Marshal Zen Garden, nestled in the shaded foothills of the Beitou area, was completed halfway through the Japanese colonial period as the Xin Gao Hotel, a complex of two structures with gray roofing and wooden walls where socialites indulged in lavish banquets and hot spring baths. During World War II, the hotel was converted into a reception hall for Japanese Kamikaze pilots before their suicide operations. In the 1960s, after Taiwan was returned to the rule of the nationalist government, General Zhang Xueliang was placed under house arrest along with his wife at the site by then-president Chiang Kai-shek for organizing the Xi'an Incident, in which Zhang emphasized his belief that fighting against the Japanese invasion should be a top priority. The location of the house arrest was renovated in 1984 into a Zen Garden to preserve Beitou's historic details that prevailed in architecture over the last few centuries, and then converted into what is now the martial-themed Marshal Zen Garden. Due to its relatively higher altitude, the restaurant overlooks the entire Beitou hot-spring zone and Guanyinshan. When the weather permits, patrons can see the landscape against the dazzling backdrop of sunset, and enjoy delicacies from a classic menu made famous by Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, while at the same time, the site boasts an endless supply of white sulphur spring, a local specialty, in private bathrooms; it is an awesome destination for ecological, historical, sightseeing or culinary tours.