(All photos courtesy of Daxi Wood Art
Ecological Museum)
Chinese name: 大溪木藝生態博物館
Located at: Daxi District, Taoyuan City
Located in Taoyuan City, the Daxi Wood Art
Ecological Museum is the first wood art-themed ecological museum in Taiwan. It
officially opened in 2015. Its venues are public historical buildings that have
been restored and put to new use. These include the Japanese-style Daxi
Elementary School Dormitory (大溪國小日式宿舍), Wude Hall (武德殿), Daxi Public Hall (大溪公會堂), and
the Daxi Police Station dormitory buildings.
The set of dormitories at Daxi Elementary
School is a Japanese-style elevated bungalow building built in the 1920s. In
2007, the Japanese-style dormitory of Daxi Elementary School was registered as
a county-level historical building in Taoyuan. In 2015, it became the first
renovated and open space of the Daxi Wood Art Ecological Museum, and therefore
it was called "Hall No.1".
Daxi Wude Hall was completed in 1935 and was
used by Taiwanese police officers and young people to practice judo and kendo
during the Japanese occupation period. In 2004, it was designated as a
historical building of Taoyuan County. It is currently used as an exhibition
space for large-scale special exhibitions.
The Daxi Public Hall was built in 1923 during
the era of Japanese rule. It was funded by the private sector and used as a
center for local people's gatherings, ceremonies and other activities. After
the Nationalist Government came to Taiwan, it became the residence of the
Republic of China’s late President Chiang Kai-shek when he visited the area.
After the death of President Chiang, the hall was rebuilt, and in 1978, it was
named the Daxi Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and was opened to the public for
the first time. In 2003, it was renovated in accordance with the plan of the
Taoyuan County Government, and was registered as a historical building in 2004.
In 2016, it officially came under the management of the Daxi Wood Art
Ecomuseum. As the Daxi Wood Furniture Exhibition Hall, it brings together local
woodware shop owners and young wood artists to jointly plan themed exhibitions.
Using traditional wood craftsmanship and techniques, they create new furniture
that meets the needs of contemporary life. Gradually, these activities helped
shape the image of Daxi’s wood furniture professionals and their brand of
custom-made furniture.
The Daxi Police Station dormitory buildings
were built in 1901. Since the Japanese era, they have been a living space for
police officers and their families. Different from the atmosphere and
characteristics in the Daxi Old Street area, these buildings record the lives
of people from different times. Over the past century, they have become an
important base for passing on stories about Daxi’s past life and policemen’s
work. In 2012, the dormitories were registered as historical buildings in
Taoyuan. The space and premises are planned in a way that is inviting to young
people and organizations to use for the creation and development of wood or
lacquer art. International craftsmen have been invited to settle in and hold
exchanges with their Taiwanese counterparts and the public. The former
dormitories also provide learning and experience courses, and are used to carry
out an experimental plan for local industry integration.
The wood art museum is the cultural platform
of Daxi, integrating many cultural activities and resources, protecting the
local natural and cultural assets, and promoting community construction. For
local residents, the museum is a precious cultural resource that has been
regenerated; by preserving the space, local historical memories are also kept.
At the same time, the museum also actively assists residents to invest in the
research and preservation of local culture, returning the right of
interpretation of local history to the community’s people.