14 Days in Kaohsiung

HSR to Zuoying, 10 minutes by the 2008 metro to the Dome of Light — near 4,500 panes across 30 metres — then Liouhe's 350-metre market street for dinner.

1. kaohsiung formosa boulevard station
2. kaohsiung liouhe night market

The 1973 warehouses and the 1900 Takao rail yard; the 110-metre bridge swings open about 3 minutes for boats, and the 12-kilometre Love River glows after dark.

1. kaohsiung pier2 art center
2. kaohsiung hamasen railway park
3. kaohsiung great harbor bridge

A 5-minute ferry, the 1883 lighthouse and the 1875 fort, seafood along the old street, and the black-sand beach at the far end.

1. kaohsiung cijin island

1976 pagodas and 1953 pavilions on the 42-hectare pond, a 72-metre Dark Warrior statue, the 1826 coral-stone walls, and the 2018 naval juancun park.

1. kaohsiung lotus pond
2. kaohsiung zuoying old city
3. kaohsiung juancun culture park

The 1879 consulate and 1875 residence above the bay, then 356-metre Shoushan — a national nature park since 2011 — for macaques and harbour lookouts.

1. kaohsiung sizihwan bay
2. kaohsiung british consulate takao
3. kaohsiung shoushan

A 40-minute ride to Dashu for the 1967 monastery and the 2011 Buddha Museum under a 108-metre seated Buddha; entry is free.

1. kaohsiung fo guang shan

An hour east, a Hakka town of close to 300 years — umbrella workshops, the old East Gate Tower and long Hakka lunches by the lake.

1. kaohsiung meinong

Baroque shophouses and a near-century-old wooden station in the banana town, then Tianliao's mudstone badlands one district over.

1. kaohsiung qishan old street
2. kaohsiung moon world

Honestly labelled — Kenting lies in neighbouring Pingtung county, 2 to 2.5 hours south by express bus. Wind-carved Maobitou first, then the white sand of Baisha Bay, and Kenting Street's snack stalls after dark.

1. kenting maobitou
2. kenting baisha bay

The 1883 Eluanbi lighthouse — nicknamed the Light of East Asia — stands on Taiwan's southern tip; coastal boardwalks at Longpan, then the bus back to Kaohsiung by evening.

1. kenting eluanbi lighthouse
2. kenting longpan park

The 1814 academy, the island's largest surviving Qing-era one, then the 2018 arts centre under one vast roof; the adjacent park makes a green hour before dinner.

1. kaohsiung fengyi academy
2. kaohsiung weiwuying arts center

The red line's Qiaotou Sugar Refinery stop leads to the 1901 plant that started Taiwan's modern sugar industry, Japanese-era dormitories included; seafood lunch at Keziliao port one district over.

1. kaohsiung qiaotou sugar refinery
2. kaohsiung keziliao fish market

The 1994 city museum and the 2022 Neiwei arts centre share the Neiweipi parklands of ponds and banyans; take the afternoon slow.

1. kaohsiung kmfa
2. kaohsiung neiwei arts center

A last coffee at the restored Stack 2 warehouse by the Great Harbor Bridge, the 2021 music center's wave roofs at the river mouth, then about 20 minutes by airport metro from Formosa Boulevard or the HSR at Zuoying.

1. kaohsiung stack 2 warehouse