The Port of Keelung is a major seaport city on the north shores of Taiwan. It is part of the Taipei-Keelung metropolitan area and Taiwan's second biggest port. The Port of Keelung's harbor is naturally an excellent one, free of silt and surrounded by mountains. Located just over 37 kilometers east of Taipei, the Port of Keelung is some 473 nautical miles northeast of Hong Kong. It is Taipei's principal seaport.

The Port of Keelung was expanded during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, and it has continued to prosper under the Chinese Nationalist government. It has several ship-building yards and busy fertilizer and cement industries. The Japanese used the Port of Keelung primarily to export raw materials to Japan. Today, the Port of Keelung is Taipei's major importing center, and it has become an important international port. It is also a large fishing port with fish canning and freezing plants. In 2008, over 390 thousand people lived in the Port of Keelung.

The name of the Port of Keelung (or Chi-lung) apparently derives from "Ketangalan," the tribe of indigenous peoples who lived here in the 17th Century. In 1626, Spain occupied the site, building a fort on the island at the harbor's mouth. The Dutch occupied the Port of Keelung from 1642 to 1661 and from 1663 to 1668, but because trade with China was not great, they left Keelung voluntarily.

China incorporated Taiwan into the province of Fukien in 1638, stimulating settlement. In 1863, the Qing Empire opened the Port of Keelung as a port for trade. Many Chinese settled in the Port of Keelung area, and a small town had grown up there by the late 18th Century.

By 1840, the Port of Keelung was a small port welcoming foreign vessels. In 1860, Keelung was made a treaty port and opened to foreign trade. The Qing dynasty tried unsuccessfully to fortify the old Spanish fort. For two years during the Sino-French War, French troops used the fort at the Port of Keelung.

The Japanese occupied the Port of Keelung from 1895 to 1945, developing a modern city. Not only did foreign trade vessels come to the Port of Keelung when Taipei's harbor silted over, but a railway system further increased the Port of Keelung's dominance in northern Taiwan. While there, the Japanese filled in parts of the bay, creating a commercial center and limited industry. With plentiful coal and hydroelectric power, the Port of Keelung has continued to thrive since 1945.

The Keelung Harbor Bureau is responsible for the operations of the Port of Keelung. In 2008, the Port of Keelung welcomed 8053 vessels carrying almost 91.3 million tons of cargo that included over two million TEUs of containerized cargo. The Port of Keelung offers over 9.9 kilometers of quays ranging from 3.0 to 14.5 meters deep and berthing capacity for 717 thousand tons.

The Port of Keelung's operational wharf has over 7.8 kilometers of quays with depths from 3 to 14.5 meters and berthing capacity for 672.5 thousand tons.

The West Coast Area of the Operational Wharf in the Port of Keelung has almost 5.4 kilometers of quays with depths from 3 to 14.5 meters. It contains over one kilometer of quays devoted to general cargo with berths ranging from 106 meters in length with alongside depth of 9 meters to 204 meters in length with alongside depth of 9 meters. Of these seven Port of Keelung quays, all have a depth of nine meters except Berth 29 which is 178 meters long with alongside depths from 4.5 to 6.5 meters.

The Port of Keelung's Operational Wharf, West Coast Area, has ten container berths totaling almost 2.5 kilometers in length with alongside depths from 10 to 13 meters. Berths range from 156.5 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters (Berth 16) to 403.9 meters long with alongside depth of 13 meters (Berth 18).

The West Coast Area of the Operational Wharf at the Port of Keelung has three berths for bulk cargoes, two of which are 165 meters long and one at 180 meters long. They have alongside depths of 10.5 and 11 meters. The Port of Keelung's Operational Wharf also has two berths for oil. Berth 33 is 210 meters long with alongside depth of 11.5 meters, and Berth 33B is 95.8 meters long with alongside depth of 6.5 meters.

Berth 27 at the Port of Keelung's Operational Wharf, West Coast Area, handles sand and gravel. It is 150 meters long with alongside depth of 7 meters. Berth 12B, at 251 meters long with alongside depths from 3 to 9 meters, handles cement. Handling both passengers and cargo, Berth 2 in the Port of Keelung is 204.5 meters long with alongside depth of 9 meters.

The East Coast Area of the Port of Keelung's Operational Wharf has a total of over 2.5 kilometers of berths with depths from 3 to 13 meters. Six of those berths handle general cargo and total over one kilometer in length. These Port of Keelung berths range from 120 meters in length with alongside depth of six meters to 223.6 meters in length with alongside depth of 9 meters. Four of the six berths have alongside depth of 9 meters, while Berth 20 has alongside depth of 6 meters, and Berth 17 has depths from 3 to 8 meters.

The Port of Keelung's East Coast Area of the Operational Wharf has four container berths totaling 860 meters in length, all with alongside depths of 12 and 13 meters. Three berths have alongside depth of 12 meters and lengths of 240, 220, and 200 meters. One berth is 200 meters long with a depth of 13 meters.

Three berths at the East Coast Area of the Operational Wharf at the Port of Keelung, all with alongside depth of 9 meters, handle bulk cargoes. Two berths are 113 meters long, and one berth is 220 meters long.

The Port of Keelung's Non-Operational Wharf totals 2.1 kilometers and contains 16 berths with alongside depths from 3.5 to 9 meters used for military purposes, ship repairs, and service crafts. The Port of Keelung's Non-Operational Wharf, West Coast Area, contains almost 1.2 kilometers with ten berths that include 717 meters of berths for military use and 135 meters of use for ship repairs. The Port of Keelung's Non-Operational Wharf, East Coast Area, contains six berths totaling almost 935 meters in length. Three of those berths are dedicated to service crafts, and three are used for military and coast guard purposes.

The Port of Keelung operates more than 52.6 thousand square meters of space in 40 warehouses with effective capacity of 128.2 thousand tons. Ten operational Port of Keelung warehouses cover 20.2 thousand square meters with effective capacity for 24.2 thousand tons. The West Coast Area contains five operational warehouses covering a total of almost 12.3 thousand square meters with effective capacity for 14.7 thousand tons of cargo. The Port of Keelung's East Coast Area contains three operational warehouses covering a total of over five thousand square meters with effective capacity for 5.9 thousand tons. There are also two non-operational warehouses in the Port of Keelung covering a total of 2.9 thousand square meters with effective capacity for 3.5 thousand tons.

The Port of Keelung leases 32.4 thousand square meters of warehouses that have effective capacity for 104 thousand tons of cargo. The Port of Keelung Container Freight Station covers 7.2 thousand square meters with effective capacity for 8.7 thousand tons. Seven cement silos cover almost six thousand square meters and have capacity for a total of 63 thousand tons. Fourteen oil tanks in the Port of Keelung have capacity for 13.5 thousand tons. Other leased warehouses cover a total of 14.3 thousand square meters and offer effective capacity for 18.9 thousand tons of cargo.

The Port of Keelung has a 25 stacking yards covering a total of almost 284 thousand square meters with total effective capacity for 391.5 thousand tons of cargo. Fourteen operational stacking yards cover a total 141.9 thousand square meters and have effective capacity for 195.4 thousand tons.

The Port of Keelung's West Coast Area includes nine stacking yards covering over 122 thousand square meters with capacity for 177.5 thousand tons. These include four open yards of more than 7.7 thousand square meters and effective capacity for almost 7.0 thousand tons of cargo. One container stacking yard covers nine thousand square meters and can handle almost 9.8 thousand tons.

Three marshaling yards in the Port of Keelung cover a total of more than 105 thousand square meters and offer effective capacity for almost 161 thousand tons of cargo. The East Coast Area contains five operational stacking yards with almost 19.9 thousand square meters and capacity for 17.9 thousand tons of cargo.

The Port of Keelung leases eleven stacking yards of a total of over 142 thousand square meters of space and effective capacity for over 196 thousand tons of cargo. These include two marshaling yards of almost 91.4 thousand square meters and effective capacity for over 137 thousand tons of cargo.

The Port of Keelung is served by two auxiliary ports: the Su-ao Port and Taipei Port. Located on Su-ao Bay in northeast Taiwan, Su-ao Port is about 50 nautical miles from the Port of Keelung and is connected to the rest of the country by Taiwan's North Link railway and by the nation's highways. In 2008, Su-ao Port served 558 vessels and handled a total of over five million tons of cargo.

The Port of Keelung's Su-ao Port covers about 290 hectares, including 86 hectares of land surface. Su-ao Port contains thirteen wharves totaling 2610 meters long. Twelve of the wharves serve sea-borne commerce, and one is dedicated to working vessels. Six of the commercial wharves handle sundry goods, one handles coal, one handles petroleum, two handle cement, and two handle chemicals. The wharves vary in length from 125 to 300 meters and in depth from 7.5 to 15 meters.

Visitors to the City of Keelung will find a prosperous city, 95% of which is built on the mountains that surround the harbor and separate Chi-lung from neighboring counties. The modern Port of Keelung is an international harbor city that receives many visiting ships each year. Thousands of visitors arrive to join in the annual Mid-July Festival. In addition to delicious regional cuisine, tourists will enjoy visiting the tunnels, the fishery harbor and fish market, and the bay.

The Port of Keelung has a humid subtropical climate with short mild winters and humid summers. Typhoon season lasts from June until October. Humidity levels range from 78% in November to 82% from February through May. Temperatures range from an average high of over 32 °C (91 °F) in July to an average low of almost 14 °C (57 °F) in January and February.

Visitors interested in historic sites will want to see the historic forts that protected Chi-lung over the past few centuries, including: Gongzih Liao Fort in northeast Keelung, Dawulun Fort on the west side of Keelung Harbor, Ershawan Fort (also Haimen Tiansian) atop Ershawan Mountain, Baimiwong Fort on the northwest Keelung harbor, and Shihciouling Fort, the highest and strongest fort in the Port of Keelung.

The Port of Keelung also offers beautiful natural treats for visitors. Keelung Islet was formed by a volcano. Guanghua Tower, a transformed lighthouse, opened in 1967 to offer a charming dining and meeting center. In February and March, it also offers views of the Chinese crested tern flocks that gather there. Hoping (or She-liao) Island is the gateway to the harbor and the home to the native Kaitaglan tribe. Today, the Island contains a seashore park along its coast.

Waimu Shan Seashore stretches five kilometers from the Fishery Harbor to Aoditong Village, and visitors can swim and scuba dive here. Lovers Lake Park, on the side of Mount Dawulun in western Keelung, is a densely-wooded highland area with a beautiful lake. Close to the harbor, Jhongjheng Park is famous for its scenery.

Travelers who want to visit the Port of Keelung by sea can find a list of scheduled cruises on the Cruise Compete website.