MAUSOLEUM OF MARTYRS

On Chingshan overlooking the Keelung River, the Martyrs Mausoleum is far from the turmoil in Taipei. It was a resting place, built in a Ming style in 1969, dedicated to the memory of the 330 000 young soldiers (the majority was less than 33 years old) died during the war against Japan and the civil war with the Communists. Many men fell in the battle of Kinmen - the island of the Formosa Strait, a few kilometres from the Chinese coast - on 23 August 1948. The names on small wooden shelves, located in the main buildings, reflect the importance of the massacre. As for the two city memorials, guards are identified every hour. Twice a year, the President of the Republic commemorates the courage of these men: on March 29, at Youth Day, and on September 30, on the occasion of the Military Celebration.