Wufeng Lin Family's Mansion

Long ago, many places in Taiwan were controlled by the so-called five powerful families－Keelung's Yen family, Banqiao's Lin family, Lukang's Koo family, Kaohsiung's Chen family, and Wufeng's Lin family. Among the five families, Wufeng's Lin family was located in Taichung. From the mid-19th century, the Wufeng Lin family in Taichung possessed a large number of fields in central Taiwan. They further developed a militia numbering thousands of people after they assisted the government to put down regional civil rebellions and participated in the Sino-French War. As a reward, the government granted the family the exclusive right to sell camphor, further extending its economic influence in central Taiwan. The family even founded the best high school in Taichung－National Taichung First Senior High School. When the KMT retreated to Taiwan, the family kept helping the government to win over the local powers. It also extended its influence to the oligopolistic bank industry, which reveals how enormous was the wealth that the family possessed. The mansion they built and later renovated, whether judged in relation to others of its era or today, can only be described as magnificent.

We recommend you buy a ticket, get a tour headphone, and follow the tour guide to enter the mansion from the entrance gate. First you'll be greeted by seemingly plain red brick buildings. But when you scrutinize the wooden carvings under the eaves, you can still see the delicate techniques although the trace of time has dimmed their excellence. The dark, locked wooden gate, unlike most light colored ones, gives a sense of awe. Keep walking into the house and closely examine the details－wood carving on the walls, portraits of the door gods on the door, the paintings on the screen - and you will see beauty everywhere. Enter the hall, and you will see the antique wooden armchairs for the hosts and the ordinary chairs for the guests neatly arranged in the high-ceilinged space, making you feel as though you are in an ancient Chinese drama, scenes of which appear in front of you one by one. The most breathtaking part is the Fuzhou-style stage in the mansion. In the past, the family were leading such luxurious lifes that they could even have a troupe of their own to entertain their guests and relatives exclusively. In addition to an exquisite auditorium, under the stage stand several huge urns that resonate with sounds, so friends and family coming to see the performance can hear the voice on stage. However, what the public sees today was actually rebuilt after the 921 Earthquake. It took a huge amount of money and more than a decade to restore the mansion. Yet, since the family is a huge one, some members still living in the mansion built their houses at the original places immediately after the earthquake. However, they did not rebuild the houses in accordance with the ancient structure, so you'll see several modern architectures stand in the mansion.

As for the famous Lin Family Garden, it has already been donated to Ming Tai High School near the mansion. Although the flowers are no longer the same, you can see the ponds, paifang (Chinese ancient archways, 牌坊), and paths when you walk into the school. You can still imagine the beautiful scenery people praised and admired in the past. Yet the most impressive part is the mausoleum of the Lin ancestors. Though it may not be comparable to that of a Chinese emperor, it is still one of the best in Taiwan. The bright, colorful eaves and carvings make you mistake it for a temple.