Keelung
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 City Flag |
 City Seal |
| Abbreviation | Keelung 基隆 |
| Nickname | The Rainy Port 雨港 |
| Capital | Jhongjheng, Keelung |
| Region | Northern Taiwan |
| Acting Mayor | Chen, Chong-Guang |
| Area | 132.758 km² (Ranked 21 of 25) |
| Population (April 2006) | |
| - Population | 391,215 (Ranked 18 of 25) |
| - Density | 2,947 /km² |
| Districts | 7 |
| Website | English Trad. Chinese |
| Symbols | |
| - Bird | Eagle |
| - Flower | Common crepe myrtle |
| - Tree | Formosan Sweet-gum |
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Keelung City (Traditional Chinese: 基隆; Hanyu Pinyin: Jīlóng; Tongyong Pinyin: Jilóng; Wade-Giles: Chi-lung; POJ: Ke-lâng) 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" (雨港). It is administered as a provincial city of Taiwan Province and is considered part of the Taipei-Keelung metropolitan area.
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[edit] History
Keelung was first inhabited by the Ketagalan, a tribe of Taiwanese aborigine.
"Keelung" used to be written in the homophonous characters meaning "Rooster Cage" (雞籠), named after a local mountain of such a shape. Another theory suggests that the characters were transcription of a Ketagalan placename. The characters were changed in 1875 (Qing Dynasty) to mean "The Base that Prospers". The spelling "Keelung" does not belong to any standard romanization system.
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.
In 1863, the Qing Empire opened up Keelung as a trading port.
From 1 October 1884 to July 1885, the French occupied Keelung (from 29 March 1885 the Pescadores too); the military governor was Admiral Amédée Courbet (b. 1827 - d. 1885).
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.
[edit] Administration
Keelung administers seven districts:
| Hanzi | Tongyong | Pinyin | Wade-Giles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 中正 | Jhongjheng | Zhōngzhèng | Chung-cheng |
| 中山 | Jhongshan | Zhōngshān | Chung-shan |
| 仁愛 | Ren-ai | Rén'ài | Jen-ai |
| 信義 | Sinyi | Xìnyì | Hsin-yi |
| 安樂 | Anle | Ānlè | An-le |
| 暖暖 | Nuannuan | Nuǎnnuǎn | Nuan-nuan |
| 七堵 | Cidu | Qīdǔ | Ch'i-tu |
[edit] Population growth
- 700 households (1840)
- 9,500 (1897)
- 58,000 (1924)
- 100,000 (1943)
- 92,000 (1944): decrease due to Allied air bombings
- 130,000 (1948): 28,000 Mainlander influx
- 330,000 (1971)
- 347,828 (late 1990s)
[edit] Sister cities
Campbell, California, USA- Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
- Rosemead, California, USA
- Yakima, Washington, USA
Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
[edit] See also
- Taipei County
- Taipei City (capital of Republic of China, Municipality)
- Kaohsiung City (the second largest city in Taiwan, Municipality)
- List of cities in the Republic of China (Taiwan)
- Political divisions of the Republic of China
[edit] Sources and external links
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Learning resources from Wikiversity |
- Keelung travel guide from Wikitravel
- Keelung City Government Official Wesite
- Keelung Harbor Bureau Official Wesite
- WorldStatesmen.org - Taiwan
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