Sanyi Woodcarving

Sanyi's trade began with what was already in the ground. These hills were camphor country, and when the timber was cut the roots and burls were left behind; local carvers started shaping them, first into decorative pieces and then into a full industry supplying temples, export markets and collectors. Shuimei Street is now a run of workshops and showrooms where the work ranges from religious statuary to enormous single-block tables and cheap tourist pieces. The wood sculpture museum at the top of the town takes the craft seriously, showing tools, unfinished blocks that explain how a figure is found in the grain, and contemporary work that has moved a long way from the temple tradition.

What you actually see

• Shuimei Street - the run of carving workshops and showrooms through the town.
• The wood sculpture museum - tools, unfinished blocks and contemporary work.
• Carvers at work - chisels and mallets audible from the open shop fronts.
• Single-block tables - slabs cut from one trunk, and priced accordingly.

When to go

Year-round, since everything of interest is indoors or under cover, which makes it a reasonable wet-weather stop in a wet part of the island. Weekdays are when the carvers are actually working, and the sound of it is half the reason to come. A carving festival is held in the spring. The workshops are several kilometres uphill from the station.

Honest expectations

Much of the street is retail, and a good deal of the cheaper stock is imported rather than carved locally, which nobody advertises. Prices for serious pieces are high and shipping them is your problem. Camphor and other scented woods make the shops strongly aromatic and give some people a headache. The town is quiet and empties early in the evening.

Nearby

The Longteng broken bridge is a few minutes down the valley.