After four years of renovation, the 150-year-old Lin mansion and garden (
During the opening ceremony yesterday morning, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The true meaning of cultural conservation is not only to renovate the look of historic sites but also to preserve their unique cultural identity and cultural diversity," he said first in Mandarin and later in Hokkien.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen also praised the location of the famous tourist attraction saying that its easy access made it an ideal spot for an historic site.
Located on Hsimen Street in downtown Panchiao City, the 6,000-ping (about 20,000m2) site was designated as a national historical relic in August 1985.
Rich in history
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Taipei County has a total of 25 national historic sites, three of which are located in Panchiao.
Although it was hard to understand what Lin Tzu-wei (
Together Lin, Chen, Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Lin's garden was constructed in 1847 by Lin Ping-ho (林平侯). Inside the garden were Chinese style studies, gazebos, ponds, guest houses and artificial rockeries.
Lin moved from Fujien Province, China with his father and made a fortune selling rice and salt.
In 1851, three more mansions, which have been used as the family's ancestral shrine, were added to the complex.
Since the KMT fled to Taiwan from China in 1949, most of the complex, except for the three mansions, has been occupied by soldiers or high-ranking members of the party.
In 1976, the family donated the then ramshackle complex, with the exception of the family shrine, to the Taipei County Government which relocated occupants and undertook renovations.
A generous contribution
The Lins contributed NT$10 million to make the relocation project easier for the county government.
The first stage of the renovation project, which began in 1982 and concluded in 1986, cost NT$156 million to complete.
The second stage, which started in 1997 and ended this year, cost NT$120 million to complete.
The county originally planned to conduct the renovation project while the garden was open to the public. However, it decided to temporarily close the garden last year to speed up the project and to take care of numerous problems, including termites, water leakage and weathering.
The renovation of the family shrine, which cost about NT$100 million to complete, started in 1996. The family contributed a total of NT$50 million to the project.
Reservations are recommended since there is a limit of 500 visitors a day.
The site is open from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Tickets are NT$100 for adults and NT$50 for children under the age of 12, soldiers, the elderly and the mentally and physically challenged.
For reservations, call 02-2965-3061 or 02-2965-3062.
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