Keelung

Keelung, Taiwan


Keelung is the main port city for Taipei. It is also the second biggest port in Taiwan after Kaohsiung. The city is located on the northern part of Taiwan island, and has a population of close to half a million people, making it the sixth biggest city in Taiwan.

Keelung is where the North Coast Highway, the Northeast Coast Highway and the North-South Freeway meet. It has a harbor with deep water piers that can handle container ships. Much of the activities in Keelung is connected to the harbour directly or otherwise.

Freeway tunnel, Keelung


Keelung is believed to be originally inhabited by the Ketagalan aboriginal tribe. The Spanish arrived here in the early 17th century, and built a fort here as an outpost to Manila. Keelung was under the control of the Dutch twice, in 1642-1661 and 1663 to 1668. The Dutch took over the Spanish Fort San Salvador and renamed it Fort Noort-Hollant.

Ming loyalist Koxinga ousted the Dutch from Keelung in 1661, but they returned and reoccupied Keelung in 1663. However, as Keelung did not become profitable, the Dutch eventually pulled out in 1668.

Keelung Fortress, now a public park


The government of the Qing Dynasty then administered Keelung as a trading port. During the Sino-French War (August 1884-April 1885), it was occupied by the French. Next came Japanese occupation from 1895. Under the Japanese, Keelung Harbor was constructed. It became one of the busiest harbors in Taiwan.

Today Keelung is a developed city. Its harbor is the 7th largest container harbor in the world.

Going to Keelung

Most visitors to Keelung get there by driving or taking the freeway bus or train.

Getting Around in Keelung

The town center of Keelung is small enough for you to explore on foot. Having a car would also be a practical option if you intend to visit the sightseeing spots.

Kuan Yin Statue, Keelung

Places of Interest in Keelung

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.