The figures stand frozen mid-motion on an open hillside in Jinshan, their bronze bodies caught in the wide stances of tai chi. They are eight feet tall, some of them, and they have been holding these poses since 1999. Behind them, the green mountains of northern Taiwan tumble toward the coast. This is the Juming Museum, and every sculpture here -- every sweeping gesture captured in metal and stone -- is the work of a single artist who spent twelve years building a place worthy of his life's output.
Ju Ming was born Ju Chuan-tai in 1938 in Tongxiao, Miaoli County, the son of a farming family. He began studying woodcarving at age 15, apprenticing under a temple sculptor named Lee Chin-chuan. For years he carved traditional Buddhist and folk art figures. In 1968, he became a student of the sculptor Yuyu Yang, who pushed him toward modernism and abstraction. The pivotal turn came with his Tai Chi Series, massive bronzework figures inspired by the martial art's flowing movements. These monumental sculptures, some weighing several tons, brought him international recognition. Ju Ming exhibited at galleries and public spaces around the world, from New York to London to Hong Kong. But he dreamed of a permanent home for his work -- a place where art and landscape could become inseparable.
In 1987, Ju Ming purchased a patch of barren hillside and surrounding wasteland in Jinshan District, about an hour's drive from central Taipei. He did not hire an architecture firm. Instead, he designed the buildings, the landscaping, even the wiring and plumbing himself. Construction stretched over twelve years, during which the artist transformed vacant scrubland into a sculpture park spanning 11 hectares. He donated over 2,000 pieces -- his own works and personal collection alike -- to the museum for public viewing. The museum officially opened on 19 September 1999, and in 2017 the International Council of Museums recognized it for its contributions to the global museum community.
The museum's main building takes the shape of a pyramid, an angular counterpoint to the rolling hills around it. But the real experience is outdoors. The grounds are divided into themed areas: Taichi Plaza, where the famous martial-arts figures stand in open dialogue with wind and weather; Human World Square, filled with sculptures from Ju Ming's Living World Series depicting ordinary people in everyday situations; and Sport Square, dedicated to athletic figures in motion. Walking the grounds feels less like visiting a gallery and more like wandering into a sculptor's imagination made physical. Rain or shine, the art lives outside, aging and weathering alongside the landscape it inhabits.
The Juming Museum holds the distinction of being the largest outdoor art museum in Taiwan. Its collection spans works from 1987 to 1999, including paintings, pottery, and sculptures that Ju Ming exhibited around the world before bringing them home. The museum represents something rare in the art world: a single artist's vision carried from first sketch to final installation without committee or compromise. Ju Ming passed away in April 2023 at the age of 85, but his museum endures as both monument and garden, a place where massive bronze figures hold their eternal poses while visitors walk among them, dwarfed by the scale of one man's creative ambition.
Located at 25.25°N, 121.61°E in Jinshan District, New Taipei, on a hillside overlooking the northern coast. The museum's 11-hectare grounds with large outdoor sculptures may be discernible from low altitude. Nearest major airport is Taipei Songshan (RCSS), approximately 25 km to the south. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (RCTP) is roughly 45 km southwest. Best viewed at 2,000-4,000 ft while following the coast east from Tamsui.