Shimen District (), also known as Sekimon, is a sparsely populated rural

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the northern part of

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, be ...

in northern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is part of the

North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area The North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area () (abbreviated as North Guan) is a national scenic area in Taiwan. When the scenic area was first established on October 17, 2002, it covered a total area of and was mainly composed of the ...

and includes Taiwan's northernmost point,

Cape Fugui Cape Fugui, Cape Fukwei, Fukwei Chiao, Fuguei Cape, or . is a cape located at the northernmost point of the island of Taiwan. It is located in within the Shimen District in New Taipei City. Name ''Fùguì'' is the pinyin romanization of the ...

History

While known to earlier explorers, including the Dutch, the area was first explicitly mentioned in Chinese annals in 1694 as ''Shimenshan'' (). During the period of Imperial Japanese rule, Shimen was called ''Sekimon'' Village , and was governed under Tansui District of

Taihoku Prefecture Taihoku Prefecture (台北州; ''Taihoku-shū'') was an administrative division of Taiwan created in 1920, during Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Yilan County. Its government office, ...

. In 1945 when the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

took over administration of Taiwan the area became Shimen Rural Township, a part of Taipei County. With the reorganization of Taipei County in 2010, Shimen became a

of the newly created

Geography

The interior of Shimen is predominantly mountainous, with small areas of flat land on the coast. The district is bordered to the north by the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

, to the southwest by

Sanzhi District Sanzhi District () is a rural district in northern New Taipei, Taiwan. It is notable as the hometown of the former president Lee Teng-hui. History During the period of Japanese rule, , and was governed under of Taihoku Prefecture. Administrat ...

, and to the southeast by Jinshan District.

Administration

Shimen is part of

, a

special municipality Special municipality may refer to: * Special municipality (Netherlands) There are twelve provinces of the Netherlands (), representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local municipalities, with responsibility fo ...

under the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

government. The district itself is divided into nine villages: Shanxi (), Shimen (), Laomei (), Jianlu (), Maolin (), Caoli (), Qianhua/Cianhua (), Fuji (), and Demao ().

Economy

Tourism is a major contributor to the economy of Shimen, which also produces a number of agricultural goods including mandarins, peanuts, and tea.

Education

Shimen has one junior high school, Shimen Junior High, and three elementary schools; Shimen, Laomei and Qianhua.

Tourist attractions

Historical buildings

The

Fuguijiao Lighthouse The Fuguijiao or Cape Fugui Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Cape Fugui near Laomei Village in Shimen District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Name The lighthouse is named after nearby Cape Fugui, the northernmost point of Taiwan Island, Taiwan. Its ...

is located at

Nature

Shimen is home to

Baisha Bay The Baisha Bay () is a beach along the North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area in Shimen District, New Taipei, Taiwan. History The bay area originated around 800,000 years ago where the rocky promontories were created as the result of ...

Festivals

Shimen has also been home to an annual kite festival since the year 2000, drawing competitors from around the world.

Others

Fuji Fishing Port The Fuji Fishing Port () is a fishing port in Shimen District, New Taipei, Taiwan. History The port used to be a small unknown fishing port in the region. In 1995, the Fuji Fish Outlet Center was established by Jinshan Fishermen's Association w ...

Temple of the Eighteen Lords Temple of the Eighteen Lords ( zh, t=乾華十八王公廟, p=Gānhuá Shíbāwáng Gōngmiào) is a ''yin miao'' (temple for deceased people) located in Ganhua Village, Shimen District, New Taipei, Taiwan. Located on Provincial Highway 2 beside ...

Infrastructure

Shimen is the site location for Taiwan's first

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator, generato ...

, the

Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant The Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant or Chin Shan Nuclear Power Plant (金山核能發電廠), First Nuclear Power Plant (第一核能發電廠 or 核一), is a nuclear power plant being definitely shutdown in Shimen District, New Taipei, Taiwan. Comm ...

Transportation

The main road route through the district is the Provincial Highway 2. It is also served by a number of other county-level roads. There is no rail transportation in the district.

References

{{Districts in Taiwan Districts of New Taipei