I live here. It’s fine. But “southern gem”? That’s some hard sell. The only two places really worth visiting from a tourism perspective (Pier 2 and Lotus Pond) are the sole focuses of this pamphlet for a reason. And you can explore both thoroughly in a day. I don’t want to be too mean to Kaohsiung. I’ve built a decent life and have some good memories, but if I wasn’t tied here due to job and family I would definitely live in Taipei.
Now if this poster starts talking about the fascinating wonders and delights of a Taoyuan Walking Tour, we’ll really know they’re blowing smoke up our ass.
All kinds of things to do in Kaohsiung (and old Kaohsiung County).
One time we scootered out to Meinong District and found some place out in the farmlands that practiced the art of making wooden/paper umbrellas (in all sizes). The children then made their own and got to paint them.
That’s just one example among many.
Hidden treasures throughout the [former] county.
Just gotta find them.
Back to Kaohsiung: it has wonderful access to the water unlike most cities in western Taiwan. It’s fun to grab a youbike and go cycling along the water in Cijin, or to enjoy the water at Shiziwan combined with a stroll through or hike past National Sun Yat-sen University.
It also helps if you like coastal Fujian style delicacies (I do). Kaohsiung does this stuff infinitely better than folks in the north. And if you tire of that, you can go to Arkansas Diner!
Yeah “southern gem” is pushing it. I never understood the appeal of Pier 2, but Lotus Pond is alright. Lotus Pond looks amazing in carefully framed pictures, but I’m sure many tourists have gone there thinking “What? This is it?”
I find the port fascinating from an infrastructure point of view. How many boats go in and out of there each day? How many people work there? What are the boats carrying? I love that stuff, but admittedly I’m weird.
Oh and then there’s the most overrated attraction of all in Kaohsiung… the much ballyhooed Formosa Boulevard MRT, which has some colored roof panels and that’s it. It’s not even a very high roof. Okay enough Kaohsiung bashing from me, but I can’t believe that’s a “sight” people mention and is displayed in ads. You’d think it was Grand Central.
Been to Kaohsiung just a few times. It has some potential, good mix of sights, but I am not a big fan of the hazy skies and the bad air quality. Taipei has much more to offer. Maybe 10 times more.
I also agree with this. Compared to Taipei, friendly vibe, in general smaller and easier to talk to the staff. Also food in KHH if you been here awhile a go out a lot you can find something everyday (but I find a few place one a week, and visit places I know). Also nice Japanese owned and run small places (bit like Japan) and few really American run places that are from their namesake like Arkansas and Chicago Bar & Grill (both friendly, talkative owners), as well French and Italian places and off beat ones like Croatia. Or like this [Imma Bakery Cafe Restaurant - Cuisine / Kaohsiung & Southern Taiwan Restaurants - Forumosa]
And this is what makes Canadian public transit shitty. All the money into making the new stations beautiful and not enough money to actually build stations to serve the needs of people.
I’ll take Taiwan’s adequate and clean stations any day.
The old one they demolished in the 1960s was (supposedly… I wasn’t alive back then) majestic. And then they replaced it with that ugly concourse abomination. A great quote from that period was: “One entered the city like a god. One scuttles in now like a rat.” People were so outraged by that and the nearby Singer building that it ushered in the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has saved many great landmarks since. So it didn’t die in vain.
I did hear they were trying to make it better again, but I haven’t been to my home city of NYC since 2015 (sigh), so I don’t know if they were successful. I’m sure any redevelopment would be an improvement, but I don’t think they can recapture the grandeur of the first one from the early 20th century.
Don’t get me wrong. Kaohsiung’s MRT is great, fast, efficient and clean. My only criticism was the fact they touted Formosa Blvd station as a tourist attraction. It’s … nice, but nothing I would travel out of my way for.
But things I would travel out of my way for is Monkey Mountain, Tianliao Badlands, Cijin, the British consulate, the bluffs nearby, the lighthouse, the night market, chengcing lake, meinong village and more.
It’s just…it’s not very cohesive. It’s a county pretending to be a big city.
