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Letter: Visualization for visitors

I'd like to throw an idea into the hat for a new use for Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

Because the hall is spacious with a high ceiling, why not turn it into an IMAX theater that shows a montage of all things related to Taiwan? The film would stretch from the tectonic forces that created the land to the early history, the colonial takeovers, the democracy movement and then transition to the nation's natural beauty.

The movie should be quick, intense and awe inspiring. Sufficient money should be spent to hire top-quality producers, but entrance should be free,or very inexpensive -- NT$50 at the most.

The long-term profit will come when visitors leave Taiwan with a positive experience and later return with friends or business plans. Perhaps they will even gather some ideas about how to spread democracy in their homelands.

The inside of the theater could be keep simple -- no need for seats, just install mid-level bars to rest against like Disney World's Epcot Center in Florida. This way more people could gather inside for every show and it would be easy to keep the place clean.

The movie should be 25 minutes long and shown on the hour in Chinese and on the half-hour in English to make the schedule easy to remember.

The ground floor of the building could house ticket agents for hotels, transportation and package tours and include a 24-hour foreign currency exchange, something severely lacking in Taipei.

If done properly, the renovated hall could become everyone's gateway to the wonders of Taiwan.

Marc Plumb
Taipei

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