Nantou Chung Tai World Museum Ticket

Chung Tai World Museum, affiliated with Chung Tai Chan Monastery in Puli, Nantou, houses a rich collection of Buddhist historical artifacts. The museum's exhibitions are centered around three main categories: 'Texts, Images, and Sutras,' featuring carefully selected stone rubbings, Buddhist statues and historical artifacts, as well as Confucian and Buddhist stone scriptures. These convey the three core themes: 'Literature to Convey the Way,' 'Images to Imprint the Heart,' and 'Sutras to Transmit the Dharma.' 'Literature to Convey the Way' focuses on historical stone rubbings, showcasing the various facets of traditional Chinese culture, including orthodoxy, rites, literature, and art. 'Images to Imprint the Heart' features the museum's collection of Buddhist artifacts, statues, and stele, presenting the religious spirit, meaning, and artistic forms of Buddhist culture. 'Sutras to Transmit the Dharma' focuses on historical stone scripture rubbings, as well as the museum's collection of Buddhist hand-copied sutras and the Classic of Filial Piety, illustrating the cultural inheritance of the classics and the significance of stone carving through the 'Sutras to Transmit the Dharma' gallery on the second floor.

The architectural complex of Chung Tai World Museum utilizes a 'Chinese style with Western construction' approach to present the beauty of Chinese architecture. Its exterior design resembles the Tang Dynasty city of Chang'an, symbolizing the 'Strictly Guarded Dharma City' in Buddhism—a fortress protecting Buddhist and historical artifacts. The hip roof and the imagery of ancient city walls represent a temporal context where tradition and modernity, East and West, and Buddhism and Chinese culture converge.

The Wood Sculpture Branch (formerly Chung Tai Museum) is located approximately 800 meters from the main museum, situated in the northeast corner of the Chung Tai Chan Monastery complex. It was renovated from the original site of the Chung Tai Museum and displays the museum's collection of historical wooden Buddhist statues. Among them, the statues from the Liao and Jin dynasties are particularly exquisite and rare, making them a sight to behold.

Special Exhibition | The Birth of a Museum: Ten Years of Exploration and Practice in Art as a Means of Transformation

• Exhibition Period: 2026/08/04 - 2027/05/23 (Closed on Mondays)

• Location: Chung Tai World Museum Main Hall, 3F Special Exhibition Room 301B / 302B

• Recommended Viewing Time: 45 - 60 minutes

In 2026, Chung Tai World Museum will celebrate its 10th anniversary, which also marks ten years since the passing of its founder, Grand Master Wei Chueh. Over the past decade, the museum has upheld the founder's philosophy of 'Art as a Means of Transformation,' connecting Buddhist art with contemporary society and continuing to bring culture into people's hearts through exhibitions and educational outreach. The 10th-anniversary special exhibition invites visitors to return to the museum's origins and witness the birth of a museum together. In recent years, the museum community in Taiwan has increasingly adopted the concept of 'public curation,' promoting education related to exhibition planning. From restoration and collection to exhibition design, people have become curious: How does a museum actually operate? How is an exhibition born? The 10th-anniversary special exhibition hopes to respond to this curiosity by lifting the curtain on the behind-the-scenes work, allowing visitors a glimpse into the ten-year journey of planning and construction. This exhibition is centered on the questions: 'How is a museum made? What does a museum do?' It is divided into five units, each with a core question, guiding visitors to rethink the role and possibilities of a museum through continuous inquiry:

1. What was the aspiration behind creating the museum?
2. In a Buddhist museum, how is an exhibition born?
3. How does a Buddhist museum bring knowledge and visitors together?
4. What does a Buddhist museum mean to its volunteers?
5. How can Buddhist art enter daily life?

Special Exhibition | Honoring the Founder's Legacy: 10th Anniversary Memorial Exhibition of the Founding Master's Passing

• Exhibition Period: 2026/04/09 - 2027/04/11 (Closed on Mondays)

• Location: Chung Tai World Museum Wood Sculpture Branch, 3F (No. 6, Chung Tai Rd., Puli Township, Nantou County)

• Recommended Viewing Time: 45 minutes

Cherishing the founder's grace, recalling the teachings by his side; the lamp of the lineage is passed on, his example lives in our words and deeds.
In the year 115 of the Republic era, marking the first decade since the passing of the founding master of Chung Tai Chan Monastery, Grand Master Wei Chueh, the Chung Tai World Museum Wood Sculpture Branch is holding the 'Honoring the Founder's Legacy: 10th Anniversary Memorial Exhibition of the Founding Master's Passing' to commemorate the master's life and honor his compassionate teachings.
This memorial exhibition, located on the third floor of the Wood Sculpture Branch, is divided into four units: 'Inheriting the Linji Lineage,' 'Founding Chung Tai,' 'The Founder's Exemplary Life,' and 'The Eternal Lamp of the Heart.'
'Inheriting the Linji Lineage' covers the master's path of practice and the records of his retreats and enlightenment of Zen insights;
'Founding Chung Tai' displays the history of the founding of Chung Tai Chan Monastery and the milestone chapters it opened in the history of Buddhism in Taiwan;
'The Founder's Exemplary Life' and 'The Eternal Lamp of the Heart' focus on the 'Four Tenets of Chung Tai' and the 'Five Approaches to Buddhism' taught by the master, presenting to the public a Chung Tai world that continues to move forward tirelessly, building on the past and opening up the future.
Through a wealth of historical materials and artifacts associated with the master that witnessed many important events, we look back on the arduous journey of the past and look forward to the unwavering commitment to continue deep cultivation.