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19/10/2007: "LIN FAMILY GARDENS ...... and the future of the world"

Vincent Lin gave a dozen of his friends a tour of his ancestor's estate not available to the public.

At one time the Lin Estate was the wealthiest and most powerful in Taiwan, acquiring much wealth in the period of forty years until about 1850.

The invading Chinese army of 1949 was the beginning of the end. Eventually the Estate was given to the government when it became to costly to maintain the several buildings and extensive gardens.

Today the Lin Family Garden is the last great piece of ancient Chinese architecture surviving. The nearby railway gives Lin Family Garden recognition - unique status in all of Taipei.

In China any similar gardens were destroyed by (communist) Red Guards during their Cultural Revolution, when priceless artifacts were smashed by youthful vandals way out of control.