Presidential Office Building

The Presidential Office Building is Taiwan's most important government building — a red-brick and concrete structure completed in 1919 as the Governor-General's Office of Japanese-controlled Taiwan and now serving as the office of the President of the Republic of China. The building's tower (60 metres, the tallest structure in colonial Taipei) and its Renaissance Revival facade were designed by Japanese architects to project imperial authority, and the scale was deliberately intended to dwarf the surrounding Chinese-style buildings.

The building is open for guided tours on weekdays (advance registration required) and provides access to the ornate interior, including the main hall, the president's office (a recreation — the actual working office is elsewhere), and the exhibitions on Taiwan's democratic history. The annual Open House (around National Day, October 10) allows unrestricted access and draws tens of thousands of visitors.