Meanings
- Synonym of Tamsui.
In virtue of treaties four ports have been thrown open to commerce, Tanshui and Kelung on the north, and Takao and Taiwang-foo on the W. side.
1883, “Formosa”, in New American Cyclopædia, volume VII, New York: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 322, column 15 more examples
On Monday, the 14th, after a breakfast of salt greens, rice and congee, eaten in the presence of the Chinese officers, they were numbered and labeled like oxen, and under a strong escort led away southward about 20 miles to a walled town, probably Chánghwá hien, where they arrived about 4 P. M. Just before leaving Tánshui, some of the principal villagers endeavored to induce captain Denham, the chief officer, and Mr. Gully, to secrete themselves, and not go on with the others, saying that the soldiers were villains, &c.
[1843 March, “Narrative of the loss of the English brig Ann: and of the caputre of the whole, and the decapitation of forty-three of her crew, by the Chinese authorities in Formosa.”, in The Chinese Repository, volume XII, number 3, Canton, →OCLC, page 119An elderly lady of distinction, known for good works in the British Isles, is the first officer of the lately organized (British) Friends of Free China Association to get to Taipei. A couple of Board of Trade experts turn up to check on the possibilities of direct trade relations (other than those through Hong Kong firms) and are the first official British visitors other than the semi-official consular officer who stamps a visa on the passport of a person wishing to go to Hong Kong, but who otherwise leads a studiously obscure life in the old Dutch fort on a hill above Tanshui.
1957 April 20, Rodney Gilbert, “Do the British Wish They Hadn't?”, in National Review, volume III, number 16 (Social Sciences), →ISSN, →OCLC, page 377, column 1The families are about equally distributed among three communities: a cluster of villages in Sanchih township, the small city of Tanshui, and the metropolitan center of Taipei.
1988, Susan Greenhalgh, “Intergenerational Contracts: Familial Roots of Sexual Stratification in Taiwan”, in A Home Divided: Women and Income in the Third World, Stanford, Cali.: Stanford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 52You can reach Chinshan very easily from Taipei by first taking the bus or train to either Keelung or Tanshui (Keelung is closer), then transferring to a local bus. Chinshan is on the loop road that takes you through Tanshui, Chinshan, Yehliu, Keelung and back to Taipei, making a fine trip for a day or two.
1994 July, Robert Storey, “North Taiwan”, in Taiwan - A Travel Survival Kit, 3rd edition, Lonely Planet, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 180, column 1Set in the 40s and 50s in the then quiet port town of Tanshui, the story is told through a storyteller played by Tao Da-wei (陶大偉), who in his theaterical debut has the ability to pause, fast-forward, and rewind the events seen on stage.
2006 March 24, Joey Chung, “Finding the meaning of life in Tanshui”, in Taipei Times, archived from the original on 02 Jan 2007Synonyms: Tamsui
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounSynonym of Tamsui.
Origin
From Mandarin 淡水 (Dànshuǐ), Wade–Giles romanization: Tan⁴-shui³.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Tanshui. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tanshui
“Tanshui.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tanshui. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tanshui,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tanshui.
Source: Tanshui on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.