Xiaonanmen - Chongximen Introduction
Taipei City is one of the last forts built during the Qing Dynasty. The city walls from that time have all collapsed, leaving only a few gate ruins as witnesses of history. The walls of Taipei City are 4 meters wide and 5 meters high, enclosing approximately 4 kilometers, making it a very strong fortification. Typically, traditional Chinese city walls have four gates, but Taipei City has five gates, which, according to legend, were specifically donated by the wealthy Lin Benyuan family of Banqiao for convenience of passage. Although this legend has yet to be verified, the South Gate is indeed a very unique example in traditional Chinese fort architecture. Unfortunately, although it, along with the East Gate and South Gate, escaped destruction by the Japanese, it was later rebuilt into a palace-style city tower reminiscent of northern Chinese architecture by the Kuomintang government after arriving in Taiwan. Only the base of the city structure retains its original appearance, continuing to guard Taipei.
