National Center of Traditional Arts

National Center of Traditional Arts is the largest exhibition and performance site for traditional arts with rich collection of cultural antiques in Taiwan. The life of the past of Taiwan has been recreated here along with historic streets, traditional stages and houses with a brick kiln in the center. Visiting National Center of Traditional Arts can be like traveling on a time machine. Visitors will have a basic understanding of various types of traditional arts such as dough figurines, handmade soaps, glassmaking and glove puppetry, even if they don't have the slightest idea about any of these before.

Located in the Wujie Township of Yilan, National Center of Traditional Arts is a definite crowd magnet, where the traditional folk culture has been well preserved and represented with performing arts (puppetry, ballads, acrobatics and repertoires of traditional narrative) as well as handicrafts (weaving, fragmented ceramic art and metalworking). Guided tours are available for groups and can be reserved in advance. The outdoor opera performances (the so-called yetaixi) are held every day, and the whole crew will travel from the commercial street all the way to the main stage. It is a spectacle of traditional Taiwanese theatre that serves as a great cultural experience for international visitors. For some natural fun, you may either hop on the cruise or rent a bike to have a scenic tour around the adjacent Dongshan River. Accommodation is also available within the art center — a quaint hotel whose architecture and its surroundings are reminiscent of a traditional village homestay.