Wanchang Shipyard has deep roots in Nanliao, with five generations of shipbuilding experience. A hundred years ago, the Xie family settled in Nanliao from Zhangzhou, Fujian, bringing with them two generations of shipbuilding craftsmanship, making bamboo rafts, sampans, and sailboats from imported Fujian cedar. The third-generation inheritor, Mr. Xie Wanzi, went to Keelung Baduzi to learn how to build large wooden ships and established Wanli Shipyard in 1953. Due to the inability to trade between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the maturity of Taiwan's forestry development, they switched to using Taiwan cypress from Alishan and Taipingshan for shipbuilding.
