Linkou: Local History and Hiking Trails

Linkou’s local history and traditional architecture give your trip a cultural focus: the history of hosiery manufacturer Wu Fu Yang Knitting, a former trading route, and Zhulinshan Guanyin Temple. For further tour planning, you can separately compare the features of the Laogongqi Trail and Linkou Forest Trail: route length and incline, or bridges and facilities at the entrance.

Company history with a personal connection

Hosiery manufacturer Wu Fu Yang Knitting was founded in Linkou in 1936, during Japanese rule. The company’s name also carries a personal memory: Wu Naiyang named it in memory of his father, Wu Futang. For the name “Wu Fu Yang,” he chose one Chinese character from his own name and one from his father’s. Thus, a specific founding year and an explicitly family-inspired name go hand in hand.

Trade and views along the Taiping Coastal Trail

The Taiping Coastal Trail follows a former Baojia Road. Villagers used it to take fish, oysters, and bamboo shoots to Xinzhuang and Linkou for trade. The view from the lookout pavilion is a different feature. From there, you can see the western coastal route and various scenic spots on the mountainside. The same trail therefore brings together the road’s former use and the view from a particular point. At Wu Fu Yang Knitting, the focus is on the family-inspired name; at the Taiping Coastal Trail, history is reflected instead in its former use as a trading route.

Temple architecture in Linkou

Zhulinshan Guanyin Temple features traditional Chinese architecture in the Minnan style, with three courtyards and seven gates. The Minnan style refers to the architectural tradition; the courtyards and gates identify specific parts of the complex.

Hiking trails with different features

The quiet, gently sloping Laogongqi Trail is about 3 kilometers long and suitable for beginner hikers. At the entrance, an elevated wooden walkway descends to Laogongqi Tudigong Temple.

Five bridges are among the features described on the Linkou Forest Trail: a slide bridge on a debris-retention structure, the Bubu-Gaosheng Arch Bridge, the Tianyao-Didong Bridge, the Wanfeng Bridge, and the Dongdao-Xiwai Bridge. At the entrance to the Linkou Forest Trail, there is a trail map to help with navigation, as well as an area where hikers can use loaner walking sticks and umbrellas. Compared with the Laogongqi Trail, the focus here is on several named structures and the facilities at the entrance; for the Laogongqi Trail, it is on length, incline, and suitability for beginner hikers.

If you’re looking for a hotel in Linkou, local history and traditional architecture can help guide your choice of destination. For hiking, separately compare route length, incline, and the facilities at each trail entrance. This can help you first consider which topics are most important for your stay.

Discover more destinations: Gongliao District, Yingge District, Banqiao District, Xizhi District, Sanxia, Tamsui, Pingxi District, Bali District

For the main travel overview: New Taipei City.