The Japanese army set up Linluo Prisoner of War Camp from 1942 to 1945 in Xintian Village, Linluo Township, Pingtung County
This place was originally a gravel pit in the Ailiao River In 1942, the Japanese army converted it into a prisoner-of-war camp. As you would guess, life in the POW camp was difficult. The prisoners’ main task was to crush rocks and clear the land to plant sugar cane. Read more about the conditions and history of the camp here.
After the war, it was used as a military base for the Republic of China military. The Linluo Ailiao military base closed in the mid- to late-2000s.
After a devastating typhoon in 2007, the former base was used as temporary housing for indigenous Taiwanese. It wasn’t a suitable place to live or work, so they were built new housing closer to the mountains in Majia. I’m not sure when the village was again relocated. I first visited in 2018, and the area was rather deserted.
In the early 2020s, there was talk about converting the location into a stray animal shelter. Some people wanted to turn the place into a full memorial for the POWs. Others were upset because there would be so many animals in one location. They were worried about the noise and where all the animal waste would go.
However, the animal shelter officially opened in June of this year. The government restored and relocated the memorial tablet to a more suitable place. There is also a small museum, which I missed on my return trip.
The first set of pictures are from July 2018. I apparently didn’t take many photos, or at least didn’t save many on my computer. I don’t believe anything from the POW camp was still around. But many of the old military buildings were there.
The stone memorial tablet was placed at the entrance to the former military base.
I went again in December 2020 and took a few more pictures. The overgrowth and degradation of the buildings were quite noticeable.
I went to see what the stray animal shelter looked like in early July after reading in the news that it had officially opened. I was surprised to see that the gate was still there and open.
屏東縣動物之家毛小孩樂園 Pingtong Animal and Fur Baby Paradise.
There is space for around 500 dogs, 100 cats, and 300 additional animals. People can come and visit the animals and adopt them as well. The President of Taiwan adopted a dog at the shelter’s grand opening.
You can enter and walk around the grounds.
The memorial tablet has a nicer, permanent location. And I believe that there is a small museum here as well. So I will have to go back again and check it out.
So if you are ever in the area, you can go and see the sight of one of Southeast Asia’s largest World War II POW camps, as well as a place to house stray animals, and say Hi!.
Formosa>Ex 