Luzhu

Lúzhú (蘆竹), formerly Lúzhúcuò (蘆竹厝), is a district in northern Taoyuan named for the reed bamboo that early settlers used as building material. Its commercial center is the Nankan (南崁) area, which grew rapidly after the opening of the nearby highway interchange and Taoyuan International Airport in the 1970s. Nankan Wufu Temple, established in 1661 and designated a municipal monument, lays claim to being the oldest temple in Taoyuan. Several now-demolished military dependents’ villages, including three numbered “Jianguo” villages, once housed KMT servicemen and their families in the district’s western flatlands. The Aiwulu Residence, a 1920 courtyard house, was requisitioned during the White Terror as a secret military detention center known as the “heavenly prison” (天牢).