Exploring Grand Hotel's Secret West Tunnel | 圓山大飯店西密道

The Yuanshan Grand Hotel 圓山大飯店 in Taipei was built in 1952 to showcase traditional Chinese architecture, history, and culture, to the world. This was Taiwan's first five-star hotel. Another branch of the Grand Hotel was opened in Kaohsiung near the Love River 愛河 a few years later. The Grand Hotel Kaohsiung has since been relocated near Kaohsiung's Chengqing Lake.

As foreign dignitaries and the ROC president Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 and his son Chiang Ching-kuo 蔣經國 often stayed over at the Grand Hotel, two escape tunnels, the East Tunnel, and the West Tunnel, were built underground just in case of an emergency. The West Tunnel includes a slide and was opened up to the public in 2019, while the East Tunnel was just unveiled in March 2021. The East Tunnel leads to the edge of the Keelung River 基隆河 where a seaplane would be there to evacuate those under threat, while the West Tunnel leads to Jiantan Park 劍潭公園. 

Currently, the East Tunnel is only accessible if you stay at a room in the Grand Hotel, or purchase a restaurant package, in which a tour of the East Tunnel will be available for free. 

You can only visit the West Tunnel during 4 time slots during the weekdays. Make sure to book your tickets in advance on Grand Hotel's website. The ticket costs NT$200 per person. There is a tour guide that will take you on tour. with a maximum 40 people per tour. Please note that the tour is in Mandarin Chinese, though you can call in advance and ask if an English tour guide would be available on that day.

The tunnel was made to be sound proof so that no one would be able to tell where exactly the president was in the tunnel during the time of escape. The tunnel was steeper than I thought it would be. Note that the tunnel does not have a railing all the way down, so you may need to hold onto the wall or slide while walking down. 

After our journey through the tunnel ended, the guide explained how the site of the Yuanshan Grand Hotel was originally the site of a Japanese Shinto Shrine, and was called Taiwan Grand Shrine 臺灣神宮 during the Japanese era. It was really interesting to hear about the history of the shrine, as parts of the shrine have apparently been preserved. For example, the drum at Longshan Temple 龍山寺, and the torii at Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple 三峽祖師廟 are all relics from the Taiwan Grand Shrine. 

While at the Grand Hotel, I loved observed the intricate artwork on the ceiling, as well as the opulent traditional Chinese architecture present all over the hotel. 

The tour is definitely worth it. The tour guide explains the history of the tunnel and the hotel in detail. She even talked about the different dignitaries that have visited the Grand Hotel over the past 60-70 years. Overall, it was great cultural tour, and it was pretty cool to see a secret tunnel that has been hidden from the public for so many years! Definitely worth visiting at least once.

To Grand Hotel: You can catch a free shuttle bus just outside of Yuanshan MRT Station Exit 1 or Jiantan MRT Station Exit 1. Please note that the shuttle bus from Jiantan Station is temporarily closed. 

You can also drive to the Grand Hotel easily.    

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