Cihu Mausoleum 3.25

Cihu Mausoleum, officially known as the Mausoleum of Late President Chiang or President Chiang Kai-shek Mausoleum is the temporary resting place of President Chiang Kai-shek. It is located in Daxi District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. When Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975, he was not buried in the traditional Chinese fashion but entombed in a black marble sarcophagus since he expressed the wish to be eventually buried in his native Fenghua in Zhejiang province once the Kuomintang (KMT) recovered mainland China from the Communists.Lake and residenceCihu literally means "benevolence lake", and it refers to the eight acre lake located near the tomb-site. The lake is divided into two smaller lakes, 5 acres and 3 acres each with a canal connecting them together. It was called formerly Green Water Lake until Chiang Kai-shek renamed it as Cihu in 1962 because the scenery reminded him of his benevolent mother and his home town, Fenghua. Chiang loved the lake so much that he had an official residence built nearby to architecturally resemble the houses in Fenghua. He also named his favorite residence Cihu, which was converted to his mausoleum upon his death in 1975. Chiang's body lies in the main hall of the residence. The residence was designed by architect Yang Cho-cheng.