Located in the north-central part of Taiwan and surrounded by mountains, Miaoli’s Sanyi Township is rich in camphor wood. A hundred years ago, wood carving masters in southern Taiwan went to Sanyi to purchase camphor wood to make furniture or carved wood creations.

During the Japanese occupation period (1895-1945), the wood carving industry in Sanyi began to sprout and grow. Most of the so-called wood carving handicrafts during this period were actually not products of much carving or engraving work -- they only used the roots of the leftover trees after the camphor wood was cut and processed. Because of weather and wood borers, these tangled tree roots have a natural charm and don't need to be greatly modified to look like a piece of artwork. Seeing the business opportunities that the wood carving craft can bring, the Japanese people living in Taiwan at the time wanted to develop it into an industry and hired wood carving masters from Japan to teach Sanyi residents, helping to elevate the technical level of Sanyi’s wood carving industry.

From 1950 to early 1960, there were family wood-carving foundries throughout Sanyi. Its woodcarving industry grew rapidly during this period and the foundries’ products were exported to other countries like the United States. But the real peak came when the carvings were sold to Japan. The products exported to Japan, Europe and America include carvings of religious subjects, traditional idols, and Chinese mythological figures. These, as well as those with local themes, were very popular.

At that time, all the products were mainly market-oriented, so a large number of wood carving factories were built to mass produce the woodwork. Many local young people were engaged in wood carving and one could hear the sound of wood carving in every household in Sanyi at the time. These family woodcarving handicrafts brought a lot of wealth to Sanyi.

In early 1980, due to the oil crisis and the global economic downturn, the wood carvings of Sanyi no longer enjoyed a good market in Europe, America or Japan. After losing the commodity-oriented market demand, the young people, who were accustomed to holding carving knives, gradually turned to creative works, and slowly carved out their own style. Over the years, Sanyi Township has produced a large number of skillful wood carvers. With the help of the special natural environment, one can say they “carved out” Sanyi into a unique mountain town. When visitors arrive in the town, they will see wood carvings adorning art shops and studios, with hundreds of businesses focusing on wood carvings.

The woodcarvings of Sanyi have gone through a century of evolution, starting from natural woodcarving, to export-oriented operations, and later carvings that are more in line with the recent development of tourism resources in Taiwan. Wood carving art shops now line the streets of Sanyi, and wood carving has entered the era of personal creations. After several twists and turns, Sanyi has become a wood carving town that is famous today in Taiwan. In the course of development, it also witnessed the century-old rise and fall of Taiwan's wood industry.

In order to support the wood carving industry, which at one point was facing decline, and to revitalize it, the Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum was established in 1995. It is the only craft museum in Taiwan whose theme is wood carving. In addition to traditional architecture and furniture, the works displayed in the museum also include wood carvings with local characteristics, as well as collections of fine works made by wood carving masters from China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and European countries.

Since 2001, the Taiwan Special Exhibition has been held every year. And with the launch of the international exchange exhibition, the works of famous wood carving masters at home and abroad have been displayed here, with international wood carvings becoming a focus of the museum’s exhibitions. In the Sanyi museum, everyone can not only see traditional wood carvings, but also appreciate modern creations.

After years of hard work, the museum has laid a solid foundation, not only playing the role of maintaining and passing on the craft of traditional wood carving to younger generations, but also assisting in the development and innovation of more wood carving-related businesses as well as artisans in the future.