An underground tunnel in the east wing of the Grand Hotel in Taipei that once served as an emergency exit for former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was yesterday opened to the public for the first time since it was built 50 years ago.
A passage in the west wing of the hotel has been open since September 2019, drawing more than 50,000 visitors within three months of its opening. Last year, about 170,000 visited the west tunnel, the hotel said.
As tours of the west tunnel were warmly received, the hotel began renovating the east passage more than a year ago to open it to the public, it said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
With the opening of the once-secret passages to guided tours, travelers can better understand the history of the Grand Hotel, it added.
The tunnels, designed to evacuate Chiang and his guests in the event of an emergency, were added to the hotel’s plans in 1970, when construction had begun on the main building, the hotel said, adding that it is the only international hotel with such passages.
In addition to its main architect, Yang Cho-cheng (楊卓成), the hotel invited a German-American engineer with extensive experience in building military bunkers during World War II to design the tunnels, it said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Visitors to the 67m-long east passage first descend an 84-step staircase before continuing down the tunnel.
The spiral passage helps protect evacuees from attackers and bullets, the hotel said.
Walls inside the tunnel have an uneven surface to absorb sound, it said, adding that 43 explosion-proof lamps were installed to prevent injuries from glass shards during evacuation.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The passage leads to a garden, which was previously the site of a Japanese temple. The former residence of Kung Lin-wei (孔令偉), who was the hotel’s first manager and a niece of Soong Mayling (宋美齡), Chiang’s wife, was at the end of garden, the hotel said.
As people are also curious about Kung’s mysterious lifestyle, the residence would also be opened to visitors for the first time, it added.
The 85m-long west passage has a 20m-long slide next to the staircase, which was used to evacuate anyone unable to use the stairs.
For the east passage’s opening, the hotel created seven state banquet menus from the more than 200 dishes it has prepared for presidents, from Chiang to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
A historic tour package is available, which includes a visit to the east passage, the Chiang Kai-shek Shilin Residence in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) and National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine, along with a presidential meal set and accommodation at the hotel.
The east passage would initially be limited to customers joining as part of historical tours, corporate customers and state banquet diners, due to the passage’s limited capacity, the hotel said.
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