Keelung

Coordinates: 25°08′N 121°44′E / 25.133°N 121.733°E / 25.133; 121.733
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Jilong" redirects here. For other uses, see Jilong (disambiguation).
For the city located in Victoria, Australia, see Geelong.
Keelung
基隆市
Kīrun, Ke-lung, Chilung
City
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
Sweet-gum
EnglishKeelung/KLC
Chinese基隆/基市
Websitewww.klcg.gov.tw/en/Default/Index Edit this at Wikidata
Keelung City
Chinese name
Hanyu Pinyin
Jīlóng Shì
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinggaai1 lung4 si5
IPA[kaːi˥ loŋ˩ siː˩˧]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJKe-lâng-chhī/Koe-lâng-chhī
Japanese nameKanji基隆市KanaキールンしHiraganaきーるんしKatakanaキールンシ
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 (/kiːˈlʊŋ/ kee-LUUNG;[3] Taiwanese: Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong (/dʒiːˈlʊŋ/ jee-LUUNG;[3] 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

Keelung Campaign in the Sino-French War between the Qing and the French Third Republic.[4] 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

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).[5] By the early 20th century, the city was known to the Western world as Kelung,[6] as well as the variants Kiloung, Kilang and Keelung.[7] 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.[8]

However, the Taiwanese people have long called the city Kelang (

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').[10] 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[11]).

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).[12][13]

History

Map of Keelung in 1856

Early history

Keelung was first inhabited by the

Santissima Trinidad. They reduced its size and renamed it Fort Noort-Hollant.[17]
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.[18]

Qing dynasty

First Opium War

Main articles: First Opium War and Nerbudda incident

Given the strategic and commercial value of Taiwan, there were British suggestions in 1840 and 1841 to seize the island.[19][20] 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.[19]

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.[21] 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".[10]

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.[22]

Sino-French War

Main articles:
Keelung Campaign
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.[23]

Keelung was governed as Kīrun town (基隆街), Kīrun District, Taihoku Prefecture in 1920 and was upgraded to a city in 1924.[23] 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.[23]

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.[24] 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.[25] Keelung also administers the nearby Keelung Islet as well as the more distant and strategically important Pengjia Islet, Mianhua Islet and Huaping Islet.[26][27]

Climate

Keelung has a

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[29][30][31][32][33]

Administration

Main article: Keelung City Government
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:[1]

Map Name Chinese Taiwanese Hakka Population (October 2023) Area (km²)
Zhongzheng 中正區 Tiong-chèng Tsûng-tsang 50,693 10.2118
Zhongshan 中山區 Tiong-san Tsûng-sân 45,523 10.5238
Ren-ai[1][34] 仁愛區 Jîn-ài Yìn-oi 41,159 4.2335
Xinyi (Sinyi) 信義區 Sìn-gī Sin-ngi 53,399 10.6706
Anle 安樂區 An-lo̍k Ôn-lo̍k 80,452 18.0250
Nuannuan 暖暖區 Loán-loán Nôn-nôn 38,455 22.8283
Qidu 七堵區 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.[35]

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[36]

Population growth

Year Population Notes
1840
700 households
1897
9,500
1904
17,710
 Ranked 6th[37]
1924
58,000
1943
100,000
1944
92,000
 Decrease due to
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.[38]

Regional origins

By 2021, there was a group of people who originated from the Matsu Islands.[39]

Economy

Coal mining peaked in 1968. The city developed quickly and by 1984, the harbor was the 7th largest container harbor in the world.[24]

  • Keelung Port Croquis (in 1894)
    Keelung Port Croquis (in 1894)
  • Keelung Landmark
    Keelung Landmark
  • Keelung City and Harbor, between 1860 and 1880
    Keelung City and Harbor, between 1860 and 1880
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

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

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

Main article:
List of twin towns and sister cities in Taiwan (Republic of China)

Twin towns – Sister cities

Keelung is

twinned
with:

Notable people

Notable people from Keelung include:

See also

  • Asteroid
    237164 Keelung
    named for the city in 2018
  • List of cities in the Republic of China (Taiwan)
  • Administrative divisions of the Republic of China

References

  1. ^ a b c "Geography". Keelung City Government. Retrieved 3 April 2019. Keelung City is divided into seven districts, which are Zhongzheng District, Xinyi District, Ren-ai District, Zhongshan District, Anle District, Nuannuan District and Qidu District.{...}Ren-ai District is the smallest one.{...}Ren-ai District{...}
  2. ^ 人口統計. www.klcg.gov.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Jilong". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
  4. ^ "Exhuming French history in Taiwan - Taipei Times". 15 November 2001.
  5. OCLC 644323041
    .
  6. OL 6905314M. Archived
    from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  7. ^ Davidson (1903), Index p.20.
  8. ^ Davidson (1903), p. iii.
  9. ^ "Welcome to Keelung City: The Beginning". Keelung City Government. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  10. ^ a b "Ching Dynasty". Keelung City Government. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  11. OL 18847607M. Archived
    from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  12. OCLC 25747241
    .
  13. ^ "Entry #35351 (基隆市)". 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan]. (in Chinese and Hokkien). Ministry of Education, R.O.C. 2011.
  14. ^ Altares, Guillermo (12 November 2016). "Una excavación aporta una nueva visión de la colonización de Asia". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  15. ^ Convicts or Conquistadores? Spanish Soldiers in the Seventeenth-Century Pacific By Stephanie J. Mawson AGI, México, leg. 25, núm. 62; AGI, Filipinas, leg. 8, ramo 3, núm. 50; leg. 10, ramo 1, núm. 6; leg. 22, ramo 1, núm. 1, fos. 408 r −428 v ; núm. 21; leg. 32, núm. 30; leg. 285, núm. 1, fos. 30 r −41 v .
  16. OCLC 613665518
    .
  17. ^ a b "Ming Dynasty and Cheng Cheng kung's Era". Keelung City Government. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  18. ISBN 9780804720663
    .
  19. ^
    ISBN 978-1-317-46517-1. Archived
    from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  20. ISBN 978-0-7391-1869-6. Archived
    from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  21. ^ Davidson (1903), p. 211.
  22. doi:10.3319/TAO.2016.03.18.01(TEM)
    .
  23. ^ a b c "Japanese Occupation". Keelung City Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  24. ^ a b "The Republic of China". Keelung City Government. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  25. ^ "Introduction". Keelung City Government. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  26. ^ "Beautiful Scenery". Keelung City Government. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2019. Keelung Islet {...} Pinnacle (Huaping Islet) {...} Pengjia Islet (Agincourt) {...} Mianhua Islet (Crag){...}
  27. ^ "Pengjia Islet gets rare attention from Ma's visit". GlobalSecurity.org. 7 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019. The normally obscure outcrop, which falls administratively under Keelung City, is one of three islets off of Taiwan's northern coast – the others are Mianhua Islet and Huaping Islet – considered to be of strategic importance to the country.
  28. OL 6931635M. Archived
    from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  29. Central Weather Bureau. Archived
    from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  30. ^ "氣象站各月份最高氣溫統計" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  31. ^ "氣象站各月份最高氣溫統計(續)" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  32. ^ "氣象站各月份最低氣溫統計" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  33. ^ "氣象站各月份最低氣溫統計(續)" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Ren-ai District Office, Keelung City". Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  35. ^ "2016 the 14th Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and the 9th Legislator Election". Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  36. ^ "歷年底各縣市人口數 Resident Population during Year". Ministry of the Interior (Taiwan). Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  37. OL 6986981M
    .
  38. ^ "Keelung: Mid-summer ghost festival". Taiwan Tourism. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  39. ^ Lin, Sheng-Chang (13 September 2021). "At the Edge of State Control: The Creation of the "Matsu Islands"". Taiwan Insight. University of Nottingham Taiwan Studies Programme. Retrieved 21 May 2023.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Keelung.
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