A unique art museum designed by Kong Xiangwei Studio has opened along a mountain road in Jiuxian, China, serving as both gallery space and entrance to an innovative forest art initiative. The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Art Museum occupies a narrow site shaded by oak trees at a bend in the mountain road, marking the threshold to the Xi Valley Scenic Area's forest art program that weaves artworks throughout the woodland.
The modest-scale structure functions as a gateway to an open-air museum experience, with its distinctive form revealing itself gradually to visitors who approach on foot. From the roadway, the building presents itself as a folded concrete shell characterized by inward-drawn concave surfaces. Strategic narrow openings at the base allow natural light to filter in and out, offering glimpses of the valley landscape beyond the structure.
Architect Kong Xiangwei designed the entry experience to evoke the sensation of passing through a small mountain opening into another realm, deliberately referencing the mystical journey described in Tao Yuanming's classic work "The Peach Blossom Spring." Inside the museum, visitors encounter a carefully orchestrated sensory environment where filtered sunlight, the natural scent of oak trees, and the sound of wind through the forest combine to create a calm, transitional atmosphere that prepares them for the larger landscape experience ahead.
The construction process exemplified Kong Xiangwei Studio's commitment to local building methods, emphasizing collaboration and site-responsive design approaches. Rather than beginning with finalized architectural drawings, the project started as an open-ended experiment in form-finding. The construction team used twelve-millimeter deformed steel bars as the primary framework, chosen for their flexibility that allows hand-bending and binding while maintaining sufficient structural strength to define interior spaces.
Three local villagers from the nearby community of Maojiahe joined the construction effort, including an experienced lathe operator whose mechanical expertise proved essential in shaping the building's complex curves. Working together, the team twisted and tied the steel reinforcement into a three-dimensional sketch, gradually discovering the building's final form through hands-on experimentation. This collaborative process carried a strong sense of discovery, with each adjustment revealing new spatial possibilities and design opportunities.
The initial design concept, described by both the client and architect Kong Xiangwei, centered on creating "a cavity from rolled paper." This guiding image drove the design team's pursuit of visual lightness and structural continuity throughout the project. As the steel framework took shape, craftsmen applied thin layers of concrete measuring just three to four centimeters in thickness over the armature to create a delicate shell structure.
Achieving this level of construction precision in a rural mountain setting required exceptional patience and technical ingenuity from the local craftsmen, particularly Master Wang, who led the specialized plasterwork with quiet expertise and skill. While the finished concrete surface bears visible traces of hand tools and human touch, these imperfections actually enhance the building's tactile quality and connection to its natural surroundings. The slight irregularities in the surface texture read as authentic evidence of the construction process rather than flaws or mistakes.
The resulting surface finish exists somewhere between polished and rough textures, effectively absorbing the shifting patterns of natural light throughout the day and allowing the building to sit comfortably among the surrounding oak trunks and forest branches. This careful attention to material and craft ensures that the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Art Museum serves its dual purpose as both an intimate gallery space and a thoughtful gateway that prepares visitors for their journey into the broader forest art experience beyond.
