Xiao Nanmen - Chongxi Gate Introduction
Taipei City is one of the last fortifications built during the Qing Dynasty. The city walls have now collapsed, leaving only a few remnants of the city gates as witnesses to history. The walls of Taipei City measure 4 meters in width and 5 meters in height, enclosing an area of approximately 4 kilometers, making it a very solid fortress. Typically, Chinese city walls have four gates, but Taipei City has five gates, which is said to have been built with the special donation of the wealthy Lin Benyuan family from Banqiao to facilitate easy access. Although this legend has yet to be confirmed, the South Gate is indeed a very unique example in traditional Chinese city architecture. Unfortunately, although it, along with the East Gate and South Gate, escaped destruction by the Japanese, it was later remodeled into a palace-style tower typical of Northern China by the Nationalist government after their arrival in Taiwan, with only the base of the city remaining in its original form, continuing to guard Taipei.
