Keelung

Keelung
基隆市
Kīrun, Ke-lung, Chilung
Keelung City
Top: skyline of downtown Keelung
Second left: Dawulun Fort
Second right: night view of downtown Keelung
Third left: Zhengbin Fishing Port Colorful House
Third right: Keelung Maritime Plaza and Keelung Main Station
Bottom left: Keelung Outer Harbor and Keelung Islet
Bottom right: Heping Island Park
Flag of Keelung
Official seal of Keelung
Nickname: 
The Rainy Port (雨港)
Location in Taiwan
Location in Taiwan
Coordinates: 25°08′N 121°44′E / 25.133°N 121.733°E / 25.133; 121.733
Country Republic of China (Taiwan)
Province Taiwan Province (streamlined)
RegionNorthern Taiwan
Districts7
Founded as La Santisima Trinidad1626
Part of Taihoku Prefecture17 April 1895
Provincial city status11 November 1945
City seatZhongzheng District
Government
 • Body
 • MayorGeorge Hsieh (KMT)
Area
 • Total132.7589 km2 (51.2585 sq mi)
 • Rank18 of 22
Population
(October 2023)
 • Total362,487
 • Rank16 of 22
 • Density2,700/km2 (7,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (National Standard Time)
Postal code
200–206
Area code(0)32
ISO 3166 codeTW-KEE
– BirdEagle
– FlowerCommon crepe myrtle
– TreeFormosan Sweet-gum
EnglishKeelung/KLC
Chinese基隆/基市
Websitewww.klcg.gov.tw/en/Default/Index Edit this at Wikidata
Above: Panoramic view of central Keelung and Keelung Port Second left: Main gate of Chung Cheng Park Second right: Start of Sun Yat-sen Freeway Third left: North coast of Keelung Third right: Keelung Port Bottom left: A windmill wind squid (Loliginidae) in the center Right: Keelung Island
Keelung City
Chinese name
Chinese基隆
Taiwanese Hokkien Name
Traditional Chinese雞籠
Simplified Chinese鸡笼市
Japanese name
Kanji基隆市
Kanaキールンし
Hiraganaきーるんし
Katakanaキールンシ

Keelung (/kiːˈlʊŋ/ kee-LUUNG; Taiwanese: Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong (/dʒiːˈlʊŋ/ jee-LUUNG; pinyin: Jīlóng), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. With 361,082 inhabitants, the city forms a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area with its neighboring New Taipei City and Taipei.

Before the city was founded by the Spanish Empire in 1626, then called La Santisima Trinidad, present-day Keelung was inhabited by Taiwanese indigenous peoples and was part of Spanish and Dutch colonial rule before being subsumed into the Qing dynasty in 1683 as part of Fujian. The city became a flashpoint of the First Opium War and the Keelung Campaign in the Sino-French War between the Qing and the French Third Republic. After Taiwan was detached from Fujian in 1887, the city became part of the Empire of Japan in 1895 following the First Sino-Japanese War. During the Japanese era, the city was known as Kirun first as a town of Taihoku Prefecture, then became a district in 1920 and finally a city in 1924.

After World War II in 1945, the Republic of China, which overthrew the Qing empire, reestablished Keelung as a provincial city of Taiwan Province, which would later become streamlined from 1998. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport (after Kaohsiung) and the 7th largest in the world by 1984.

Name

According to early Chinese accounts, this northern coastal area was originally called Pak-kang (Chinese: 北港; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Pak-káng). By the early 20th century, the city was known to the Western world as Kelung, as well as the variants Kiloung, Kilang and Keelung. In his 1903 general history of Taiwan, US Consul to Formosa (1898–1904) James W. Davidson related that "Kelung" was among the few well-known names, thus warranting no alternate Japanese romanization.

However, the Taiwanese people have long called the city Kelang (Chinese: 雞籠; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ke-lâng/Koe-lâng; lit. '“rooster cage"', 'hencoop” or “chicken coop”'). While it has been proposed that this name was derived from the local mountain that took the shape of a rooster cage, it is more likely that the name was derived from the first inhabitants of the region, as are the names of many other Taiwanese cities. In this case, the Ketagalan people were the first inhabitants, and early Han settlers probably approximated "Ketagalan" with Ke-lâng (Ketagalan: ke-, "domain marker prefix" + Taiwanese Hokkien Chinese: 儂 / 人; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lâng; lit. 'person'), the noun root being replaced with the common Taiwanese Hokkien term for people, while the domain marker circumfix "ke- -an" being reduced to just the prefix.

In 1875, during the late Qing era, a new official name was given (Chinese: 基隆; pinyin: Jīlóng; lit. 'base prosperous'). In Mandarin, probably the working language of Chinese government at the time, both the old and new names were likely pronounced Gīlóng (hence "Keelung").

Under Japanese rule (1895–1945), the city was also known to the west by the Japanese romanization Kīrun (also written as Kiirun).

In Taiwanese Hokkien, native language of the area, the city is called Ke-lâng. In Hanyu Pinyin, a system created for Mandarin Chinese in Mainland China, the name of Keelung is written as Jīlóng (the shift from initial K to J is a recent development in the Beijing dialect, see Old Mandarin).

History

Map of Keelung in 1856

Early history

Keelung was first inhabited by the Ketagalan, a tribe of Taiwanese aborigine. The Spanish expedition to Formosa in the early 17th century was its first contact with the West; by 1624 the Spanish had built San Salvador de Quelung, a fort in Keelung serving as an outpost of the Manila-based Spanish East Indies. The Spanish ruled it as a part of Spanish Formosa and the Spanish settled North Taiwan with Spaniards as well as Filipinos plus Latin Americans imported from Manila-Acapulco Galleons. From 1642 to 1661 and 1663–1668, Keelung was under Dutch control. The Dutch East India Company took over the Spanish Fort San Salvador at Santissima Trinidad. They reduced its size and renamed it Fort Noort-Hollant. The Dutch had three more minor fortifications in Keelung and also a little school and a preacher.

When Ming dynasty loyalist Koxinga successfully attacked the Dutch in southern Taiwan (Siege of Fort Zeelandia), the crew of the Keelung forts fled to the Dutch trading post in Japan. The Dutch came back in 1663 and re-occupied and strengthened their earlier forts. However, trade with Qing China through Keelung was not what they hoped it would be and, in 1668, they left after getting harassed by aboriginals.

Qing dynasty

First Opium War

Given the strategic and commercial value of Taiwan, there were British suggestions in 1840 and 1841 to seize the island. In September 1841, during the First Opium War, the British transport ship Nerbudda became shipwrecked near Keelung Harbour due to a typhoon. The brig Ann also became shipwrecked in March 1842. Most of the crew were Indian lascars. Survivors from both ships were transferred by authorities to the capital Tainan. The Taiwan Qing commanders, Ta-hung-ah and Yao Ying, filed a disingenuous report to the emperor, claiming to have defended against an attack from the Keelung fort. In October 1841, HMS Nimrod sailed to Keelung to search for the Nerbudda survivors, but after Captain Joseph Pearse found out that they were sent south for imprisonment, he ordered the bombardment of the harbour and destroyed 27 sets of cannon before returning to Hong Kong. Most of the survivors—over 130 from the Nerbudda and 54 from the Ann—were executed in Tainan in August 1842.

In 1863, the Qing Empire opened up Keelung as a trading port and the city enjoyed rapid development due to the abundant commodities such as placer gold and high quality coal found in the drainage area of Keelung River. In 1875, Taipeh Prefecture was created and included Keelung. In 1878, Keelung was formed into a ting or sub-prefecture. Around the same time, the name was changed from Ke-lang (雞籠廳) to Kilong (基隆廳), which means "rich and prosperous land".

The city suffered serious damage and lost hundreds of inhabitants during an earthquake and tsunami in 1867. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.0 and was caused by movement on a nearby fault.

Sino-French War

French forces landed at Keelung on 1 October 1884.

During the Sino-French War (1884–85), the French attempted an invasion of Taiwan during the Keelung Campaign. Liu Mingchuan, who led the defence of Taiwan, recruited Aboriginals to serve alongside the Chinese soldiers in fighting against the French of Colonel Jacques Duchesne's Formosa Expeditionary Corps. The French were defeated at the Battle of Tamsui and the Qing forces pinned the French down at Keelung in an eight-month-long campaign before the French withdrew.

Empire of Japan

A systematic city development started during the Japanese Era, after the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, which handed all Taiwan over to Japan. A five-phase construction of Keelung Harbor was initiated, and in by 1916 trade volume had exceeded even those of Tamsui and Kaohsiung Harbors to become one of the major commercial harbors of Taiwan.

Keelung was governed as Kīrun town (基隆街), Kīrun District, Taihoku Prefecture in 1920 and was upgraded to a city in 1924. The Pacific War broke out in 1941, and Keelung became one of the first targets of Allied bombers and was nearly destroyed as a result.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in October 1945, Keelung was established as a provincial city of Taiwan Province. The Keelung City Government worked with the harbor bureau to rebuild the city and the harbor and by 1984, the harbor became the 7th largest container harbor in the world. The city became directly governed by the Executive Yuan after Taiwan Province was streamlined in 1998 and became a de facto first level division in 2018 following the dissolution of the Taiwan Provincial Government.

Geography

Map of Keelung (labeled as CHI-LUNG-SHIH (KIIRUN-SHI) 基隆市) area (1950)
Map of Keelung (labeled as CHI-LUNG SHIH (KIIRUN SHI) 基隆市) and vicinity (1950s)

Keelung City is located in the northern part of Taiwan Island. It occupies an area of 132.76 km2 (51.26 sq mi) and is separated from its neighboring county by mountains in the east, west and south. The northern part of the city faces the ocean and is a great deep water harbor since early times. Keelung also administers the nearby Keelung Islet as well as the more distant and strategically important Pengjia Islet, Mianhua Islet and Huaping Islet.

Climate

Keelung has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with a yearly rainfall average upwards of 3,700 millimetres (146 in). It has long been noted as one of the wettest and gloomiest cities in the world; the effect is related to the Kuroshio Current. Although it is one of the coolest cities of Taiwan, winters are still short and warm, whilst summers are long, relatively dry and hot, temperatures can peek above 26 °C during a warm winter day, while it can dip below 27 °C during a rainy summer day, much like the rest of northern Taiwan. However its location on northern mountain slopes means that due to orographic lift, rainfall is heavier during fall and winter, the latter during which a northeasterly flow prevails. During summer, southwesterly winds dominate and thus there is a slight rain shadow effect. Fog is most serious during winter and spring, when relative humidity levels are also highest.

Climate data for Keelung (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1946–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.1
(89.8)
31.2
(88.2)
33.0
(91.4)
35.2
(95.4)
37.3
(99.1)
37.6
(99.7)
38.8
(101.8)
38.5
(101.3)
37.0
(98.6)
34.3
(93.7)
32.4
(90.3)
30.0
(86.0)
38.8
(101.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 18.4
(65.1)
19.1
(66.4)
21.0
(69.8)
24.7
(76.5)
28.0
(82.4)
31.2
(88.2)
33.3
(91.9)
32.5
(90.5)
29.8
(85.6)
26.1
(79.0)
23.6
(74.5)
20.1
(68.2)
25.7
(78.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 16.1
(61.0)
16.4
(61.5)
18.1
(64.6)
21.6
(70.9)
24.8
(76.6)
27.6
(81.7)
29.5
(85.1)
29.1
(84.4)
27.2
(81.0)
24.2
(75.6)
21.5
(70.7)
18.0
(64.4)
22.8
(73.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 14.2
(57.6)
14.3
(57.7)
15.7
(60.3)
19.0
(66.2)
22.3
(72.1)
25.0
(77.0)
26.7
(80.1)
26.5
(79.7)
25.0
(77.0)
22.4
(72.3)
19.6
(67.3)
16.1
(61.0)
20.6
(69.0)
Record low °C (°F) 3.9
(39.0)
5.6
(42.1)
3.9
(39.0)
9.2
(48.6)
13.9
(57.0)
16.7
(62.1)
21.4
(70.5)
20.1
(68.2)
17.1
(62.8)
12.2
(54.0)
9.7
(49.5)
4.6
(40.3)
3.9
(39.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 327.8
(12.91)
349.8
(13.77)
274.4
(10.80)
211.0
(8.31)
284.1
(11.19)
290.4
(11.43)
119.5
(4.70)
211.4
(8.32)
390.1
(15.36)
377.6
(14.87)
396.9
(15.63)
356.6
(14.04)
3,589.6
(141.33)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 19.6 17.9 18.7 16.0 16.1 14.8 8.5 11.6 15.2 17.1 18.6 19.5 193.6
Average relative humidity (%) 78.5 79.5 79.0 77.4 77.4 76.9 71.9 73.6 75.3 75.6 77.1 76.6 76.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 52.6 57.9 80.6 91.2 111.9 138.4 229.2 208.2 147.4 85.7 65.3 48.5 1,316.9
Source: Central Weather Bureau

Administration

Keelung City Hall in Zhongzheng District
George Hsieh, the incumbent Mayor of Keelung City

Zhongzheng District is the seat of Keelung City which houses the Keelung City Government and Keelung City Council. The current Mayor of Keelung is George Hsieh of the Kuomintang.

Administrative divisions

Keelung has seven (7) districts:

Map Name Chinese Taiwanese Hakka Population (October 2023) Area (km²)
Zhongzheng 中正 Tiong-chèng Tsûng-tsang 50,693 10.2118
Zhongshan 中山 Tiong-san Tsûng-sân 45,523 10.5238
Ren-ai 仁愛 Jîn-ài Yìn-oi 41,159 4.2335
Xinyi (Sinyi) 信義 Sìn-gī Sin-ngi 53,399 10.6706
Anle 安樂 An-lo̍k Ôn-lo̍k 80,452 18.0250
Nuannuan 暖暖 Loán-loán Nôn-nôn 38,455 22.8283
Qidu 七堵 Chhit-tó͘ Tshit-tù 52,806 56.2659

Politics

Keelung City voted one Democratic Progressive Party legislator Tsai Shih-Ying to be in the Legislative Yuan during the 2016 Republic of China legislative election.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1960 234,442—    
1966 287,156+22.5%
1970 324,040+12.8%
1975 341,383+5.4%
1980 344,867+1.0%
1985 351,524+1.9%
1990 352,919+0.4%
1995 368,771+4.5%
2000 388,425+5.3%
2005 390,633+0.6%
2010 384,134−1.7%
2015 372,105−3.1%
2020 367,577−1.2%
Source: Ministry of the Interior Population Census

Population growth

Year Population Notes
1840
1897
9,500
1904
17,710
Ranked 6th
1924
58,000
1943
100,000
1944
92,000
Decrease due to Allied air bombings
1948
130,000
28,000 mainlander influx
1970
324,040
1990
352,919
2010
384,134
2020
367,577

Festivals

One of the most popular festivals in Taiwan is the mid-summer Ghost Festival. The Keelung Ghost Festival is among the oldest in Taiwan, dating back to 1851 after bitter clashes between rival clans, which claimed many lives before mediators stepped in.

Regional origins

By 2021, there was a group of people who originated from the Matsu Islands.

Economy

Coal mining peaked in 1968. The city developed quickly and by 1984, the harbor was the 7th largest container harbor in the world.

Panorama view of central Keelung and harbor area

Education

National Taiwan Ocean University

Education in Keelung City is governed by the Department of Education of Keelung City Government.

Universities and colleges

Keelung City houses several universities and colleges, such as the National Taiwan Ocean University, Ching Kuo Institute of Management and Health and Chungyu Institute of Technology.

High schools

Energy

Hsieh-ho Power Plant

Keelung City houses the only fully oil-fired power plant in Taiwan, the Hsieh-ho Power Plant, which is located in Zhongshan District. The installed capacity of the power plant is 2,000 MW.

Tourist attractions

Keelung Cultural Center

Ports

Parks

Cultural centers

Museums

National Museum of Marine Science and Technology

Historical structures

Baimiweng Fort, Dawulun Fort, Gongzi Liao Fort, Keelung Fort Commander's Official Residence, Nuannuan Ande Temple, Pengjia Lighthouse, Uhrshawan Battery and Xian Dong Yan.

Transportation

Keelung Station
Port of Keelung

Rail

Water

Taiwan's second largest port, the Port of Keelung, is located in the city. The port serves destinations to Matsu Islands, Xiamen and Okinawa.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Keelung is twinned with:

Notable people

Notable people from Keelung include:

See also


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