Wanhua Xuehai Academy

The only Qing dynasty academy building still standing in Taipei. It was founded in 1837 by Tamsui subprefect Lou Yun (婁雲) as Wenjia Academy (文甲書院) and completed in 1843 under his successor Cao Jin (曹謹). Soon thereafter it was renamed Xuehai Academy, and it rapidly grew into a hub of classical education in northern Taiwan, producing the celebrated scholar Chen Weiying (陳維英), whose calligraphic couplets still hang in the main hall. After the Japanese takeover the buildings were confiscated for use as staff dormitories and then auctioned in 1910, when the Gao family acquired the site and reconsecrated it as Youji Hall (有繼堂), an ancestral shrine. It is generally not open to the public despite its heritage status.