Xiaonanmen - Chongximen Introduction
Taipei City is one of the last forts built during the Qing Dynasty. The city walls have since collapsed, leaving only a few remnants of the city gates, serving as witnesses to history. The walls of Taipei City are 4 meters wide and 5 meters high, surrounding approximately 4 kilometers, making it a very sturdy fortress. Generally, traditional Chinese city walls have four gates, but Taipei City has five gates, which is said to have been specially donated for ease of access by the wealthy Lin Benyuan family of Banqiao. Although this legend has not yet been verified, the South Gate is indeed a very unique example in the construction of traditional Chinese city walls. Unfortunately, although it, along with the East Gate and South Gate, escaped destruction by the Japanese, it was modified into a northern Chinese palace-style tower after the Nationalist government arrived in Taiwan, with only the base of the city still retaining its original appearance, continuing to guard Taipei.
