Taipei Guest House

An ornate Baroque-revival mansion near the Presidential Office, built in 1901 as the residence of the Japanese Governor-General and later used to receive foreign dignitaries. Its mansard roof, colonnaded verandas, and gilded ballroom reflect European court fashions transplanted to colonial Taipei. The grounds combine a formal Western front garden with a Japanese pond garden of stone lanterns and arched bridges at the rear. Now a state guest house, it opens to the public only on scheduled days for viewing the reception rooms.