What is the nicest old fashioned harbour/port in Taiwan?

Hi I'll be in Taiwan for a few weeks and I would really like to see an old fashioned harbour. By this I mean one that has retained its historic buildings and ambience (preferably from the time under Japanese rule). My research has come up with Tamsui river harbour and Keelung but as I don't have any pictures of these I can't judge. What do you think is the nicest old harbour/port in Taiwan?

Right, probably the coolest former 'harbor area' would be Tainan's old district in Southern Taiwan. The amount of sedimentation means that all the old buildings are now in the city center area far from the ocean, but there are many interesting buildings still present there. The Red Hair's castle II is located there.

In Tamsui (in Taipei) is probably the easiest for tourist access area for some old buildings and architecture. Most of the old stuff was probably razed years ago, but the 'Red Hairs' Fort I is still there, along with a few old temples scattered amongst the market areas (shoulder to shoulder) and tourist traps. A nice walk next to the river also exists to escape the crowds. If you go to the castle I also recommend visiting the Red Castle Teahouse around sunset if you can find it. (it requires going up a back alley and some narrow stairs- signs do exist but I forget if they were in Chinese or English...)

In Central Taiwan a good former harbor area is LuGang outside of Changhua which has a preserved district of old buildings that are very japanese style and the islands oldest temples are located there. It may have a relaxed ambiance on a weekday, people still live in the historical homes. on weekends and holidays it transforms into a big market zone (shoulder to shoulder), so you may not get the ambiance you were thinking of during the weekend. You may get to see some interesting temple displays around there quite often.

Keelung-- well I wouldnt send anyone I liked there. Its a giant port, but is a poorly planned mess of a f%^ed up shantytown/ giant mall. It is Taipei's biggest 'MODERN' harbor area and has a train station terminus and bus station terminus and the most complex *** backwards conglomeration of traffic controls that are universally ignored. I didnt hear about anything historical there. I would avoid it unless you are in the shipping business. Perhaps someone who is unfortunate enough to live there can give nicer things to say about than me and point you somewhere good. My tourist experiences there have always been bad. Perhaps some good shopping deals exist... ?

ya, Tamsui river, I would go there if I were you. There are many harbours, but some are really not worth going, they are old, not historically old, but the dirty and disgusting old. There are alot of nice shops and historical buildings in Tamsui

Tamsui isn't really a harbour--there is just a little dock for the boat across the river, and a riverside promenade. There is ambience, in a sort of afternoon amusement kind of way, and some nice buildings.

Keelung is interesting, but not really visually appealing. If you can get past that, Keelung is a wonderful spot.

We live in Hualien-on the east coast. It is really pretty here, and there are some interesting old Japanese buildings here and there.

I think Hualien is the most beautiful city in all of Taiwan.