Standing forlorn on a windswept coast, its back to a sheer cliff, this complex is a sobering reminder of Taiwan's White Terror and Martial Law periods (1949–87). The park site is a former prison, sardonically referred to as Oasis Villa (綠洲山莊, Shānzhuāng), where those at odds with the KMT were sent.
Visitors are welcome to walk around the prison area and inspect the cells where former prisoners such as Taiwanese writer Bo Yang (author of The Ugly Chinaman ) once spent years. Parts of the compound now house a museum and an exhibition hall dedicated to the survivors and those who died.
It's a sombre place, of course, so visit here first and devote the rest of the trip to more cheerful pursuits.
