Tamsui Cultural Park - Shell Warehouse Introduction
The area around Tamsui MRT Station was formerly known as "Bizi Head." After the opening of Tamsui Port, foreign buildings and businesses flourished. In addition to the five major foreign trading houses—Baoshun, Deji, Shui Lu, Heji, and Yiji—Jia Shi Trading Company was also among them. The oil storage warehouse and oil tanks of Shell, located at 22 Bi Tou 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, and Tamsui Port quickly became the largest port in northern Taiwan, accounting for over 60% of Taiwan's trade volume, with tea, coal, and camphor as the main exports. The most notable structures are the residences of the British Baoshun Trading Company and the Shell Company's oil tank warehouse. A century later, most of the trading houses and warehouses have disappeared, but the Shell warehouse remains due to property disputes. Furthermore, under the action to protect the Tamsui River waterfront landscape, it has been proposed for recognition as a historical monument, becoming an important artifact of the golden age of Tamsui's trade. It is now a designated historical site by New Taipei City. The former British Jia Shi Trading Company Warehouse (Tamsui Shell Warehouse) has four large warehouses, three small buildings, and the remains of oil tanks, covering nearly 4,000 ping of land. It witnesses significant historical moments such as the opening of Tamsui Port, Japan's rule over Taiwan, and the bombing of Taiwan by the US military during World War II. It is one of the few remaining trading houses' warehouses in northern Taiwan and one of the rare industrial heritage sites in Taiwan.
