3 Aug 2010

Former British Consulate at Dagou


he British Consulate at Dagou is a former British consulate built in 1865 in the city of Kaohsiung in south-west Taiwan and was the first western-style building built on the island. It has been designated as a 2nd Class Historic Site by the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior. Located in Gushan District it lies at the peak of Shaochuantou and overlooks Sizihwan Bay and Kaohsiung Port. It currently serves as a cafe and tourist attraction.

The Consulate was designed by a British architect and built by the Tien-li Company (also known as McPhail & Co.) in 1865 using Chinese architects, making it the first European-style building on the island of Formosa. The materials were shipped over from the city of Amoy (now Xiamen) on Mainland China. The architecture is that of the late Renaissance, providing a technical and stylistic basis for later Western buildings in Taiwan, and makes use of many arches. There are two floors.

No comments: