Directory_and_Chronicle_1909 — Page 763

TAMSUI AND KELUNG

The port of Tamsui lies in lat. 25 deg. 10 min. N., and long. 101 deg. 26 min. E. on the north-western side of the fertile island of Formosa. The harbour, like all others in Formosa, has a troublesome bar, which greatly retards the growth of the port. Dredging would do much to render it more accessible. The town, called Hobé, is situated on the north side of the river, about two miles from the bar. In October, 1884, the French ships under Admiral Courbet bombarded Tamsui, but were unable to take the place. The Japanese took possession on the 7th June, 1895. Tea grows on the hills in the locality, and the average value of the export is about five million yen.

The port of Kelung lies to the north-east of Tamsui, in latitude 25 deg. 6 min. N. and longitude 121 deg. 47 min. E. It is situated on the shores of a bay between the capes of Foki and Peton, some twenty miles apart, amidst bold and striking scenery, backed by a range of mountains. It was once a Spanish Settlement, but was subsequently captured and held by the Dutch until they in turn gave place to the Chinese under Koxuga, formerly a pirate chief who caused himself to be proclaimed King of Formosa. Though a mere village, it has long carried on a considerable native trade with Amoy Chin-chew, and Foochow. Its staple product used to be coal, but the quantity at present produced is largely absorbed by local requirements. Kelung was opened to foreign trade at the same time as the other Formosan ports. The limits of the port are defined to be within a straight line drawn from Image Point to Bush Island. On the 5th August, 1884, the port was bombarded by the French under Admiral Léspes, when the forts above the town were reduced to ruins, and the place captured. It was then garrisoned by the French, who held it until after the Treaty of Peace had been signed at Tientsin in June, 1885. The place was occupied by the Japanese on the 3rd June, 1895.

At Kelung a long delayed harbour improvement scheme has been commenced, the estimated total cost of the undertaking being Yen 6,500,000. The widening and deepening of the fairway for steamers in the inner harbour has been completed. The steamer anchorage in this harbour now has a uniform depth of at least 30 feet and the harbour has been widened to 480 feet in its narrowest part. Good progress is being made with the construction of a breakwater. A slipway is at Kelung for vessels of 400 tons, but a project is on foot to enlarge it to accommodate vessels up to 1,000 tons. Designs for another slipway are under consideration by the naval authorities. During 1900 a lighthouse was completed on Pak-sa Point, a low headland on the west coast, some 20 miles south-west of Tamsui, and one is being erected on Agincourt Island. A pier has been built in conjunction with the railway, alongside which most steamers are now berthed. The depth of water alongside of same is 25 feet at low tide.

The railway line between Tamsui and Daitotei (Twatutia) was opened on August, 25th, 1901, and has been of great benefit to the people of the district. The actual cost of construction was insignificant, the line having been laid upon a practically level sur- face for nearly the whole of its route. Kelung is the northern terminus of the trans- Formosan government railway; the total length of this line to Takow, on the south- west coast, is 251 miles. The capital, called by the Chinese Taipeh, is now under the Japanese nomenclature, called Taihoku. Twatutia will be found in the Japanese postal guide as Daitotei. It is here, on the outskirts of Taihoku, and on the Tamsui River which flows past Daitotei, that the foreign merchants have their residential and business quarters. At the mouth of the Tamsui River lies the town of Hobé, in Japanese Kobi, but now most usually called Tamsui to avoid confusion with Kobe in Japan proper. The population of Daitotei at the last census (1905) was 53,766 and of Kelung 20,647.