As a tribute to mark the ascension of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito in 1928, Japanese government dismantled the Ching Dynasty goverment office in Taipei and began the plan to erect the former Taipei City Hall.
In November 26th, 1936, the construction of Taipei City Hall was finally completed after four years of extensive labor, starting from November 23rd, 1932. Kenshen, the main architect serving as a Chief Engineer in Taiwan under Japanese government, put to good use the full cost of ￥980,000 and some 94,500 engineers and workers.
The four-story-steel-structure of Taipei City Hall was designed to be fire-resistant and to withstand severe quakes or typhoons. Accounting for roughly 44,012 square feet for the ground floor , the total area of the Taipei City Hall is around 113,322 thus placing itself as the forth-largest City Hall of Japan at the time, smaller only to the City Halls of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
In the celebration of the recovering Taiwan after the World War in 1945, the Chief of Taiwan Provincial Administrative Office, Chen Yi represented Supreme Military Commander of the Republic of China and accepted a formal surrender from Antan, Commander of the 10th Japanese Regional Army and Japanese Governor of Taiwan. The year marked Taiwan's return to China of over five decades of Imperial Japanese rule. The former Taipei City Hall was renamed as Chungshan Hall and functioned as an official meeting place under the Chinese government.
Chungshan Hall has always been one of the formal reception area for welcoming foreign guest of honors, including: former US president Richard Nixon, former Korean President Lee Chen-Wine, former Viennese President Wu Tien Yeng, former Philippines President Chiasia among presidents or sovereigns of other distinguished countries. Chungshan Hall has also hosted memorial ceremonies such as the signing of the Sino-US Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty and the formal inauguration ceremonies of the second , third and forth presidency and Vice-Presidency of the Republic of China. The historical value that is embedded within each stone and every brick of Chungshan Hall inevitably draws special attention toward its preservation as the Internal Ministry Department legitimizes Chungshan Hall under the shield of Relics Protection Act as a major national cultural monument in 1992.
