Tamsui Cultural Park - Shell Warehouse Introduction
Tamsui MRT Station area was formerly known as "Nose Point." After the opening of Tamsui Port, Western-style buildings and trading houses flourished. In addition to the five major trading houses—Pao Shun, Tak Kee, Sui Luk, Ho Kee, and Ng Kee—Jia Shi trading company was also among them. The oil storage warehouse and oil tanks of the Shell company, located at 22 Bito Street, were originally the "British Jia Shi trading company warehouse," and are now used by the Tamsui Cultural Foundation and Tamsui Community College. In the first year of the Tongzhi era (1862), the Tamsui Customs officially opened for business, and Tamsui Port quickly became the largest port in northern Taiwan, accounting for more than 60% of Taiwan's total trade, with tea, coal, and camphor being the main exports. The most famous are the residence of the British Pao Shun trading house and the Shell company’s oil tank warehouse. A century later, most trading houses and warehouses have disappeared, but the Shell warehouse was preserved due to property disputes and has been listed as a historical monument through the efforts to protect the Tamsui riverfront landscape, becoming an important testament to the golden age of Tamsui's commercial port. It is now a designated historical site by the New Taipei City government. The former British Jia Shi trading company warehouse (Tamsui Shell warehouse) boasts four large warehouses, three small buildings, and oil tank ruins, covering about 4,000 ping in land area. It bears witness to significant historical moments such as the opening of Tamsui Port, Japanese rule over Taiwan, and the American bombing of Taiwan during World War II. It is one of the few remaining trading house warehouses in northern Taiwan and one of the few industrial heritage sites in Taiwan.
