Architectural Beauty:

Designed by Wang Chiu-hwa and Joshua Jih Pan, the Chang Ching Yu Memorial Library at Chung Yuan Christian University is the first open-stack library in Taiwan. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Tainan’s Main Public Library features a square spiral staircase with bright red walls, imparting an air of passion to the building. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

The architectural design of the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum in Chiayi County is inspired by the brushstrokes of traditional Chinese inkwash painting. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

The National Taichung Theater has an avant-garde look. Featuring curved walls, openings, and tubular elements, it is built without any supporting beams or columns. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Integrated with the environment through semi-outdoor spaces, the Dadong Arts Center in Kaohsiung embraces natural breezes, light, and shadows, and evokes the beauty of Zen. (photo by Kent Chuang)

The cluster of six conical-roofed buildings in the Liudui Hakka Cultural Park in Pingtung allude to Hakka cultural elements such as oilpaper umbrellas and conical hats.  (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Completed in 1960, the Chapel Building of St. Joseph Technical Senior High School in Taitung is a work of Swiss architect Justus Dahinden. The top-floor chapel is illuminated by natural light filtering through a skylight above the altar, apertures below the pitched roof, and a set of small stained-glass windows in one wall. The sacred place emanates a tranquil and solemn atmosphere. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Since its founding in 1700, Chaotian Temple in Beigang, Yunlin County, has been shaped by the deft hands and ingenuity of numerous craftspeople. It is regarded as a pinnacle of traditional temple art. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Formerly a traditional market, U-mkt (a.k.a. Xinfu Market) in Taipei’s Wanhua District is now a multipurpose creative hub, breathing new life into a historic site. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Situated in Taipei’s Beitou District, the Water-Moon Dharma Center at Dharma Drum Mountain’s Nung Chan Monastery provides a tranquil space for Buddhist self-cultivation and living. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Built of local red bricks and combining Victorian and neo-Gothic architectural styles, Jinan Presbyterian Church in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District is one of Taiwan’s first Western churches. (photo by Jimmy Lin)

Built in 1930, the Beimen Post Office in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District features beige-colored ribbed tiles on its external walls. (photo by Jimmy Lin)