Established in 1908, this was the first urban public park in Taiwan built on European models. Known as Taihoku (Taipei) Park under the Japanese, then Taipei New Park under the Kuomintang (KMT), its present name hails from 1996 in recognition that one of the pivotal events in Taiwanese modern history began here: the massacre known as the 2-28 Incident. The incident involved an uprising in which Taiwanese protested against the post-WWII Chinese government set in place by Chiang Kai-shek. Tens of thousands were killed in the months following.
In the centre of the park stands a memorial to 2-28 and in the southern end of the park a museum dedicated to the event. But otherwise this lovely little area of old trees, pond, pavilions, pathways, bandstands, shrines and historical relics is used just as its founders intended: as a meeting place, a hangout and a general refuge from the city.
