhi (載之), and his baptized name Rixin (日新). While in Hong Kong attending school, he acquired the name Yat-sen (逸仙, mandarin Yìxiān), which he would most commonly use, and afterwards acquired a name derived from Japanese, Sūn Zhōngshān (孫中山), the most popular of his Chinese names. History will most commonly refer to him by his Cantonese name, Sun Yat-sen.
