Tamsui Cultural Park - Shell Warehouse Introduction
The area around Tamsui MRT Station was formerly known as "Bizi Head." After the opening of Tamsui Port,洋樓 and洋行 flourished, with five major洋行—Bao Shun, De Ji, Shui Lu, He Ji, and Yi Ji—alongside Jia Shi Trading Company. The Shell oil storage facility and tanks located at what is now No. 22 Bizi Head Street were once 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 Tongzhi (1862), the Tamsui Customs officially opened, and Tamsui Port quickly became the largest port in northern Taiwan, accounting for over 60% of the island's trade, with tea, coal, and camphor as major exports. The most notable structures include the residence of the British Bao Shun Trading Company and the Shell oil storage tanks warehouse. A century later, most洋行 and warehouses have disappeared, but the Shell warehouse remained due to ownership disputes and, under the efforts to protect the scenery along Tamsui River, was designated as a historical monument, becoming an important testament to the golden age of Tamsui's commercial activities. It is now a municipal historical site. The former British Jia Shi Trading Company warehouse (Tamsui Shell Warehouse), recognized as a municipal historical site in New Taipei City, includes four large warehouses, three smaller structures, and the site of the oil tanks, covering an area of nearly 4,000 ping. It bears witness to important historical moments such as the opening of Tamsui Port, Japanese rule in Taiwan, and the U.S. bombing of Taiwan during World War II. It is one of the few remaining洋行 warehouses in northern Taiwan and one of Taiwan's rare industrial heritage sites.
