The restoration of this site and buildings took the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Kaohsiung City Government three years to complete. The much awaited opening takes place on November 12, 2013. Pay a visit, and it will bring you back to 1879. You may tour the Consulate compound as a whole, including the consular residence (on the hill), consulate office (under the hill) and the trail that connects them. The British Consulate at Takow was the first consulate in Taiwan. After a lapse of a century, it is now restored as the British Consulate at Takow, which, in addition to the office, is consist of the Consular Residence as well as the Hiking Trail. We welcome visitors to tour this unique British style historic site which will take you back to the glory days of the British Consulate in 1879.
Note:
The British Consulate at Takow as a site is consist of the Residence (on the hill), the Consulate Office (under the hill) and the connecting trail path. They were designed and the construction supervised by the British Royal Engineers, and were completed in 1879.
◎The British Consular Residence at Takow
The British Consular Residence at Takow was built on the hill of Shaochuantou. This stand-alone red-brick building with wooden veranda was used as a venue for receiving diplomatic envoys and guests, as well as being the consul's residence. In 1900, it was reconstructed with an arched veranda. During the Japanese colonial period, it was converted into the Kaohsiung Marine Observatory. In the early period after the National Government took over Taiwan, it was converted again as a meteorological observatory. In 1977, Typhoon Thelma devastated the building. In 1985, a restoration project was initiated. In 1987, it was publicly proclaimed a historic site. In 2004, the Bureau of Cultural Affairs repurposed and reutilized this historic site, and it became a famous cultural tourist attraction in Kaohsiung City.
◎The British Consulate Hiking Trail
The rustic British Consulate Hiking Trail stairs were built in 1879 to connect the British Consular Residence on the hill and the Consulate Office at the foot of the hill. The approximately 200-meter-long path, stretching out to Shaochuantou Coast, was built with granite, coral stone and red brick. In 2005, it was publicly proclaimed a municipal historic site.
◎The office of the British Consulate at Takow
Situated on the coast at Shaochuantou, the office of the Consulate faces the port, and is next to the customs to provide easy access for consular affairs and commercial trade. A gaol (jail) and a constabulary room were also provided for the consulate. During the Japanese colonial period it was converted to Kaohsiung Aquatic Research Station, and was engaged in canning research, development and manufacturing. Meanwhile, the building underwent extensive reconstruction. In 1941, the Kaohsiung Branch of the Aquatic Research Station was officially set up. After the national government came to Taiwan, it renamed it as the Kaohsiung Branch of Taiwan Provincial Fisheries Research Institute, where aquatic product research continued. In 1976, it was utilized as an official dormitory, and later it fell into an idle state. In 2005, it was publicly proclaimed a municipal historic site.