Caotun

Cǎotún (草屯) is a township in northwestern Nantou that has long served as the gateway from Taichung into the county’s interior. The old name, Caoxiedun (草鞋墩), literally “pile of straw sandals” refers to travellers discarding worn sandals here before continuing into the mountains; it was simplified to Caotun in 1920. The hillside Cide Temple, a bottle gourd-shaped structure inspired by the dreams of a local fruit farmer, is one of the township’s most distinctive landmarks, while Dunhe Temple in the town center is dedicated to the God of Wealth.