18 C O N T E X T 1 4 5 : J U LY 2 0 1 6 The National Theatre (1987) in Taipei (Photo: Ho-Yin Lee) Some of the more striking examples can be found in the former capital city of Nanjing, such as the Officer’s Club (1931) and the Ministry of Railways Building (1933), and in the pre-war cosmopolitan city of Shanghai, such as the Municipal Government Building (1933), Municipal Stadium (1934), Municipal Museum (1935) and Municipal Library (1936).Almost all of these examples were converted to other uses after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Since Chinese renaissance architecture was an integral part of the national rejuvenation political ideology of the Kuomintang (the ruling nationalist party of Republican China), it is not surprising that the movement was purged by the communist regime after it assumed power in 1949. However, the distinctive architecture continued to be built on the island of Taiwan, where the defeated Kuomintang regime had retreated and remained in power. A series of buildings important to the Kuomintang regime in Taiwan was built in the capital city of Taipei, using the language of Chinese renaissance architecture: the National Museum of History (1960), National Palace Museum (1965), Grand Hotel (1973), National Chiang Kai-shekMemorial Hall (1980), NationalTheatre (1987) and National Concert Hall (1987). Architectural design in the British colony of Hong Kong was influenced by Chinese renaissance architecture during the 1930s, at the height of the movement. The The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (1980) in Taipei (Photo: Ho-Yin Lee)
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