Chiang Kai-shek Memorial
The Changing of the Guard
21.06.2012 - 21.06.2012
85 °F
We caught the tail end of a typhoon while we were in Taiwan so we weren’t able to do much sight seeing. We did manage to visit the Chiang Kai-shek memorial and watch the changing of the guard in front of his statue. The soldiers guard the statue for 1-hour shifts before they switch with another member of the honor guard. All of the soldiers are between 22 and 24 and have to be at least 180cm tall. They also have to be able to stand perfectly still for the entire hour WITHOUT blinking. No joke. I have no idea how they do it, but they do not blink. The actual changing of the guard is a 10-minute drill with some pretty impressive rifle tossing, goose-stepping, and fist pumping.
Inside the memorial building we saw a replica of Chiang Kai-shek’s office and 2 of his favorite Cadillac cars. It was a crowded place even in the midst of a typhoon.
Posted by SusanConradWang 09:44 Archived in Taiwan Tagged taiwan chiang_kai-shek Comments (0)