aeeble

The site in front of the Zhongshan Hall in Taipei was originally called the "Taipei Public Hall", built in 1936 and designed by 井手薰, the chief engineer of the colonial Taiwan's General Governor's Office. The overall design was majestic and elegant, and it was a rare large public building in Taiwan at the time. In 1945, after Taiwan's liberation, it was renamed "Zhongshan Hall". In 1949, when the government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan, Zhongshan Hall served as the venue for the National Assembly and the Legislative Yuan. In 1969, it was returned to the Taipei City Government and placed under the jurisdiction of the Civil Affairs Bureau. In 1992, it was listed as a national historic site of secondary category by the Ministry of the Interior; and in 1995, with the amendment of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, it was reclassified as a municipally designated historic site under the Taipei City Government. In 1999, Zhongshan Hall was reorganized under the Cultural Affairs Bureau, and its main hall and Guangfu Hall became one of the major performing-arts venues in Taipei. Every year, the Taipei City Traditional Arts Festival, Children's Art Festival, and Taipei Film Festival are held here. In 2011, the interior of Zhongshan Hall was renovated, with the addition of an exhibition room, a Taipei Academy, and an art salon. The renovated hall was opened to the public and has become a multifunctional venue for education, the arts, and leisure in Taipei. In 2019, it was upgraded to a national historic site by the Ministry of Culture.