Luzhu Aiwulu Residence

Aiwulu (愛吾蘆) is a traditional sanheyuan or courtyard house on the plains of Taoyuan. It was completed in 1920 by Xu Chongde (徐崇德), who later became the magistrate of Taoyuan County. Half of the residence was requisitioned by the Ministry of National Defense for use as a detention center (國防部保密局桃園感訓所) from 1950 until it was abolished in 1969, part of a period of oppressive rule known as the White Terror. Due to the number of political prisoners detained here it was also known as Tianlao (天牢), or the “heavenly prison”, but the name was officially changed to Taoyuan Prison (桃園監獄) in 1957.

Date CapturedJanuary 4th, 2025 at 03:05 UTCCameraDC-S5M2LensLUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6Apertureƒ / 4.5Shutter Speed1/200 secFocal Length20.0 mmISO100Exposure Value12.0 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Date CapturedJanuary 4th, 2025 at 03:09 UTCCameraDC-S5M2LensLUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6Apertureƒ / 4Shutter Speed1/160 secFocal Length20.0 mmISO100Exposure Value11.3 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Date CapturedJanuary 4th, 2025 at 03:05 UTCCameraDC-S5M2LensLUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6Apertureƒ / 3.5Shutter Speed1/80 secFocal Length20.0 mmISO100Exposure Value9.9 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Date CapturedJanuary 4th, 2025 at 03:10 UTCCameraDC-S5M2LensLUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6Apertureƒ / 5Shutter Speed1/400 secFocal Length45.0 mmISO100Exposure Value13.3 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Date CapturedJanuary 4th, 2025 at 03:12 UTCCameraDC-S5M2LensLUMIX S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6Apertureƒ / 6.3Shutter Speed1/400 secFocal Length20.0 mmISO100Exposure Value14.0 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Nowadays the Xu (徐) family still resides here, and it seems they prefer to remain low-key and might not welcome guests without an advance introduction. The only readily accessible trace of its former use by the military is the ruins of a small guardhouse on the outer perimeter of the property. It can be found by following the long path around the front of the house, going left from the main road, but isn’t much to look at.