Linkou

Línkǒu (林口), literally “forest mouth”, is a rapidly-growing suburb of Taipei located on the eponymous plateau along the western margins of New Taipei. Decades ago it was the site of an important American military installation, the Shu Lin Kou Air Station, which was turned over to the ROC military in the late 1970s and demolished in 1996. The red laterite soil of the plateau is unsuitable for rice but supported tea cultivation and, more significantly, a thriving brick industry. The Shengtai Brick Kiln is among the few remnants of this industrial heritage, most of which was cleared for residential development in the late 2000s.