Shalu

Shālù (沙鹿) is a coastal district at the center of western Taichung, occupying the plain between the city’s urban core and Taichung Port on the seaward slope of Dadu Plateau. It began as a Papora Indigenous village within the Kingdom of Middag. Today it is the most populous of Taichung’s coastal districts and the site of Taichung International Airport, built on a former Japanese World War 2 airfield. Three gun towers raised to defend it against wartime bombing still stand beside the runway. Above the town sits Wansheng Zizhu Monastery, an austere temple of the Zailiist salvationist tradition, while courtyard homes such as the abandoned Zhulin Chen residence remain along older roads.