Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Kaohsiung, 高雄, is located in the southwest of Taiwan about 362 km (225 miles) from Taipei.  It is home to 2,7 million people and is its second largest city.

The city's port is the world's 6th largest cargo-container seaport.



Kaohsiung, used to be known as Takao and it started off as a small fishing village in the 17th century.




The Daitian Temple was built in 1951.  There's a Taoist hall in the front and a Buddhist hall in the back.

The Qing Shui Temple was built in 1787.  When entering temples, it is auspicious to enter on the left and exiting on the right side provides an escape from danger.  Only the Gods may enter via the middle, unless you are holding holy statues.

The Chi Ming Palace was built to promote Confucianism 1899.  The palace was rebuilt in 1973.

The statue of the Xuantian Emperor is 22 metres (72 feet) tall.  It's the tallest god stature on water in Southeast Asia.

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas were built in 1976.


The Pillar to Heaven and Protection of the Land at Lotus Lake is a memorial to the victims of a 7.3 earthquake that hit Taiwan on 21.9.1999.

The Wuli Pavilion is a symbol of good fortune.



Near Lotus Lake stands part of the Old Fongshan City Wall that dates back to the Qing Dynasty.





The Tianfu Palace was built in 1660, at about the end of the Ming Dynasty I think.




The Kaohsiung Confucius Temple was originally built in 1684.  At 167 square metres (1800 sq ft) it is the largest Confucian temple in Taiwan.  During the Japanese colonial period it fell into disrepair and the new temple was built in 1976.

Near the Lotus Pond is Shoushan National Park, also known as Monkey Mountain.  It is 356 metres (1168 feet) tall.




Kao Tong Tong is the city's agricultural mascot.  We needed to get a selfie together.




The Pier-2 Art Center used to be an old sugar warehouse during the Japanese era.  The area was rebuilt in the 1962 and today it is a contemporary art gallery with grass lawns between warehouses and old railway tracks.

The 85 Sky Tower was completed in 1997.  It is 347,5 metres (1140 feet) tall and it was tallest skyscraper in Taiwan until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004.

The former British Consulate was built in 1879.  It's currently a historic site with a popular cafe for the tourists.

The Kaohsiung Lighthouse was built in 1883 and was restored in 1918.  It actually sits on Cijin Island.

The port is the 15th biggest in the world.

The Dome of Light is a public artwork found at the Formosa Boulevard MRT station.  It is the world's largest stained glass installation made up of 4.500 glass panels.



The food here is simply incredible.  One of the local night markets had the best Xiao Long Bao - soup dumplings.  Delicious and super inexpensive.



Gua Bao is a "Taiwanese hamburger".  It's a steamed fluffy bun with pork and fatty pork belly that's topped with pickled mustard greens, crushed peanuts and coriander.  Tasty but I prefer it also with some hot chilli.

Kaohsiung is well worth a visit.  Especially when the high speed rail only takes around 90 minutes from Taipei.

One of the interesting things I saw was the musical garbage truck.  Not sure if this is only a Kaohsiung thing or a Taiwan thing.