The Grand Hotel Taipei, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling's personally chosen "State Guesthouse"

In the 1950s, Taipei didn't have a single five-star hotel, which made it difficult for Chiang Kai-shek to host foreign guests. He wanted to build a "State Guesthouse," and he chose a site on the slopes of Yuanshan Mountain, by the Keelung River in Taipei. Chiang Kai-shek built Chinese palace-style houses and courtyards there, hoping to promote traditional Chinese culture to foreign guests with its solemn, magnificent appearance and elegant, exquisite furnishings. This later became the Grand Hotel Taipei. The lobby of the Grand Hotel is magnificent. In the center is a copper relief of the Duke of Zhou creating rituals and music, flanked by dozens of vermillion columns, with palace lanterns hanging high and ancient music playing. The lobby ceiling features a beautifully shaped plum blossom coffered ceiling. In the center of the plum blossom is a five-dragon playing with a pearl motif. The inside of the coffered ceiling is carved with 23 golden dragons and 16 phoenixes, creating an atmosphere of prosperity and good fortune symbolized by dragons and phoenixes. The Grand Hotel has 14 floors and 490 guest rooms. In addition to regular suites and business suites, there are four premier suites and one presidential suite. 🏨Grand Hotel Taipei 📍No. 1, Section 4, Zhongshan North Road, Taipei, Taiwan