Keelung ( ; zh, p=Jīlóng, c=基隆, poj=Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong ( ; ), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in northeastern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. The city is part of the

Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area () also commonly known as Greater Taipei Area () is the largest metropolitan area in Taiwan. It is composed of 3 administrative divisions: Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung. The region encompasses an ar ...

with neighboring

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

and

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. Nicknamed the ''Rainy Port'' for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

(after

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

), and was the world's 7th largest port in 1984. In 1626, the Spanish established Fort San Salvador at present-day Keelung, an area inhabited by

Taiwanese indigenous peoples Taiwanese indigenous peoples, formerly called Taiwanese aborigines, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 600,303 or 3% of the Geography of Taiwan, island's population. This total is incr ...

. Control of the area eventually passed to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. Fighting between China and Europeans around Keelung occurred in the 19th century during the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

and the

Sino-French War The Sino-French or Franco-Chinese War, also known as the Tonkin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885 between the French Third Republic and Qing China for influence in Vietnam. There was no declaration of war. The C ...

. The island of Taiwan was ceded to the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

in 1895 after the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

; under Japanese rule the city was called Kirun. Keelung became part of

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...

under the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

after 1945. Administratively, the city became a first-level subdivision in 2018 after the provincial government was abolished.

Name

According to early Chinese accounts, this northern coastal area was originally called ''Pak-kang'' ( zh, t=北港, poj=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 The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logographic characters borrowed from Ch ...

. However, the Taiwanese people have long called the city ''Kelang'' ( zh, poj=Ke-lâng/Koe-lâng, t=雞籠, l="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 Ketagalan or Ketangalan () are a Taiwanese aboriginal people originating in what is now the Taipei Basin. Their language has now become extinct. On 21 March 1996, the road in front of the Presidential Office Building was renamed from "Long ...

were the first inhabitants, and early Han settlers probably approximated "Ketagalan" with ''Ke-lâng'' ( Ketagalan: ke-, "domain marker prefix" + Taiwanese

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

zh, poj=lâng, t=儂／人, l=person, labels=no), the noun root being replaced with the common

Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien ( , ), or simply Taiwanese, also known as Taigi ( zh, c=臺語, tl=Tâi-gí), Taiwanese Southern Min ( zh, c=臺灣閩南語, tl=Tâi-uân Bân-lâm-gí), Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively ...

term for people, while the domain marker

circumfix A circumfix ( abbr: ) (also parafix, confix, or ambifix) is an affix which has two parts, one placed at the start of a word, and the other at the end. Circumfixes contrast with prefixes, attached to the beginnings of words; suffixes, attached a ...

" ke- -an" being reduced to just the

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed. Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...

. In 1875, during the late Qing era, a new official name was given ( zh, c=基隆, p=Jīlóng, l=base prosperous). In

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, 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 Kiirun. In

, the native language of the area, the city is called ''Ke-lâng''. In

Hanyu Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means ' Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin'' literally ...

, the most common romanization system for

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

, 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 Old Mandarin or Early Mandarin was the speech of northern China during the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty (1115–1234), Jin dynasty and the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (12th to 14th centuries). New genres of vernacular literature were based on this langu ...

History

Early history

Keelung was first inhabited by the Ketagalan, a tribe of

Taiwanese aborigine Taiwanese indigenous peoples, formerly called Taiwanese aborigines, are the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, with the nationally recognized subgroups numbering about 600,303 or 3% of the island's population. This total is increased to more than 80 ...

. The

Spanish expedition to Formosa The Spanish expedition to Formosa was a campaign mounted by the Spanish based in Manila, Philippines in 1626. It was the Spanish response to Dutch settlements being built in Formosa, now known as Taiwan. In cooperation with the Portuguese, this ...

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 Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

-based

Spanish East Indies The Spanish East Indies were the colonies of the Spanish Empire in Asia-Pacific, Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1901, governed through the Captaincy General of the Philippines, captaincy general in Manila for the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish Crown, i ...

. The

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

ruled it as a part of

Spanish Formosa Spanish Formosa () was a small colony of the Spanish Empire established in the northern tip of the island now known as Taiwan, then known to Europeans at the time as Formosa or to Spaniards as ''"Isla Hermosa"'' from 1626 to 1642. It was cede ...

. Besides the native Taiwanese aborigines, the Spanish authorities from Spanish Manila settled North Taiwan (especially Keelung and

Tamsui Tamsui District () is a seaside district in New Taipei City, Taiwan adjacent to the Tamsui River and overlooking the Taiwan Strait. The name of the district means "fresh water" in Chinese. Although modest in size (population 189,271), Tamsui ...

) with a mixture of

Sangley Sangley (English plural: ''Sangleys''; Spanish plural: ''Sangleyes'') and Mestizo de Sangley (Sangley mestizo, ''mestisong Sangley'', ''chino mestizo'' or Chinese mestizo) are archaic terms used in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial ...

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

(primarily Fujianese traders), Christian Japanese, native Filipinos (e.g.

Kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people, of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan, Capampáñgan, or Pampangan, is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. ...

Tagalogs The Tagalog people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Philippines, particularly the Metro Manila and Calabarzon regions and Marinduque province of southern Luzon, and comprise the majority in the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, N ...

, etc.) as merchants and laborers, and some Mexican Mestizos,

Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

Blacks Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ch ...

, Mexican Amerindians as soldiers and laborers and a few

Spanish Filipinos Spanish Filipino or Hispanic Filipino (Spanish: Español Filipino, Hispano Filipino, Tagalog: Kastílang Pilipino, Cebuano: Katsílà) are people of Spanish and Filipino heritage. The term may also include Filipino mestizos of Spanish ancestr ...

from

Spanish Philippines Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history ** Spanish cultur ...

and rarely

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

Criollo Spaniards from

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

(Mexico) as

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

missionaries and colonial leaders, with the

Latin Americans Latin Americans (; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-ethnic and multi-racial. Latin Americans are ...

from

(Mexico) brought over to North Taiwan from Manila through the Manila-Acapulco Galleons. From 1642 to 1661 and 1663–1668, Keelung was under

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

control. The

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

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 The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

loyalist

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), born Zheng Sen () and better known internationally by his honorific title Koxinga (, from Taiwanese: ''kok sèⁿ iâ''), was a Southern Ming general who resisted the Qing conquest of Chin ...

successfully attacked the Dutch in southern Taiwan (

Siege of Fort Zeelandia The siege of Fort Zeelandia () of 1661–1662 ended the Dutch East India Company's rule over Taiwan and began the Kingdom of Tungning's rule over the island. Prelude From 1623 to 1624, the Dutch had been at war with Ming China over the Pescad ...

), 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

During the

, the British

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

''Nerbudda'' shipwrecked near the

port of Keelung The Port of Keelung (), also known as Keelung Harbor, is located in the vicinity of Keelung City, Taiwan. It is operated by Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Taiwan's state-owned port management company. History The Port of Keelung opened ...

due to a typhoon in September 1841. Several months later, another British merchantman, the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Ann'', also shipwrecked near Keelung on March 1842. Hundreds of survivors from both ships were captured by Chinese authorities and transferred to

. Two senior Chinese officials, Dahonga and Yao Ying, filed a false report to the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing e ...

, claiming to have beaten off a British attack against Keelung. In October 1841, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

sloop HMS ''Nimrod'' sailed to Keelung to search for survivors of ''Nerbudda'', but after they found out the Chinese sent them south for imprisonment, ''Nimrod'' bombarded the city's port, destroying 27 cannon before returning to

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

. Most of the survivors—over 130 from the ''Nerbudda'' and 54 from the ''Ann''—were

summarily executed In civil and military jurisprudence, summary execution is the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. The term results from the legal concept of summary justice to punish a summary offense, a ...

by the Chinese 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 The Keelung River ( zh, c=基隆河, p=Jīlóng Hé, w=Chi1-lung2 Ho2, poj=Ke-lâng-hô) is a river in northern Taiwan. The Keelung River originates in the mountains west-northwest of the town of Jingtong in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, flo ...

. In 1875,

Taipeh Prefecture Taipeh Prefecture () was a Qing dynasty prefecture created from the northern part of Taiwan Prefecture, Qing-era Taiwan in 1875, while the island was still part of Fujian Province. It consisted of a region surrounding modern-day Taipei, includin ...

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'' ( zh, t=雞籠廳, labels=no) to ''Kilong'' ( zh, c=基隆廳, labels=no), 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

During the Sino-French War (1884–85), the French attempted an invasion of Taiwan during the Keelung Campaign.

Liu Mingchuan Liu Mingchuan () (1836–1896), courtesy name Xingsan, was a Chinese military general and politician during the late Qing dynasty. He was born in Hefei, Anhui. Liu became involved in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion at an early age, a ...

, who led the defence of Taiwan, recruited Aboriginals to serve alongside the Chinese soldiers in fighting against the French of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Jacques Duchesne General Jacques Charles René Achille Duchesne (3 March 1837 – 27 April 1918) was a 19th-century French military officer. He was born at Sens and entered Saint-Cyr in 1855, aged 18, and became a lieutenant in 1861. Career Duchesne fought in ...

's Formosa Expeditionary Corps. The French were defeated at the

Battle of Tamsui The Battle of Tamsui, Danshui, or Hobe (2–8 October 1884) was a significant war where the French military forces were defeated by the Qing Dynasty China military forces at Tamsui on Taiwan during the Keelung Campaign of the Sino-French War. ...

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 The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China or the in Japan, was signed at the hotel in Shimonoseki, Japan, on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China. It was a treaty that ended the First Sino-Japanese War, ...

, 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 District,

Taihoku Prefecture Taihoku Prefecture (臺北州; ''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 1920 and was upgraded to a city in 1924. The

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

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

in October 1945, Keelung was established as a provincial city of

. The

Keelung City Government The Keelung City Government (KLCG; ) is the municipal government of Keelung, Taiwan. Organization * Chief Secretary * Department of Civil Affairs * Department of Finance * Department of Economic Affairs * Department of Education * Department ...

worked with the Keelung 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 The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...

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 Taiwan Provincial Government is the nominal government of Taiwan Province in the Republic of China. Since 2018, its functions have been transferred to the National Development Council (Taiwan), National Development Council and other ministries ...

Geography

Keelung City is located in the northern part of Taiwan Island. It occupies an area of 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 Keelung Islet (, also , in Taiwanese Hokkien: 雞籠杙/Ke-lâng-khit) is a small island in Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan and away from the Port of Keelung. It has an area of or . It is in length, and in width including the artificial ...

as well as the more distant and strategically important

Pengjia Islet Pengjia Islet (), also known as P'eng-chia Hsü, Hōka-sho, Agincourt, Dashihshan Islet, Chaolai Islet, P'eng-chia Yü or Pengchia Islet, is an islet north of Taiwan and is administered under Zhongzheng District, Keelung City. It is under Taiwan ...

, Mianhua Islet and Huaping Islet.

Climate

Keelung has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'') with a yearly rainfall average upwards of . It has long been noted as one of the wettest and gloomiest cities in the world; the effect is related to the

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black Current or is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

. 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 Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

, 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 A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

. Fog is most serious during winter and spring, when relative humidity levels are also highest.

Administration

Chinese New Year decoration on Keelung City Hall 20070226

Zhongzheng District Zhongzheng District (also Jhongjheng District) is a District (Taiwan), district in Taipei, Taiwan. Taipei Main Station is located in the district. It is home to most of the national government buildings of Taiwan. Overview The district is n ...

is the seat of Keelung City which houses the

and

Keelung City Council The Keelung City Council or Keelung Municipal Council (KMC; ) is the elected city council of Keelung City, Republic of China. The council composes of 32 councilors lastly elected through the 2022 Republic of China local election on 26 November ...

. The current Mayor of Keelung is

George Hsieh Hsieh Kuo-liang ( zh, t=謝國樑, p=Xiè Guóliáng, w=Hsieh4 Kuo2-liang2; born 5 October 1975), also known by his English name George Hsieh, is a Taiwanese politician and media proprietor. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2005 to 2 ...

of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

Administrative divisions

Keelung has seven (7)

districts 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 ...

Politics

Keelung City is represented in the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

by Lin Pei-hsiang, or

Jonathan Lin Lin Pei-hsiang (; born 14 May 1977), also known by his English name Jonathan Lin, is a Taiwanese politician. He served on the Keelung City Council from 2018 to 2024, when he was elected to the Legislative Yuan. Early life and education Jonathan L ...

, of the Kuomintang, who was elected in 2024.

Demographics

In 2023, Keelung had a population of 362,255, a year-on-year increase of 2.02% but a decrease of 2.90% from 2014. About 70.11% were of working age (15-64 years), 9.65% were children (0-14 years), and 20.24% were above 65. The city's

dependency ratio The dependency ratio is an age-population ratio of those typically not in the labor force (the ''dependent'' part ages 0 to 14 and 65+) and those typically in the labor force (the ''productive'' part ages 15 to 64). It is used to measure the press ...

grew slightly to 42.64% while its aged-child ratio rose 13 percentage points to 209.87%. Of the 327,310 Keelung residents aged 15 and above, 45.20% had a bachelor’s degree. Household income averaged NT$1,182,233. Keelung became the “loneliest” city in Taiwan in 2024, with more than 41 percent of its households comprising one person living alone.

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

made up 3,617 of its households.

Population growth

Festivals

One of the most popular festivals in Taiwan is the mid-summer

Ghost Festival The Ghost Festival or Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism and the Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism, is a traditional festival held in certain East Asia, East and Southeast Asian countries. According to the Lunar c ...

. The Keelung Ghost Festival is among the oldest and largest in Taiwan, dating back to 1855 after bitter clashes between rival clans, which claimed many lives before mediators stepped in. A truce was negotiated and the two sides agreed to bury their dead together and to maintain communal peace through competition in folk performances. The Keelung Ghost Festival is the first

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

custom to be included in Taiwan's national cultural heritage list. Today, the festivities are organized on a rotation basis by the city's 15 major clan associations, which are formed by people sharing the same surname. The highlight of the festival comes on the evening of the 14th day of the Ghost Month. Clan associations display elaborate floats in a parade, which culminates in the release of lit water lanterns into the sea to honor the dead. The event has become a major attraction drawing visitors from home and abroad.

Economy

When Taiwan shifted from import substitution to an export-oriented economy after the Second World War, Keelung became increasingly important for foreign trade, serving as a major logistics hub in northern Taiwan and a crucial point for international shipping. As Taiwan’s trade volume rose steadily in the 1970s, transport, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other ports logistics services expanded in Keelung, as did the shipbuilding and ship maintenance industry. The city developed quickly and by 1984, the Port of Keelung became the 7th largest container port in the world. However, in the 1990s, Keelung Port’s overall throughput began to decline as a result of intense domestic and international competition and geographical constraints limiting its expansion. The port gradually opened to tourism. It attracted major cruise operators such as

Star Cruises StarCruises is a cruise line owned by the Malaysian company Resorts World Cruises. Previously it operated in the Asia-Pacific market and was owned by Genting Hong Kong. It was the 18th largest cruise line in the world after Carnival Corpora ...

Princess Cruises Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California and is incorporated in Bermuda. As of 2025, it is the List of cruise lines#List of cruise lines by size, s ...

, Royal Caribbean, and

Costa Cruises Società per Azioni, S.p.A. (), operating as Costa Cruises, is an Italian cruise line founded in 1948 and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2000. Based in Genoa, Italy, the cruise line primarily caters to ...

, positioning itself as a home port for cruise liners. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Keelung Port recorded a peak of 595 cruise calls and served 946,000 passengers. In 2017, Keelung earned the title of Asia’s best cruise home port at the Asia Cruise Forum Jeju in South Korea. At the same event five years later, Keelung won a Special Achievement Award from Jeju-based Asia Cruise Leaders Network for its post-pandemic business recovery. File:Keelung-Garnot-Kelung-1894.jpg, Keelung Port Croquis (in 1894) File:Keelung Landmark Observatory 20141213.jpg, Keelung Landmark File:Keelung City and Harbor, Looking Eastward.jpg, Keelung City and Harbor, between 1860 and 1880

Education

The Gate of National Taiwan Ocean University

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

Universities and colleges

Keelung City houses three universities and colleges, namely the

National Taiwan Ocean University National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU; ) is a national university in Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan. NTOU is a member of University System of Taipei. History NTOU was originally established as the Provincia ...

, Deh Yu College of Nursing and Health and Chungyu University of Film and Arts. About 45 percent of city residents aged 15 and above have a bachelor’s degree.

High schools

Keelung has 12 senior high schools—eight public and four private, which are attended by about 7,000 students.
National Keelung Girls' Senior High School

National Keelung Senior High School
* National Keelung Maritime Vocational High School * National Keelung Commercial & Industrial Vocational Senior High School * Er Xin Senior High School * Keelung Fu Jen Sacred Heart Senior High School * Kuang-Lung Home and Commerce Vocational High School * Pei Teh Industrial and Home Economics Vocational High School * Keelung Municipal Zhong Shan Senior High School * Keelung Municipal Anle Senior High School

Energy

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

Ports

* Badouzi Fishing Port * Bisha Fishing Port *

Port of Keelung The Port of Keelung (), also known as Keelung Harbor, is located in the vicinity of Keelung City, Taiwan. It is operated by Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Taiwan's state-owned port management company. History The Port of Keelung opened ...

Zhengbin Fishing Port The Zhengbin Fishing Port () is a fishing port located in Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan. History Built by the Japanese in 1934, the port used to be the largest fishing port in Taiwan and the main export port of Jinguashi copper mine ...

Parks

Zhongzheng Park Zhongzheng Park may refer to: * Zhongzheng Park (Keelung), in Keelung, Taiwan * Zhongzheng Park (Kinmen), in Kinmen, Taiwan * Zhongzheng Park (Daxi), in Daxi District Daxi District (), formerly known as Daxi Township (), is a district ( ...

Heping Island Park Heping Island Park () is a park in Heping Island, Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan. History Strong wind over the years had eroded the coastal area of Heping Island, forming rocks with special shapes. The park used to be under military ...

Cultural centers

Embrace Cultural and Creative Park The Embrace Cultural and Creative Park () is a multi-purpose park in Xinyi District, Keelung, Taiwan. Exhibitions * ''The Starry Night'' See also * List of tourist attractions in Taiwan Popular tourist attractions in Taiwan include the fol ...

Keelung Cultural Center The Keelung Cultural Center () is a cultural center in Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan. History The cultural center was inaugurated on 27 August 1985 as the Keelung City Cultural Center. On 1 December 2004, the ...

Keelung City Indigenous Cultural Hall The Keelung City Indigenous Cultural Hall () is a cultural center in Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan. Architecture The cultural center is housed in a 5-story building. The first floor houses an activity, while the third and fourth floors a ...

Museums

National Museum of Marine Science and Technology The National Museum of Marine Science and Technology (NMMST; zh, t=國立海洋科技博物館, s=国立海洋科技博物馆, first=t, p=Guólì Hǎiyáng Kējì Bówùguǎn) is a museum of marine science and marine technology in Zhongzheng Dis ...

YM Oceanic Culture and Art Museum The YM Oceanic Culture and Art Museum () or Yang Ming Oceanic Culture and Art Museum (OCAM) is a museum about Oceanography, oceanic culture and art in Ren-ai District, Ren'ai District, Keelung, Taiwan. History The museum building was originall ...

Historical structures

Baimiweng Fort, Dawulun Fort, Gongzi Liao Fort, Keelung Fort Commander's Official Residence, Nuannuan Ande Temple,

Pengjia Lighthouse The Pengjia Lighthouse () is a lighthouse in Pengjia Islet, Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan. History The first phase construction of the lighthouse started in 1906 and completed in 1908. It started its service on 20 September 1909. In Decem ...

, Uhrshawan Battery and Xian Dong Yan.

Night markets

Keelung Miaokou Night Market The Keelung MiaoKou Night Market, () is often referred to simply as MiaoKou (廟口) by locals, is a night market in Ren-ai District, Keelung, Taiwan. Centred around Dianji Temple (奠濟宮) on Rensan Road (仁三路), this market is one of Nort ...

Transportation

TRA Keelung Station night scene 20080803

Superstar Libra at Port of Keelung 20080803 night

Keelung is easily accessible by train, bus, and freeway. It is about a half-hour drive from Taipei via

National Freeway 1 National Freeway 1 (), also known as Sun Yat-sen Freeway (), is a turnpike in Taiwan, the first restricted controlled-access highway built in Taiwan. It begins in Keelung at the intersection of Xiao 2nd Road and Zhong 4th Road and ends in Kao ...

and 3.

Taiwan Railway Taiwan Railway (TR) is a state-owned conventional railway in Taiwan. It is operated by the Taiwan Railway Corporation under the supervision of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Republic of China), Ministry of Transportation and ...

commuter trains from

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

to the Keelung Main Station take about 40 minutes. Intercity buses serve multiple points within the city.

Rail

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight Rail transport, railway services on of track. Pa ...

Keelung Keelung ( ; zh, p=Jīlóng, c=基隆, poj=Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong ( ; ), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city in northeastern Taiwan. The city is part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area with neighboring New Ta ...

, Sankeng, Badu, Qidu, Baifu, Nuannuan **

Shen'ao line The Shen'ao line () is a 4.6 km long, single-track railway branch line of the Taiwan Railways Administration. It runs through Ruifang in New Taipei and Zhongzheng in Keelung. History The railroad was originally built on 25 August 1967. T ...

: Haikeguan, Badouzi

Water

Taiwan's second largest port, the

, is located in the city. The port serves destinations to

Matsu Islands The Matsu Islands; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤ ( or ), officially Lienchiang County; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing (), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China ...

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

and

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Keelung is twinned with: *

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

and

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

Campbell, California Campbell is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, Campbell's population is 43,959. Campbell is home to the Pruneyard Shopping Center, a sprawling open-ai ...

, U.S. *

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

, U.S. *

East London, South Africa East London (; ) is a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa, in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, Province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River ( ...

Marrickville, New South Wales Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council Local government ...

, Australia *

Miyakojima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako Island is administered as part of the City of Miyako Island, which includes not only Miyako Island, but also five other islands. Geogr ...

, Japan *

Rosemead, California Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 United States census reported a population of 51,185. Rosemead is part of a cluster of cities, along with Alhambra, Arcadia, Temple City, Monterey Park, San Marino, ...

, U.S. *

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, U.S. *

Sangju Sangju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Although Sangju is rather rural, it is very old and was once a key city. Along with Gyeongju, it gives rise to half of the name of the Gye ...

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

, South Korea *

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

, Ontario, Canada *

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, U.S.

Notable people

Notable people from Keelung include: *

Chen Ti Chen Ti (; born 3 October 1983) is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. He is part of the Chinese Taipei Davis Cup team. He competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures, both in singles and doubles. In singles, all of Chen's ...

, Taiwanese tennis player *

Zero Chou Zero Chou (; born 24 July 1969) is a Taiwanese director and screenwriter. Life and career Chou was born in Keelung, Taiwan in 1969. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy from National Chengchi University in 1992. She worked as a journalist before beco ...

, Taiwanese director *

Jiang Yi-huah Jiang Yi-huah (; born 18 November 1960) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who served as the Premier of the Republic of China from 2013 to 2014. After graduating from National Taiwan University, Jiang earned his doctorate from ...

, Premier of the Republic of China *

Show Lo Show Lo Chih-hsiang (; born July 30, 1979), is a Taiwanese singer, actor, and television host. Lo debuted as a member of Taiwanese boy group Four Heavenly Kings in 1996 after winning a singing and dancing competition. When the group disbanded ...

, Taiwanese entertainer *

Danson Tang Danson Tang () is a Taiwanese model, actor and singer. Early life Tang was born on 2 September 1984, in Keelung, Taiwan. He has an elder sister who is four years older. When Tang was fourteen, his father passed away in a work-related accident, ...

, Taiwanese Mandopop singer *

Yi Huan Yi Huan (; born 19 October 1969), occasionally credited as I-Huan, is a Taiwanese comic creator of manhua aimed at girls. She has written and illustrated many series, two of which have been licensed for publication in English. Biography Yi was ...

, Taiwanese comic creator/animator * Feng-hsuing Hsu, American-Taiwanese computer scientist * Hsie Zhen-Wu, Taiwanese TV presenter/lawyer *

Jaw Shaw-kong Jaw Shaw-kong (; born 6 May 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, media personality and entrepreneur. Jaw served a single term on the Taipei City Council before being elected to the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1991 and 1993 to 1994. In 1993, h ...

, Member of the Legislative Yuan

References

External links

* *
WorldStatesmen.org — Taiwan
* {{Authority control Port cities and towns in Taiwan Taiwan placenames originating from Formosan languages Provincial cities of Taiwan Weather extremes of Earth