Taichung Martyrs' Shrine Introduction
Taichung Martyrs' Shrine was originally the second-generation Taichung Shrine during the Japanese colonial period. In 1942, it was relocated from Shinfu Town (Taichung Park) to the Xin Gao Township Water Source Park (now the Taichung Martyrs' Shrine and Confucius Temple area) and was upgraded to a national shrine of minor status. After the restoration of Taiwan in 1945, the Taichung Shrine was directly converted into the Taichung Martyrs' Shrine. The [Pailou] is a three-room, four-column, seven-floor concrete structure topped with blue glazed tiles. The plaque in the center reads "Martyrs' Shrine," with "Cheng Ren" and "Qu Yi" inscribed on both sides, serving as the welcoming gate for visitors entering the shrine. The [Mountain Gate] is also covered with blue glazed tiles, adorned with mythical beasts on the roof ridge, and features Qing-style decorative painting on the beams, with a deep red cypress wood main door adorned with ninety-eight brass door nails and beast head door rings. The couplets on both sides of the mountain gate read: "Heroic spirit pierces the divine, great achievements reverberate through eons; Ren and Yi resound through the universe, eternally celebrated for millennia," creating a grand atmosphere. The [Front Hall] has a roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, decorated with celestial beings and mythical beasts. The beams and frameworks are painted with designs including hemp leaf heads,霸王拳 (a type of martial arts), and sparrow supports. On both sides, there are hexagonal pavilions with yellow glazed tiles topped with treasure domes and bejeweled beasts. The plaque beam is decorated with powder-painted designs, and the central beam features painted passion flowers intertwined with auspicious designs. Inside the pavilion, three-pronged clouds are painted, and the undersides of the beams are carved with cypress wood sparrow supports. The [Main Hall] is designed as a concrete structure imitating the northern palatial style of the Qing Dynasty, topped with yellow glazed tiles and adorned with celestial beings and mythical beasts on the roof ridge. It features deep red cypress wood diamond-shaped windows and doors, surrounded by white concrete columns carved with floral designs, and accented with dragon-head auspicious vases as balustrades. The altar is laid with dark red granite, the interior is outfitted with marble flooring and red carpets, and the walls are covered with granite slabs, enhancing the shrine's solemnity and elegance.
