Qualla: Daxi Wude Hall

Daxi Wude Hall: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Chongkian, CC BY-SA 3.0. The building was supposed to open in February 1935. It was finished on schedule - a handsome martial arts hall built for the Japanese colonial police force in Daxi, a prosperous town in what is now Taoyuan City. But in April, an earthquake struck Taiwan, and the opening ceremony was delayed until May 20. The hall that opened its doors that day would outlast the colonial government that built it, the Chinese Nationalist government that repurposed it, the military police who guarded it, and the Cold War tensions that made a presidential residence necessary in a small riverside town. Daxi Wude Hall still stands in Daxi District, its hip-and-gable roof intact, its tatami floor still divided - half for judo, half for kendo - as it was designed nearly a century ago. It is now part of the Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum, a network of heritage buildings that together tell the story of a town shaped by timber, tea, and the politics of successive occupying powers.

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Image: Chongkian | CC BY-SA 3.0

Daxi Wude Hall: Dragon Heads on a Concrete Temple

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Outlookxp, CC BY-SA 4.0. The architecture of Daxi Wude Hall is a study in cultural layering. Built of reinforced concrete, the structure mimics the appearance of a traditional Japanese wooden temple. The hip-and-gable roof features barge boards on the gable end in the Shinto architectural style, while th...

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Image: Outlookxp | CC BY-SA 4.0

Daxi Wude Hall: From Police Dojo to Presidential Retreat

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jiang, Public domain. Under Japanese rule, the hall served its original purpose: a training center where colonial police officers practiced martial arts. Japan's colonial administration built wude halls across Taiwan as part of a broader effort to promote martial discipline among its security forces, ...

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Image: Jiang | Public domain

Daxi Wude Hall: Three Lives of a Small Building

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Outlookxp, CC BY-SA 4.0. The military police occupied the Wude Hall complex for nearly half a century. When they relocated to Touliao Mausoleum in 1998, the army transferred the building and its grounds to the Daxi Township Administration Office, beginning the hall's third career. The administration offi...

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Image: Outlookxp | CC BY-SA 4.0

Daxi Wude Hall: Daxi's Wooden Memory

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 寺人孟子, CC BY-SA 4.0. Daxi Wude Hall does not stand alone. It belongs to the Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum, a network of heritage buildings in Daxi District that together preserve the town's identity as a center of woodworking and craftsmanship. Daxi grew wealthy on camphor and timber during the Japanese co...

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Image: 寺人孟子 | CC BY-SA 4.0