Lukang Folk Arts Museum

Before being open to the public as a museum, Lukang Folk Arts Museum was originally the mansion of the Koo family, known to be the wealthiest family in town. The Koo family's century-long history began with the first-generation patriarch Koo Hsien-jung (辜顯榮), a Taiwanese businessman and politician who was favored and trusted by the Japanese colonizers. He had dealt with monopoly businesses such as salt, sugar and opium, making his entire family one of the wealthiest in Taiwan. In 1973, the family donated their residence together with all the antiques that date back to the Qing dynasty, including clothing, jewelry, musical instruments, furniture, books and many more. All of a sudden, the most common household objects became the finest collections of Lukang Folk Arts Museum.

Built in 1919, this western mansion in a Baroque style was designed by Moriyama Matsunosuke, the Japanese architect behind what is now the Presidential Office Building and the National Museum of Taiwan Literature. With two domes on both sides, Lukang Folk Arts Museum is a perfectly symmetrical structure, and there is another traditional Fujianese style house within the complex that has been standing for more than 200 years, creating a nostalgia that lingers on and keeps inviting you back to this place. In a quaint little town like Lukang, such a luxurious mansion is always in the spotlight. Today, the Koo family does not live here anymore, so the general have a chance to catch a glimpse of their life a century ago.