| | | History of Cihu | | Cihu was formly named Piwei. The late President, Chiang Kai-shek, was fond of this place because its view resembled his hometown, Fenghua in Zhejiang Province. After Dongkou Guesthouse was established in 1959, the later president used to spend a lot of time living here. The guesthouse was renamed Cihu Guesthouse by the late president in memory of his mother’s kindness and love in 1962. Unfortunately, the later president passed away in 1975 and his coffin was temporarily placed here. Therefore, the guesthouse was renamed Cihu Mausoleum. The performance of guards switching duty every hour always attracts the attention of a great number of visitors. |
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| | | Swans at Cihu | Cihu has black swans and white swans. Each has its own serial number for the sake of management. To separate their gender, the loops are worn on their right foot for female and left for male. There were 89 swans at maximum but only ten or so are left currently. The swans symbolize purity, loyalty and elegance. Late President Jiang applied the symbolism on his employment, too.
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| | | Cihu Mausoleum | | Originally known as “Piwei,” Cihu also known as “Tung Kuo”(the “tunnel exit”) since it is right next to the exit of Baiji Tunnel. Early times when Jiang Jie-shi traveled here, he saw this place resemble his hometown Fenghua and reminded him of his mother, Madam Wang. Thus, the place was renamed “Cihu” (meaning “mercy lake”) in 1962 in memory of Jiang’s mother. The place was coverted into Cihu Mausoleum when his remains were placed here in 1975. |
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| | | Back Cihu | Back Cihu used to be a military-controlled area where the government built five combat offices in April,1964 as an evacuation base when re-conquering China, according to the plan of the Ministry of National Defense in the 1970s.
In the shape of crescent, Back Cihu was formly named “Lungguo maipi. Since the palce was quite secret and secluded, in case of a Chinese Communist Invasion, war reserved tunnels and five official residences were built to serve as the command offices in the 1960s. Being a military control zone for a long time, Back Cihu was able to preserve its ecology considerably well. Camphor trees and Taiwan Incense Cedar were easily seen in Back Cihu. Moreover, the walk by the late was a perfect spot to watch birds, butterflies and maples. |
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