Grand Hotel (Taipei)

The Grand Hotel Taipei (Chinese:圆 山大 饭店yuanshan Da fandian ) is located in Zhongshan District of Taiwanese capital Taipei. Operated by the Duen - Mou Society, a semi-governmental non-profit organization, the fourteen- storey building is a landmark of Taipei and one of the most representative hotels in Taiwan. Since its establishment in 1952 it was visited by many well-known international personalities.

Location

Located in the Zhongshan District in the center of Taipei city on the hill Yu'anshan close to the subway stations Yu'anshan and Jiantan Keelung River.

History

After their defeat in the Chinese Civil War and its retreat to Taiwan lacked the Kuomintang government at a five -star hotel to accommodate high-ranking foreign guests. To remedy this deficiency, a planning committee was formed under the leadership of President His wife wife Song Meiling to organize the construction of a luxury hotel on the Yu'anshan Hill in Taipei. On the site of the Great Shrine of Taiwan, a Shinto shrine from the period of Japanese rule had been until then, the ruins were demolished for the hotel construction. With the implementation of the design of the architect Yang Cho - Cheng was commissioned.

The hotel was opened in May 1952 and continually expanded in the following years. Were established a swimming pool, a tennis court and a club room (1953), the Gold Dragon Pavilion and Golden Dragon Restaurant on (1956 ), the Jadephönix ( 1958) and the Chi -Lin Pavilion ( 1963). In 1968, it was voted by the U.S. Fortune magazine as one of the ten best hotels in the world. At the National Day of the Republic of China (October 10 ) of the year 1973, the overall design was finally declared officially over. Over the years played host to numerous major international figures, including some current and former heads of state.

In 1995 broke during renovation work on the roof of the hotel caught fire. The roof and upper floors of the building were destroyed because the ladders and pumps of the fire department not to ranged as high up. After three years of restoration work the whole building could be re- opened to the public in 1998.

An offshoot of the Grand Hotel was established in 1957 on the banks of the Love River in Kaohsiung, the second largest city in Taiwan opened. 1971 pulled the Grand Hotel Kaohsiung to the Chengching Lake in Kaohsiunger District Niaosong.

Architecture

As the hotel among others should be used for the sheltering of senior international guests of the Republic of China and thus have a representative, the building was constructed on the basis of the architecture of traditional Chinese palaces. The main building is a world with 87 m height of the tallest buildings in Chinese style, and from 1973 to 1981, the tallest building in Taiwan.

Outside witnessed by many vermilion pillars and the curved roof of the traditional Chinese style, and the rooms with numerous Chinese works of art, wall coverings, paintings and sculptures are decorated. A recurring motif in high frequency is the Chinese dragon. Other common motifs are Chinese lion and the plum blossom ( national flower of the Republic of China).

Each of the eight guest floors is decorated in the style of various dynasties in Chinese history. There are a total of 490 rooms, of which one usually has a good vision of the city of Taipei. The most expensive rooms are found in the presidential suite in which objects from the legacy of President Chiang Kai- shek and his wife are. The hotel also has a number of lecture halls and conference rooms, which are used regularly for national and international events. For dining options include three restaurants.

Underground passages

One characteristic of the Grand Hotel Taipei are the underground passages beneath the building, whose existence became public only after the fire of 1995. The two -clad reinforced concrete and equipped with stairs and lighting tunnels (total length about 180 m) should serve as bunkers and escape routes in case of an aircraft or nuclear attack. The leading to nearby parks secret outputs of the tunnel are camouflaged with concrete slabs and remained undetected for decades. The underground passages are usually open only on special occasions for visitors.

Trivia

• After the disastrous fire of 1995, the two dragon heads on the roof of the building that were previously directed outward, were rotated by 180 ° and are now facing inward to protect the hotel prior to re- fire (dragon bring Chinese idea of water and rain ).
• The hotel is found in the film Eat Drink Man Woman ( 1994), directed by Ang Lee.
• A level of the video game Alpha Protocol plays at the Grand Hotel.
• In an episode of Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd GIG Motoko Kusanagi Major stayed at the Grand Hotel.

Gallery

Grand Hotel with fountain

Archway

Entrance to the Chi -lin - hall

Lobby

Bar and Café