Liberty Square is an enormous plaza in Taipei, Taiwan. The plaza covers more than 240,000 square meters and is in the center of four important buildings. On one end of the plaza is the Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness and on the opposite end is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The two sides of the plaza are mirrored with twin building which house the National Theater and the National Concert Hall. In addition to these buildings there is a garden and pond that is part of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial.

The entrance gate into Liberty Square is huge and spectacular. It is 80 meters wide and 30 meters tall with five openings. The center opening is the largest and the two opening on each side are progressively smaller. Above each opening is a roof covering with the largest above the center opening and each roof covering is proportional to the size of the opening.

The floor of the square is very impressive as it is made of white tiles that are laid out in a symmetrical pattern and it seems to be as clean as it was the day it was completed.

The full view of the complex is best seen from the entrance level of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial. The photo below shows everything in the complex except the two ponds that are behind the tall trees on each side of the picture.

On the left of the entrance gate is the National Theater and the National Concert Hall is on the right side of the gate.

The construction of the twin buildings was completed in 1987. The photos below are of the National Theater as seen from the entrance gate, the steps of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial and from the center of the square.

Photos of the National Concert Hall from the same locations are shown below and it is obvious that they are essential perfect matches (twins).

I like to look at the small details of buildings that are built with cultural architecture. These buildings are beautifully detailed with Chinese architectural techniques and symbols that could be seen in building built hundreds of years ago. Some of the details that I enjoyed the most are shown in the photos below.

The garden area was easily seen in previous photos but the pond areas were hidden by the tall row of trees. Next to each of the twin buildings are a small pond with a Chinese style bridge that allows pedestrians to walk through the middle of the pond. These pond areas are very relaxing places and there were not as many people in these areas as the other parts of Liberty Square.

The Dust on My Shoes

Liberty Square is a nice plaza for people to enjoy a large open space within the city. The twin buildings set the ambiance with their Asian architectural style. The two hidden ponds were peaceful places to slip away from the busier main attractions.

I particularly liked the huge entry gate. It is massive but it needed to be because the square is so big that if it were any smaller then it would not match the scale of the square. The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was also impressive but I am going to dedicate an entire post to it so I will reserve my comments for that post.

I felt the tiled floor of the square was a work of art in itself. This square is massive and laying out the tiles in a symmetrical patter must have been a huge challenge. I am sure that it looks spectacular from an aerial view but it also looks nice from the ground level.

From a photographer’s perspective, I always like to look at places that I visit from different angles to see if it creates a unique image for my photograph. The tile floor of Liberty Square gives more visual interest to the photo when it is taken close to the ground.

Many famous places are so impressive that it is tempting to focus on the overall subject but try to look at these places from different angles. Looking at places from different angles will let you to see more features of the site and you will probably come home with more interesting photos from your trip.