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Taiwan

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Kaohsiung: Taiwan's Harbour City with Temples, Night Markets, and Island Ferries

Kaohsiung, the largest city in southern Taiwan, grew up around its harbor, and the Love River runs through the old city and downtown into it. Crime rates in Taiwan are very low, but scooters weave through traffic and drivers often run red lights, so take care at every crossing.

Good to know

Overview

Ships berth at the Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal in Lingya District, a 15-story building that looks like a silver-white ship's hull and opened in March 2023. Cruise Terminal light rail station is within walking distance to the north, on the Circular Light Rail loop.

  • The terminal can berth two ships of up to 225,000 tons at the same time.
  • Kaohsiung is Taiwan's third most populous city, with about 2.7 million people in 2025.
  • Taiwan uses the New Taiwan dollar (TWD, NT$).

Kaohsiung on Your Own

A good independent day follows the harbor by light rail: Pier-2 and the old Hamasen quarter first, then the ferry across to Cijin.

  • Pier-2 Art Center: Harbor warehouses built in 1973 have been an arts district since 2006, with two light rail stops of their own, Dayi Pier-2 and Penglai Pier-2.
  • Hamasen: The old quarter at the foot of Shoushan, beside Pier-2, was Kaohsiung's first modern district, with its first modern street, piped water and electric lighting. The Hamasen Museum of Taiwan Railway fills Warehouses 7 and 8 at Pier-2.
  • Ferry to Cijin: The Gushan ferry pier is about a 10-minute walk from Hamasen metro station. On Cijin, a hill near the landing carries a lighthouse and an old fort with views over the city, the harbor and the sea.
  • Former British Consulate at Takao: The consul's residence of 1879, now a museum, stands on a hill above the harbor entrance and Sizihwan Bay, reached by bus from Hamasen station.
  • Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
  • Watch the clock: All-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match local clocks or your phone. Taiwan keeps UTC+8 all year.

Getting Around Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung has a modern transit system: a light rail loop round the city and two metro lines that cross at Formosa Boulevard station. Pay with a stored-value card such as an iPass or EasyCard; some contactless bank cards are also accepted at the metro gates.

  • Light rail: The Circular Light Rail is a 22.1-kilometer loop with 38 stations, completed in January 2024.
  • Metro: The Red Line runs north to south and the Orange Line east to west.
  • Ferries: Ferries cross the harbor to Cijin, and bicycles can come aboard at no extra charge.
  • Bicycles: YouBike rental stations are spread across the city, and the city is largely flat. You must register online before using a transit card to rent one.
  • Taxis: Few drivers speak English, so have your destination written in Chinese.

What to Eat in Kaohsiung

For visitors, Kaohsiung's food centers on its night markets and the seafood restaurants of Cijin. Ruifeng's stalls open in the late afternoon and are busiest late in the evening, so check that against your all-aboard time.

  • Liuhe Night Market: Near Formosa Boulevard station, it is one of the most popular night markets in Taiwan, with plenty of seafood.
  • Ruifeng Night Market: Near Kaohsiung Arena station on the Red Line, it has hundreds of stalls, mostly food vendors and small eateries.
  • Cijin seafood: Restaurants on Cijin let you choose your seafood and cook it to order, and snack stands fill about two blocks of the street that leads back to the ferry.

Culture and Sights in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung's sights range from lakeside temples to public art inside its metro.

  • Dragon and Tiger Pagodas: These twin seven-story towers of 1976 stand in Lotus Pond in Zuoying District, reached by a zigzag bridge. More than 20 temples stand within 500 meters along the pond's west bank.
  • Dome of Light: Formosa Boulevard metro station is roofed with a glass artwork 30 meters across, made of 4,500 panels to a design by the Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata.
  • Fo Guang Shan: The large Buddhist monastery, founded in 1967 with the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum beside it, is in Dashu District, so check the travel time before you go.

History of Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung grew from a fishing village called Takau into a major port, shaped in turn by Dutch, Chinese and Japanese rule. Its harbor was opened to foreign trade in the 1860s and developed by the Japanese, who also gave the city its present written name.

  • Before 1600: The Makatao people lived here, and the name Takau is thought to come from an indigenous word for bamboo forest.
  • 1624 to 1662: Under Dutch rule, when Takau was already one of the main fishing ports of southern Taiwan, the Dutch called its harbor Tancoia.
  • 1662 to 1684: Ming loyalists under Koxinga drove out the Dutch and ruled as the Kingdom of Tungning until the Qing dynasty annexed Taiwan in 1684.
  • 1864: After the Qing opened Takau to foreign trade, Britain moved its vice-consulate there, and the consul's residence on the hill above the harbor was finished in 1879.
  • 1895 to 1945: Japan ruled Taiwan, renamed the city Takao in 1920 and developed the harbor into a modern port linked to the north-south railway. Allied bombing in 1944 and 1945 hit the city heavily.
  • 1945: Control passed to the Republic of China, and the city kept its Japanese-era written name, ้ซ˜้›„, read in Mandarin as Kaohsiung.
  • 1979: On December 10 the government suppressed a Human Rights Day rally in the Kaohsiung Incident, and the city became a special municipality the same year.
  • 2008: The first metro lines opened.
  • 2023: The cruise terminal opened on March 6.
  • To learn more ashore: The Kaohsiung Museum of History, at 272 Zhongzheng 4th Road in Yancheng District, fills the former city hall of 1939 and is devoted to the city's history. Check opening times before you go.

Family Experiences in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung gives children plenty of rides: trams, metro trains and harbor ferries. Plan around the evening hours of the night markets.

  • Younger children: Ride the light rail to Pier-2, where the railway museum in the old warehouses and the bike path through the district make an easy morning.
  • School age: Take the ferry to Cijin and walk up the hill to the lighthouse and the old fort.
  • Teenagers: Climb the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Pond, where each tower has a double spiral staircase, one way up and one way down.
  • Monkeys: Shoushan, the hill above Hamasen, is a reserve for Formosan rock macaques, which pester hikers carrying food. Keep snacks out of sight.

Accessibility in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung's metro stations and trains are wheelchair-friendly, and the cruise terminal is within walking distance of its own light rail station.

  • Where a metro station has several exits, usually only one has a lift.
  • The typhoon season normally runs from May to November, and typhoons can close roads.

Shopping in Kaohsiung

Shopping for visitors centers on Kaohsiung's night markets and the streets around Formosa Boulevard station.

  • Night markets: Liuhe Night Market sells handicrafts, clothing and cameras as well as food.
  • Around Formosa Boulevard: The area around the station takes in Sinsing Market, Nanhua Shopping Street and a wedding street along Zhongshan and Zhongzheng Roads.

Beaches Near Kaohsiung

Cijin Island, a ferry ride across the harbor, has a beach within a long coastal park. A path for walking and cycling runs along it.

  • Cijin Beach: It is part of Cijin Coast Park on the island's west coast, which also has an ecological area.
  • Getting there: Bicycles can come on the ferry, and a shop on Lisyong Street next to Hamasen station rents them out for the coast path.
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