The Ming Zhi Academy is the first official and private academy in Northern Taiwan. It was founded in 1763 by Chuo-Yo Hu, a member of the nation’s most elite academy. He donated premises and raised funds for the free school, which had eventually evolved into a formal educational establishment. The academy was then relocated to Hsinchu and began to decline after compulsory education was put into force. The Ming Zhi Academy collapsed in 2003 due to dereliction, and thanks to the donation from business mogul Wang Yong-Qing, the academy was refurbished and restored to its former glory.
