Martyr’s Shrine, which is a wonderful example of Ming dynasty architecture was built in 1969, to honor the memory of people who lost their lives during the establishment of the Republic of China (the capitalist China, as it once used to be). The site is composed of several structures while the central building houses the actual memorial with plaques around the building describing the history of the Republic of China. Spend a few hours at this site, and you will be getting a pretty thorough lesson in Taiwan’s history.
The changing of the guards is performed hourly at the main entrance of the shrine, with a more ceremonial one happening on Sundays and national holidays. The parade starts at the main gate to the site, and the guards march towards the main building where the changing ceremony occurs. Tourists are kept away from the marching guards by plain-clothes security guards. Be warned: Taiwanese are very protective of their places of honor. They will order people to take off their hats, and escort tourists out of the restricted areas without looking too apologetic.
The shrine is located close to the Grand Hotel (if you can afford to stay there): it is less than 1 km east of the hotel along the Peian Road. It’s impossible to get here by metro, so from other parts of Taipei take a cab, or any one of the buses: 208, 247, 267, 287.