Taiwan Temple Art Museum

　　The Taiwan Temple Art Museum is located within Yunlin County Cultural Center, where it systematically introduces the artistic beauty found in Taiwanese temples and traditional glove puppetry. Temples are not only places to pray for peace and happiness, but they also played crucial roles in early immigrant settlements in Taiwan — such as fostering unity, maintaining local security, and promoting culture and education. Their exquisite wood carvings and colorful paintings represent the essence of southern Chinese architecture. Glove puppetry, meanwhile, is one of the most common theatrical performances during temple festivals. From its vivid performances to the lifelike carved puppets, it holds immense artistic value.

　　The Temple Art Museum consists of a main hall — the Temple Hall — and two auxiliary halls — the Puppetry Hall and the Deity Statue Hall. Among these, the Temple Hall covers the largest area and is divided into 19 sections introducing Taiwanese temples. The Han Chinese deity beliefs in Taiwan primarily came with immigrants during the Ming and Qing dynasties, so the temple architecture belongs to the southern Chinese system, known for its intricate and elaborate decorations. A wide variety of techniques — such as wood carving, stone carving, painting, and pottery modeling — are used to create the splendid ornamentation of the temples. The displays in the Temple Hall cover a rich range of themes, including the relationship between temples and Taiwan’s development, temple festival activities, arts and crafts such as painting and paper-cutting, as well as ceremonial attire used in processions. There is also a Guanlu Ye Temple relocated from Xiluo, featuring dragon pillars, gates, stone steps, incense burners, and shrines — all original artifacts from the Jiaqing era of the Qing dynasty, serving as a miniature representation of Taiwanese temples. The museum also offers multimedia screenings that showcase the beauty of Taiwanese temples from multiple perspectives.

　　The Puppetry Hall is another key thematic exhibition space. It houses over 200 puppet characters, mainly categorized by opera repertoire. Exquisitely crafted stages, decorative pavilions, and puppet scenes come to life before your eyes. Themes include legendary tales such as Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods, temple festival performances like the Three Immortals Play and The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, as well as famous glove puppet characters such as Shi Yaman (the Confucian Hero of Yunzhou), Zang Jingren (the Mirror-Hiding Man), and Mibiao (the Secret Carving). Most are traditional and compact hand puppets, though some are modern "Golden Light" glove puppets standing up to two or three feet tall. The helmets, shoes, weapons, and other accessories worn by the puppets also symbolize various identities — such as loyalty, treachery, goodness, evil, scholar, or warrior. Additionally, rare and valuable items on display include early performance scripts, decorative pavilions, stages, leather drums, and suonas.

　　Behind the Puppetry Hall is the Deity Statue Hall, which exhibits over a hundred commonly worshipped deities in Taiwanese belief, such as Mazu, Guanyin, the King of Lords, Guan Yu, and the God of Earth. Among the highlights is the “Sixty Yuan Chen Gods,” commonly known as the Year Gods. The Deity Statue Hall presents the process of crafting these statues and the tools used, displayed in step-by-step detail.

　　Address: No. 310, Section 3, University Road, Douliu City, Yunlin County

　　Phone: (05) 532-5191, 532-7613

　　Opening Hours: 08:30–11:30, 14:00–17:00

　　Closed: Mondays, the day after public holidays, and the last day of each month

　　Transportation Guide

　　1. Take the Taiwan Railways Administration’s main line to Douliu, then walk via Datong Road, Zhongshan Road, and University Road; or transfer to a Taisei Bus bound for Huwei or Beigang from Douliu, and get off at Yunlin Hospital.

　　2. Take a Ubus bus from Kaohsiung bound for Puli, get off at National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, and walk approximately 500 meters.