Keelung City Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Keelung

基隆市

City

Top: A panoramic view of downtown Keelung and Keelung Port

Second left: Main gate of Chung Cheng Park
Second right: Start of Sun Yat-sen Freeway
Third left: Northern coast of Keelung
Third right: Keelung Port
Bottom left: A pencil squid (Loliginidae)-style windmill in downtown

Bottom right: Keelung Island

Flag

Seal

Nickname(s):

The Rainy Port (雨港)

Country

Taiwan (Republic of China)

Region

Northern Taiwan

Districts

City seat

Zhongzheng District

Area

• Total

132.7589 km² (51.2585 sq mi)

Area rank

18 of 22

Population

(2016)

• Total

371,878

• Rank

16 of 22

• Density

2,801.153/km² (7,254.953/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC+8 (National Standard Time)

Postal code

200-206

Area code(s)

(0)32

- Bird

Eagle

- Flower

Common crepe myrtle

- Tree

Formosan Sweet-gum

English

Keelung/KLC

Chinese

基隆/基市

Keelung City is a provincial city of Taiwan, Republic of China. Located in the northeastern of the island and bordering Taipei County, it is Taiwan's second largest seaport (after Kaohsiung). Keelung is nicknamed "The Rainy Port". It is administered as a provincial city of Taiwan Province and is considered part of the Taipei-Keelung metropolitan area. The city developed quickly and by 1984, the harbor was the 7th largest container harbor in the world.

History
Festivals
Images for kids
See also

History

Keelung Port Croquis 1894

Keelung was first inhabited by the Ketagalan, a tribe of Taiwanese aborigine.

"Keelung" used to be written in the homophonous characters meaning "Rooster Cage", named after a local mountain of such a shape. The characters were changed in 1875 (Qing Dynasty) to mean "The Base that Prospers".

From 1642 to 1661 and 1663-1668 Keelung was under Dutch control. The Dutch East India Company attacked the Spanish (who came to Keelung a few years before) and after a short successful siege took over their Fort San Salvador at Santissima Trinidad. They reduced its size and renamed it Fort Noort-Holland. The Dutch had three more minor fortifications in Keelung and also a little school and a preacher.

When Ming Dynasty loyalist Koxinga (Cheng Ch'en-Kung) successfully attacked the Dutch in the South of Taiwan, 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 China through Keelung was not what they hoped it would be and in 1668 they left voluntarily.

Keelung City official mascot statue in Baifu Park

In 1863, the Qing Empire opened up Keelung as a trading port. From 1 October 1884 to July 1885, the French occupied Keelung.

A systematic city development started during the Japanese Era, after the 8 May 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, which handed all Taiwan over to Japan, in force.

Keelung became a town in Keelung District, Taipei Prefecture in 1920 and was upgraded to a city of Taipei Prefecture in 1924. Coal mining peaked in 1968.

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 rivaling clans, which claimed many lives before mediators stepped in. The Ghost Festival of Keelung City is a reflection of Taiwan's rich cultural history that is very much alive today.