Keelung for Bookworms
Tucked between misty green hills and a bustling harbor, Keelung—Taiwan’s storied “Rainy Port”—has long inspired writers. From maritime legends and ghostly folk tales to contemporary fiction and vivid travel sketches, this coastal city offers a world of stories waiting to be discovered. For story-tellers and book enthusiasts, Keelung is the perfect place to turn a rainy afternoon into a literary adventure.
For story-tellers and book enthusiasts, Keelung is the perfect place to turn a rainy afternoon into a literary adventure.
Use this blog post as a guide to find your next read about Keelung, get inspired by local authors, support independent bookstores, or join a literary event in the city.
Books About Keelung
1. Keelung for a Walk Resources
Keelung for a Walk has helped produce several works of its own that showcase various aspects of the city. These are written in Chinese and are available in both print and digital format.
- 雨都漫步：跟著雨傘人回家旅行 (“Strolling in the Rain City: Traveling Home with the Umbrella Man”)
By: Keelung for a Walk (2023)
Using the point of view of “Umbrella Man,” the city’s beloved travel storyteller, this book showcases Keelung through five dimensions—Sparkling Keelung, Wave Keelung, Magical Keelung, Seasoned Keelung, and Ridgeline Keelung.
Transforming many elements of Keelung for a Walk’s work and mission into a physical resource, readers can journey through Keelung’s everyday rituals, oceanfront life, and spiritual traditions via the 15 curated walking itineraries.
- 渡冥志 (Crossing the Underworld)
By: F.P.XIN (2022)The Keelung for a Walk team also produced 渡冥志—a fantasy novel inspired by the city’s iconic Ghost Festival. The story blends history, religion, and folklore to create a vivid world where the spirits of Keelung’s past roam beside the living. A video game version of this story is also available online.
2. Books for History Lovers
Keelung has a long and storied history that is deserving of careful research, documentation, and investigation. History buffs or those just looking to brush up their knowledge of how the city came to be will appreciate the following resources:
By: Evan N. Dawley (2019)
Becoming Taiwanese: Ethnogenesis in a Colonial City, 1880s–1950s offers a scholarly look at Keelung’s transformation during Japanese rule and its role in shaping modern Taiwanese identity. This book is available in print and digital formats, as well as in both English and Mandarin.
- 尋找消逝的基隆 : 臺灣北部和平島的考古新發現 (Recovering the past of Jilong : new archaeological findings from Heping island of northern Taiwan)
By: José Eugenio Borao Mateo, Hsiao-Chung Hung (2015)Using the work of Spanish historian José Eugenio Borao Mateo and archaeologist Xsiao-Chung Hung, this bilingual book draws upon archaeological finds in the Keelung region to describe various eras in the area’s history. The Spanish influence on Heping Island and surrounding areas is specifically highlighted in this resource, and it includes detailed descriptions and color photographs of the archeological treasures found.
3. Art Books
Those drawn to the city’s visual and cultural texture can turn to photography and art books such as:
By: Michio Yamauchi (2010)
This photo collection, shot by acclaimed Japanese street photographer Michio Yamauchi, reveals intimate glimpses of daily life along Keelung’s waterfront and backstreets. Photos are mostly black-and-white. This work won the 20th Hayashi Tadahiko Award in 2011, and it has been produced in both print and digital formats.
By: Cheng Kai-Hsiang (2023)Colors of a Rainy Port is an urban sketchbook filled with over one hundred vibrant scenes of Keelung’s hillsides, temples, and harbor views. Descriptions (in Mandarin) of the scene accompany the illustrations, recounting the author’s observations and stories he collected while living in Keelung and composing the artwork.
4. Fiction Books
If you are looking for an escape while still having a connection to Keelung, you can browse a variety of fictional works that provide imaginative stories that are based in the city.
- 八尺門的辯護人 (Port of Lies)
By: Freddy Fu-Jui Tang (2021)
A legal thriller that has since been adapted into a popular TV series, Port of Lies follows Tung Pao-Chu, an Indigenous Taiwanese public defender from the port city of Keelung, who takes on one final case before leaving his job: defending an Indonesian migrant fisherman accused of murdering a local boat captain and his family. As Pao-Chu investigates, he uncovers injustice tied to Taiwan’s fishing industry, exposing racial tensions, exploitation, and moral dilemmas within the legal system. This book won the MirrorFiction Million Dollar Award and is available in several formats and languages.
- 那一滴落下的雨──基隆海洋文學小說集 (A Drop of Rain – Keelung Maritime Literature Stories)
By: Pai Chiao, Gou Zhen Zhu, Yang-Min Lin, Hao-wei Sheng (2024)This anthology, compiled by the Keelung City Cultural & Tourism Bureau, collects four short contemporary literary works by different Taiwanese authors set in Keelung, spanning from the Japanese colonial period to present day. Through captivating scenes of harbor life, rainy streets, and local festival rituals, the stories guide readers into the history, people, and landscapes of the city. This book is available only in Chinese.
- 港灣城姬！基隆少女 (Harbor City Princess! Keelung Girl)
By: 吐維(Towei) (2018)港灣城姬！基隆少女 (Harbor City Princess! Keelung Girl) is a lighthearted, manga-inspired tale that blends youthful adventure with the Keelung’s night markets, harbor lights, and local festivals. This story is currently available only in Chinese.
Writers from Keelung
Keelung has produced several notable literary voices, whose popular works have brought Keelung perspectives to international audiences:
- Lin Fu-Yin, affectionately known as “Captain Poet,” whose award-winning prose vividly portrays the city’s fishing and maritime culture.
- Wang Tuoh, one of Taiwan’s most respected writers and critics, born in Keelung’s Badouzi district. His works, including Aunt Jinshui and Taipei, Taipei, reflect Taiwan’s social transformations with warmth and insight.
- Dong Nian, a Keelung native whose stories—such as Rainy Town and The Great Fire—often weave Buddhist philosophy into everyday life.
Literary Stops in Keelung
Bookshops
For those who like to explore with a book in hand, Keelung offers several cozy and characterful bookshops:
- 見書店 Sea to See Bookafe – a two-story, welcoming spot in the center of the city where you can sip coffee, shop for local souvenirs, work on your laptop, and browse a variety of titles. For more information on this particular bookstore, see a previous blog post we published about it here.
- Address: No. 236, Rener Rd, Ren’ai District, Keelung City, 200
- Open 7 days a week. 11:00AM–10:00PM weekdays and 11:00AM–2:00AM Saturday and Sunday
- 魚曰二手書店 When Fish Are Talking – a unique used bookstore full of vintage finds. Unmanned and open 24-hours, this shop charges a fee of 50 NTD for full-day usage of its cozy space. Well-stocked, with several shelves of books in other languages.
- Address: 2F, No. 96, Xiao’er Rd., Ren’ai Dist., Keelung City
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
- 小獸書屋 Baby Beast Books – a family-friendly independent bookshop on the second floor with a particularly good selection of resources about current social issues and the humanities.
- Address: 2F, No. 11-9, Ren 3rd Rd., Ren’ai Dist., Keelung City
- Open 1:00 PM-8:00 PM Wednesday through Friday and 11:00 AM-8:00 PM Saturday
- 遠見人文空間 Milvus Bookstore – a modern space in Keelung Tower that often hosts readings and small art exhibits. You may find it difficult to focus on a book here as the view out the window is particularly impressive! For more information on this particular bookstore, see a previous blog post we published about it here.
- Address: 4 F., No. 130, Yi 2nd Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Keelung City
- Open 10:00 AM-10:00 PM on weekdays and Sundays. Closed on Monday.
Public Libraries
Keelung has a total of nine public libraries across its seven administrative districts, the addresses of each you can find here. These are generally open Tuesday-Sunday from 9:00AM-5:00PM, though some branches stay open until 9:00PM. When I visited in October 2025, the main branch of the Keelung City Public Library was unfortunately closed for renovations. This is located in the Keelung Cultural Center and is set to be reopened sometime in 2026.
Literary Events
For those looking for nearby alternatives, check out either the Ren’ai and Xinyi branches. Though modest in size, these libraries provide a selection of books to be checked out, computers and quiet spaces to be used, and various literary events, such as author talks and other community events. The public library system posts updates on upcoming events and its services on its website and Facebook page.
Keelung’s Literary Spirit
Over the past decade, Keelung has celebrated reading and storytelling in creative and unconventional ways–welcoming everything from a mobile book museum that traveled through neighborhoods to a floating bookshop that brought literature to life along the harbor. These imaginative projects helped spark a citywide appreciation for books and continue to inspire new initiatives today. The tradition lives on through events like the Marine Literature Awards, which honor writers exploring Keelung’s maritime heritage and community life.
Keelung’s creative energy thrives in unexpected places, blending its maritime roots with a love of storytelling. The city reminds visitors that the “Rainy Port” isn’t just a destination—it’s an open book of history, art, and imagination. Whether you’re a collector, a casual reader, or someone seeking a quiet bookcafe to get lost in a story on a rainy day, Keelung invites you to slow down, read deeply, and discover its stories—page by page.
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