I. The Construction Process and Early Operations
  Chiang Kai-shek passed away at 11:50pm on April 5th, 1975, from a sudden heart attack. In June of that year, the Executive Yuan accepted a resolution from a specially formed funeral committee to accede to the wishes of the people and erect a memorial to CKS in Taipei. On July 1st a preparatory committee was established and given responsibility for constructing the memorial. On October 12th of the following year a preparatory directing committee was established to oversee all matters connected to the planning and construction of the memorial hall. The preparatory committee selected the site of the memorial and publicly solicited design proposals, which were reviewed by domestic and foreign experts before the government made a final decision. The first phase of construction was completed in March of 1980. The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was formally unveiled on April 4th and opened to the public on April 5th.
A. Building Site and Layout
  The preparatory committee resolved at its first meeting on July 2nd, 1975, to build the memorial in the Yingbian area of Taipei, at a site bordered by Hangzhou South Road to the east, Zhongshan South Road to the west, Aiguo East Road to the south and Xinyi Road to the north. Comprising about 250,000 square meters, the site had been used as practice grounds for drilling troops during the Qing Dynasty. It then served as a base for a mountain artillery unit and the Taiwan First Infantry during the Japanese era. After the retrocession of Taiwan, it was handed over to the ROC Army Command Headquarters. In the 1970s the government had originally intended to turn the site into a modern commercial center, but the death of CKS prompted the government to build a memorial park here in his honor instead, complete with a memorial hall, a national concert hall and a national theater. The government also announced guiding principles for the design — that it must convey the spirit of Chinese culture, must be stately, unique and stylistically innovative, and must effectively use modern architectural engineering techniques in a practical and economic manner.
B. Design of Architecture and Statue
  In August of 1975 the preparatory committee publicly invited Chinese architects living both in Taiwan and abroad to submit design proposals. The committee received a total of 43 submissions, from which it selected five finalists: Shen Zuhai, Lan Mingguang, Yang Cho-cheng, Chen Yongnan and Mo Chenfeng. The preparatory committee hired a group of professionals that included Yu Zhaozhong, Chen Qikuang, Zhang Zuxuan, Zhu Zunyi, Chiang Fucong, Pietro Belluschi and Eduardo Catalano to review the submitted blueprints and design renderings. On July 7th, 1976, at their eighth meeting, the group selected the proposal from Yang Cho-cheng. Phase one construction would include the memorial hall, the gardens, the gates and the covered walkway. Phase two construction would include the National Concert Hall and National Theater.

On April 30th, 1976, Chen Yi-fan created a 1.8 meter tall oil-based clay statue of CKS. In November of 1977 the preparatory committee signed a contract with Chen, who went on to construct an 18-meter tall studio tent on the grounds of the KMT Central Committee complex in Muzha. Using the original 1.8 meter-high statue as a study model, Chen and his assistants made a much larger oil-based clay statue, from which a resin master was produced in the same year. In 1979, with 25 metric tons of bronze supplied by the Taiwan Metals Mining Company, Chen created the final bronze sculpture.
C. Financial Planning
  The preparatory committee commissioned the Bank of Taiwan and Chunghwa Post (Taiwan’s postal service) to collect donations for the building fund, and many others made donations of construction materials and other items. For instance, Hsinchu Glass contributed all of the clear and rolled glass needed for the project; Yuandong Gas contributed the central gas system; the KHS Musical Center donated a grand piano; Chia Hsin Cement contributed 20,000 bags of cement; and various overseas Chinese communities in Japan, as well as many local groups and individuals, donated flowers and trees.

By the end of September 1980, total private contributions had reached about NT$200 million, and government funding had amounted to NT$700 million. With interest added, the combined total exceeded NT$1.1 billion. Yet total costs for the memorial and the statute stood at about NT$1.2 billion. The government appropriated the additional needed funding to make up the deficit, and later donations were turned over to the National Treasury.
D. Engineering and Construction
  Beginning in April of 1976 the Ret-Ser Engineering Agency began to work on clearing the site of its preexisting buildings in four stages. On October 31st, 1976, the 90th anniversary of CKS’ birth, a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the CKS Memorial Hall was held at the site and hosted by ROC President Yen Chia-kan. In April of 1977 work began on the foundation piles. Construction of the building formally started on December 1st, with Ret-Ser still in charge. The building of the memorial, from planning to design and construction, was entirely carried out by ROC citizens. With these unknown heroes of Ret-Ser hard at work — rain and shine, night and day — construction was completed by March 20th, 1980. From start to finish, the entire process took about 28 months.

The hall was a uniquely engineered building, and high demands were placed on quality. The project has several features that broke new ground:
1. It was the first time a self-hoisting cantilever concrete pouring machine was used at a construction site.
2. It was the first reinforced concrete structure in Taiwan to make use of shear walls to support a roof of its size over a 40-meter square upper level without any interior pillars or beams.
3. The project created bored piles using a high-speed reverse circulation drilling process. A total of 410 piles extended down for 44 meters, deep into the gravel layer.
4. New pressure and void testing methods were used to control the pumping of concrete. In addition, the construction crew worked with National Taiwan University’s civil engineering department to control concrete quality.
5. A suspension method that had never before been tried in the ROC was used to install marble on interior and exterior walls.
6. A new separation method was used to lay the granite flooring.
7. More than 400,000 glazed tiles were installed on the roof.
E. Opening of the Hall
  The celebration to mark the completion of National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was hosted by President Chiang Ching-kuo on what is now known as “Democracy Boulevard” in front of the memorial on April 4th, 1980. National policy advisor Tsai Pei-huo, representing a group of 32 persons from Taiwan and abroad, presented Chiang Ching-kuo with a model of the memorial, and Chiang pushed the button to open the doors of the hall. On the following day, the fifth anniversary of CKS’ passing, the hall was formally opened to the public. More than 100,000 people visited that day alone.
II. Organizational Transformation
  In February of 1980 the preparatory committee hired Lo Peng to serve as director of the CKS Memorial Management Office preparatory team, and the office was up and running on March 1st of that same year. Its dozen or so staffers worked in a temporary office at the Veterans Affairs Commission before moving into the hall itself on March 22nd, 1980. During these early days, the preparatory team was placed under the supervision of the preparatory committee as a task force. From April 1st to June 30th, 1980, the preparatory team operated in the form of a corporation and was placed temporarily under the authority of the preparatory committee. Furthermore, the preparatory team drew up its organic regulations and organizational structure on the model of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
In May of 1980 the CKS Memorial Hall was placed under the authority of the Taipei City Government. On July 1st the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Management Office was formally established and Lo Peng was appointed interim commissioner, taking over executive responsibilities under the guidance of the CKS Memorial Hall Steering Committee. In July of 1986 the hall was placed under the authority of the Ministry of Education, turning the hall into a social and educational organization. On May 20th, 2012, in accordance with governmental reorganization, it was then placed under the Ministry of Culture, at which time the CKS Memorial Hall Management Office was divided into six divisions — general planning, cultural resources, research and collections, exhibition planning, educational promotions, and maintenance & facilities — as well as two work units: personnel and accounting.
III. The Beauty of the Architecture
  A. CKS Memorial Hall
  The CKS Memorial Hall faces west, and the overall design of the architecture conveys the special beauty of Chinese culture. The hall covers an area of 15,000 square meters, sitting on a base of three square levels, which conveys the meaning of the Chinese word zhōng​zhèng (中正, “fair and square”). Zhongzheng is also the posthumous name for Chiang Kai-shek and is used in the Chinese name for the memorial. The outside walls are finished in white marble. The individual eight sections of the octagonal sapphire-tiled roof rise in a shape resembling the Chinese character for man (人, rén) and point directly to the sky, thus expressing the idea that “heaven and mankind are at one.” With its blue-glazed tiles and gold-nub apex, the roof looks glorious when it catches the sun. Tribute Boulevard (which was renamed Democracy Boulevard in 2007), is composed of pavers placed over a steel-reinforced concrete base. The boulevard stretches for 380 meters between the memorial and the main gate. The 89 white stone steps leading up to the hall on its front (west) side represent the 89 years of CKS’s life. When you reach the top, you are rewarded with an expansive view. The eight-sided roof of the hall, the hip roof of the National Theater and the glorious gable and hip roof of the National Concert Hall together create a magnificent visual effect of “three adjacent mountains.” And the skyline is further enhanced by the Office of the President, which is located quite close by.

The 70-meter high memorial is split between two levels. The top level has the main hall, which is reached through two bronze relief doors that are 16 meters high and weigh 75 metric tons. A statue of the seated CKS is given pride of place at the center of the space in front of the opposite wall. The 6.3 meter high statue sits on a 3.5 meter-high pedestal, on which visitors can read an engraving of CKS’s will — his wishes for the nation after his passing. Behind him on the white marble wall are carved the words “ethics,” “democracy,” and “science.” These represent the spirit of his political philosophy. The following quote from CKS is engraved on the two interior side walls: “To live is to seek a better life for all mankind; the meaning of life lies in the creation and furtherance of life beyond one’s own.” These words represent ideals that motivated president Chiang until the end of his life. Looking upward, you behold an elegant caisson ceiling featuring the KMT symbol (a white sun against a blue sky) surrounded by brackets and wood carvings. Indirect lighting falls softly against the pink granite floor, and the unpainted surface creates a sense of unadorned magnificence and peacefulness.

The lower level of the hall is designed in the palace style with columns and beams and a sparkling gold ornamented ceiling. When the memorial was opened, it contained a cinema that played films about CKS and an exhibition hall dedicated to CKS’s clothes and hats, documents, manuscripts and photos. After renovations, however, the cinema was turned into a lecture hall (today’s Zhong Zheng Auditorium). Moreover, several exhibition halls, art galleries and classrooms that provide space for social and educational activities have since been installed.
B. Gates, covered walkways and corner pavilions
 

The CKS Memorial Hall faces Zhongshan South Road, where there is a memorial archway that measures 30 meters high and 72 meters wide. It features five arched openings, six pillars and eleven sections of roof. The white pillars are elaborately carved, and its staggered series of roof sections feature blue ceramic tiles. In the style of the master calligrapher Ouyang Xun, the original large copper inscription over the arched openings read, “Impartial and Righteous” — representing Chiang Kai-shek’s spirit and principles. The four characters were written by the calligrapher Yang Jia-lin with a brush made of hemp cords tied to a stick with wire and using red clay water as ink. In 2007, the inscription was taken down and replaced with an inscription that reads “Liberty Plaza” in the style of master calligrapher Wang Xizhi.

The southern and northern gates, which are found on Xinyi Road and Aiguo East Road, are 13.8 meters high and 19.7 meters wide, with three arched openings, four pillars and three sections of roof. They are known as The Gate of Great Loyalty and The Gate of Great Piety. There are also covered walkways in a classical style that run along the inside eastern, southern and northern edges of CKS Memorial Park. These covered walkways are 5.5 meters high, and they stretch a total of 1,200 meters in length. Along the covered walkway walls one finds Chinese-style lattice windows, in a total of 26 different styles, every 4.5 meters in size, giving the walkway an open-air feeling. At each corner of the park, there is a pavilion connecting to the walkway. These are each 11.1 meters high. Apart from keeping safe pedestrians from the elements, the pavilions are a great place for people to play chess, exercise and relax.
C. Chinese-Style Gardens
  Surrounding the hall is the CKS Memorial Park, for which the structures and styles of classical Chinese park design have been adopted. The Yunhan and Guanghua ponds are irregularly shaped manmade ponds that are surrounded by artificial “mountains” and rock formations. The koi swimming in the ponds are set off beautifully by the semicircular white arch bridge. The overall composition is a gorgeous example of Chinese landscape architecture. The specially selected plants in these gardens change with the seasons. Whether enjoying the plum and cherry blossoms in springtime, or seeking cover from the summer sun by walking down the allée of hoop pines in the Hubei area, visitors are sure to be impressed with the park’s botanical diversity. What’s more, there are three concrete exercise areas — Zhongyong, Qinmin and Ziqiang — where people often come to practice tai chi or dance. There are also reflexology paths constructed with small, smooth stones.
IV. Casting a Long Shadow
  Six years after the opening of the hall, the total number of individual visits had already exceeded 50 million. Visitors came from around the world. Apart from political dignitaries — including Swaziland's prime minister Prince Mabandla; President Kabua of the Marshall Islands; Lee Kuan-yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore; Monaco’s head of state Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace Kelly — other luminaries such as the American singers Donny and Marie Osmond and the magician David Copperfield also visited the hall. In addition to ascending to the main hall to see the statue of CKS and the changing of the ceremonial guard, visitors, whether domestic or foreign, would also look at exhibitions of important documents and watch films in the theater introducing CKS’ thoughts, deeds and achievements. In July of 1986, the hall embarked on a renovation project to add a library and several exhibition halls in what had been designated the “reserve area” of the hall. It also began to sponsor social and educational activities. For example, in 1986, the hall honored the 100th anniversary of CKS’s birth with a commemorative celebration, exhibitions and publications. In 1988 a special exhibition on President Chiang Ching-kuo was held, as was a special exhibition of Chiang Kai-shek’s paintings. In February of 1990 the Taipei Lantern Festival held at CKS Memorial Hall attracted about seven million visitors. The festival would continue to be held at the memorial every year up until 2000. It became a “must-see” for domestic and foreign tourists alike.

What’s more, in the 1980s, as the democracy movement gathered steam in Taiwan, society and politics on the island underwent dramatic changes. In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party was founded. In 1987 the government announced the end of martial law. In 1988 Chiang Ching-kuo passed away, and restrictions on the press were ended. In 1989 restrictions on the formation of new political parties were ended. And 1990 saw the rise of the Wild Lily movement in Taiwan. The CKS Memorial began to be a focal point for demonstrations by political parties and student and citizen groups, and it has borne witness to the great changes occurring in Taiwanese society.