Foreign buildings on Zhenli Street

Climbing Tamsui’s narrow, leafy Zhenli Street from Wenhua Road, we come to the Tamsui Customs Officer’s Residence, also known as the “Little White House,” and then to old buildings put up by the Canada Presbyterian Church that adorn the campuses of today’s Tamkang Senior High School and Aletheia University. These stand in a line with the historic Fort Antonio, built more than 300 years ago by the Dutch on the site of the Spanish Fort San Domingo, and better known today by the Spanish name. Together they form a street that reflects the glory days of the Western-style architecture of more than a century ago.

Aletheia University is located at the top of Zhenli Street. After passing through the pointed arches of its main gateway, our eyes are met by an elegant garden designed by the sculptor Yang Yuyu (a.k.a. Yang Yingfeng). Its beauty attracts visitors to stop and linger, and students and local residents love to hang out here. Amid the colorful flowers there stands a bronze statue of Canadian Presbyterian missionary Dr. George Leslie Mackay, before a reflecting pond. The figure gazes out over the Tamsui River, where Mackay first disembarked in Northern Taiwan, while behind it is Oxford College, the forerunner to Aletheia University. Next to the garden are breadfruit trees planted by Mackay himself.

On the stroke of each hour, delightful sounds of symphonic music come from a large wall clock on the Finance and Economics Building, across from the main gate. Ho Yueh-fei, head of alumni service and public relations at Aletheia, explains: “This clock dates back more than 50 years. It had stopped working, but later it was repaired with donations from alumni. It marks the hours by playing the school song and works composed by students in the Department of Applied Music.”

Next to the Finance and Economics Building is the Grand Chapel, designed by architect Anton Tsai of Haigo Shen and Partners, who is himself an elder of the Presbyterian Church. The outside walls are pierced by repeated pointed arches symbolizing “hands raised in humble prayer,” and the design of the university’s main gate is an extension of this motif. Completed in 1977, the chapel features Gothic-style buttresses that are stepped back at each rising level, and has matching pointed towers on the eastern and western sides. The building’s red-brick facades harmonize with the surrounding historic sites. The chapel won an Outstanding Architects Award from the Ministry of the Interior’s Construction and Planning Agency in 1998.

Walking into the Grand Chapel is like entering a national-­level performance hall, with Taiwan’s third-­largest pipe organ on a stage. Ho Yueh-fei says: “This organ has 45 stops, 59 mixture stops, and 3,240 large and small pipes. It was crafted entirely by hand in the Netherlands.” The main hall is a two-story amphitheater that can seat 1,200 people. The simple, dignified oak pews were custom-­made in the US. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, pipe organ concerts were often held here.

The lovely garden at Aletheia University, set off against the unique design of the Grand Chapel opposite, makes visitors feel they are in a European park.

Oxford College

The Oxford College building, adjacent to the garden, is a four-sided compound with a historic air. It now houses the Office of School History, with photographs and artifacts relating to the Mackay family and their contributions to Taiwan in the fields of healthcare and education. The college was Taiwan’s first school of Western learning, and the building was personally designed by Mackay, who also oversaw its construction. It served as his base for proselytizing, healthcare, and education, and was named Oxford College in honor of the financial support given by his hometown of Oxford County, Ontario. Here Mackay taught theology, the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and medicine, all free of charge, attracting many students. Ho Yueh-fei notes: “The school was completed in September 1882. This was a major event for the locality. The completion ceremony, presided over by the British consul, Alexander Frater, was attended by more than 1,500 people, including foreign businessmen and local gentry. Officials from the Qing administration specially set off fireworks to add to the celebratory atmosphere. It was both a solemn and a festive occasion.”

Oxford College, which has sur­vived from the Qing Dynasty through the era of Japanese rule and into the Republic of China era, is now designated a Grade 2 national historic site. Its configuration is similar to a traditional Chinese four-sided residential compound, with three openings flanked by four pillars at the front of the main hall. But it also incorporates Japanese and Western elements. For example, the left and right wings have doors and windows with arched canopies and louvered shutters. Meanwhile, although it has traditional Taiwanese red-tile pitched roofs, they have Japanese-style dormer windows and the gables are topped with pinnacles like a Western-style church, though these pinnacles resemble Chinese pagodas.

Here Mackay not only trained clergy for Taiwan, he also used the open space in front of the college to teach local citizens basic public health concepts. In his own home he pulled teeth and dispensed his own mixture of lemon juice and quinine to treat malaria. He also imported the seeds of vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, and cauliflower, which he distributed to local farmers free of charge, thereby enriching Taiwanese dining tables.

Oxford College has exhibits on the achievements of George Leslie Mackay in the areas of education, evangelism, and healthcare, and a room focused on the history of Aletheia University with items of interest on display.

This exhibition room at Oxford College displays historical objects reflecting the lives of the Mackay family.

Can’t-miss attractions

Aletheia University has long been known as one of Taiwan’s most beautiful universities, and the campus was voted one of Tamsui’s top eight scenic sites by citizens in 2021. Ho Yueh-fei notes that the campus structure most popular with visitors is clearly the “House of Reverends.” This is because it was featured in the film Secret as the location of the myster­ious “piano room,” and has been listed in Korean guidebooks to Taiwan, unexpectedly turning it into a check-in hotspot.

The House of Reverends and the neighboring “House of Maidens” are similar in that both are two-story red-brick Western-style buildings erected on raised platforms, with pitched roofs and arcaded external walkways. Both were constructed as dormitories for missionaries in the post-Mackay era. The House of Maidens was built in 1906 as a residence for two women missionaries: Jane Kinney, who was headmistress of Tamsui Women’s School, and Hannah Connell. “Maiden” (guniang in Mandarin) was a respectful term used in the Taiwanese church to address unmarried female foreign missionaries. During World War II it became a boys’ dormitory for Tamkang High School and was renamed “Rosefinch Hall.” It is currently the office of the president of Aletheia University.

The House of Reverends was built in 1909 by Reverend William Gauld to use as his residence when he acted as interim head of missionary affairs while Mackay was on a visit back to Canada. Later the headmasters of Taipei Theological School and Tamkang High School also lived there, and the fact that they too were ministers of the church led people to call the building the House of Reverends. During World War II it served as a boys’ dormitory for Tamkang High School and was called the “Hall of Azure Dragon.” In front of the two buildings there are extensive lawns with an unobstructed view of the Tamsui River. This is a popular location for wedding photographs and a setting for film and video productions. It is well worth a visit.

The House of Maidens and the neighboring House of Reverends are both two-story Western-style red-brick buildings with arcaded external walkways. They are typical examples of British colonial architecture. Surrounded by the gardens carefully laid out and maintained by the school, they have become tranquil landmarks on campus.

The House of Reverends became well known as one of the settings of a popular film. Its quiet, elegant atmosphere makes it a check-in hotspot for visitors.

Reverend Mackay’s residence

Finally we come to the former residence of Reverend George Leslie Mackay, which he personally designed and built in 1875. As well as being an important foothold from which Mackay conducted his missionary activities, it was the home in which he later married, raised a family, and lived until his death. It is a beautiful white villa with a number of special features, such as its elevated foundation and arcaded walkways on all four sides that serve as cooling verandas, making the residence well suited to the tropical climate. The windows are fitted with white jalousie shutters to block out the glaring sunlight. The living room has a fireplace, in front of which a coffee table and chairs are set out to recreate something of the ambience of a Western home of the age.

Ho Yueh-fei mentions that after Mackay passed away, both Rev. Thurlow Fraser and Dr. J.Y. Ferguson briefly lived here. Later, Mackay’s son Rev. George William Mackay founded Tamkang High School and returned to the family home, which he turned into the headmaster’s residence.

Viewing the architecture at Aletheia University, one can glimpse something of the legacy of the missionary work that George Leslie Mackay carried out here more than a century ago. Besides his far-reaching contributions to Taiwan’s healthcare and education, he also made Tamsui his home, where he raised his family, learned to speak Taiwanese, and became a part of local society. After his death, he was buried in a graveyard on the campus of Tamkang High School. All this reveals his deep attachment to Taiwan.

The buildings at Aletheia University stretch back over a century and incorporate multiple architectural styles including Southern Fujianese, British and Spanish colonial, and modern.

The former residence of George Leslie Mackay is a white Spanish-style villa with arcaded walkways. It is a top location for wedding photography.