Today we were suppose to vsit the National revolution Martys' Shrine but we pleaded the teachers and tour guide, thus we went to the Eslite Bookstore, one of the largest retail bookstore chains in Taiwan.
One of the main reason why this bookstore was able to expand to so many branches was because it was one of the first bookstore to open 24/7, thus allowing Taipei's residents access to the best of books day or night. When I went to the bookstore I was really amazed by the number of books they had and everything was neatly packed. I also notice the machine they have at the bookstore to allow customers to search for books they want, which brings more convenience to them.
After that, we went to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
There are two sets of white stairs, each with 89 steps to represent Chiang Kai-shek's age at the time of his death, which lead to the main entrance. Inside the hall, we saw Chiang Kai-shek's bronze statue.
There were also guards at the main hall just like what we saw at Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The changing of these guards are also one of the main attractions for visitors. In the museum, I saw many paintings of Chiang Kai Shek and the things he used before. I even saw a display of his office.
I learnt more about Chiang Kai Shek after visiting this museum.
After 7 days at Taiwan, its finally time to return to Singapore. I really enjoyed the culutre and way of life in Taiwan and I also bonded more with my peers. This was definitely a meaningful learning trip and I will never forget all those memories we created together as a class.
Jing Yan:
We went to Eslite Bookstore today. I AM SUPER HAPPY BECAUSE I BOUGHT THE ENTIRE HARRY POTTER SERIES AT A VERY AFFORDABLE PRICE.
I realised the prices of the books were all relatively cheaper compared to in normal Singapore bookstores. Although it was called a bookstore, they also sold a wide variety of items such as souvenirs, movies, audios cds and vinyl records. There were even many cafes and tea shops(?) there and allowed the shoppers to have a very pleasant experience there. I enjoyed shopping there but felt we could have been given more time to shop it was huge.
After that, we went to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall. The main building was blue and white in colour, which symbolises the 青天白日 from the Taiwan flag. The red flowers planted along the sides of the pathway to the main building symbolised the 满地红. It was very creative. The 89 steps of stairs represented Chiang Kai Shek's age when he died. There were also guards stationed at both sides of the statue of Sun Yat Sen.
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| Xingjian being retarded |
It was finally time to return to Taiwan. I had fun learning with friends about the rich culture of Taiwan that i never thought was so well preserved. I hope Singapore would also preserve our history for the sakes of the future generations. These 7 days were also precious class bonding time where we strengthened our friendship and became closer as a class.
Kheng Lon:
Today was our last day in Taiwan. We went to the National Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall in the morning. We learnt from the tour guide that the 89 steps that led to the entrance of the memorial hall represents the age of Chiang Kai-shek when he died. We raced each other up the stairs and came to the main entrance of the memorial hall. I realized that this was very similar to the Sun Yat-sen memorial hall we went yesterday. At the main entrance, there is a giant statue of Chiang Kai-shek. Like the Sun Yat-sen memorial hall, there are 2 guards guarding the statue, standing completely still. As usual, we were allocated some free time to roam around. We managed to look at some of the works of Chiang Kai-shek. The memorial hall also documented Chiang Kai-shek's life and career and exhibits related to Republic of China and Taiwan's history and development. We can also choose from 4 beautiful postcards and get 1 for free. There is also a small souvenir shop where we can get our hands on key chains, stuffed toys and more. After the visit, I had a greater understanding of the former president of Republic of China.
Afterwards, we made our way to our long awaited Eslite Book Store. The book store was 4 storeys high and provides a variety of books. I was surprised to find out that there were much more than just books there. There are ice cream stores, chocolate stores, bubble tea stores, DVD players and much more. We purchased bubble teas and decided on which books to buy. The prices were quite affordable and I managed to get my hands on a few English and Chinese books. As I am not good at recognising traditional Chinese characters, I wanted to learn more about it. Our friendly tour guide even offered to buy us ice creams which I find extremely delicious. Then, we proceed to have our lunch.
After lunch, we sat on the coach on our last trip to the airport. The atmosphere was dull as we knew we would be leaving soon. Uncle Jeff (our tour guide) even sang a farewell song which made us miss him even more. At the airport we bade farewell to Uncle Jeff and 林叔叔(our bus driver). Both of them had gone through a lot with us this week. It was sad and hard to part with them but we all knew this day would come. Thank you Uncle Jeff and 林叔叔. Both of you had done a lot for us and did not even complain or scold us when we are misbehaving. We took 1 last picture together with Uncle Jeff before boarding the plane back to Singapore.
I have to say, I really enjoyed myself with the class. During this trip in Taiwan, we forged stronger friendships and our bonds strenghthened, bringing us closer together. The memories we had together will always be with us. I thank everyone for giving us this once in a lifetime opportunity. Although this is not the first time I visited Taiwan, it is definitely the most memorable one.
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