Beitou District (北投區, Wade-Giles: Pei-t'ou, Tongyong Pinyin: Beitou) is one of the twelve districts of Taipei City. Beitou means witch by Ketagalan people. Beitou is famous for hot springs. Residents of this district note that sulfuric fumes from the hot springs do ruin their electric appliances in the long term.
Between 1920 and 1941, Beitou was a village (北投庄) in Qixing District (七星郡), Taipei Prefecture (台北州). It was upgraded to a town (北投街) in 1941. After World War II, it was renamed as Beitou urban township (北投鎮), belonging to Taipei County. Beginning in 1949, Beitou and Shilin were admistered by the newly-formed Yangminshan Administrative Bureau. Both of them were merged into Taipei City in 1968.
