Kaohsiung
Peaceful city on Taiwan's southern coast
Kaohsiung (高雄), in southern Taiwan, is a large industrial city and the main metropolis to the south of the island. The city generally has pleasant, sunny weather and is the last stop on the southern end of the Taiwan High Speed Rail. There are several fun attractions and activities in the main city itself, as well as lots of nature to enjoy in the nearby mountains.
Things to do
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Liuhe Night Market
Exciting night market in the city center
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Kaohsiung Confucius Temple
Grand temple complex on the edge of Kaohsiung’s Lotus Pond
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Formosa Boulevard Station
Possibly the world’s most beautiful metro station?
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Tianliao Moon World
Slightly eerie yet rather interesting badlands
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The British Consulate at Takow
Discover the surprising history of the British in Taiwan
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Lotus Pond
Kaohsiung’s most iconic tourist destination
Getting to and around Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung has a cheap and easy to use metro system, but usually a little walk or bus ride is required to get to tourist spots, especially outside the core of the city. There is a bicycle rental system here though, called Cbike, which is in the process of being upgraded to the YouBike system. There are bicycle stations all across the city.
Metro day passes
By Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR)
Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung is the final stop on the southern end of the THSR. There are frequent trains to cities such as Taichung (42-58 minutes, NT$790) and Taipei (90 minutes, NT$1490). From Zuoying you can then take the Kaohsiung Metro into the center of Kaohsiung, such as to the main Kaohsiung Station (11 minutes, NT$25) and Formosa Boulevard Station (13 minutes, NT$25).
By Taiwan Railways (TRA)
As well as slower local trains, there are quite frequent Limited Express services to Kaohsiung Station from cities like Tainan (35-40 minutes, NT$106) and Taichung (about 3 hours, NT$469). It’s a rather long journey on the TRA to get to Kaohsiung from Taipei (5 hours, NT$843), so most people take the Taiwan High Speed Rail.
By highway bus
Highway buses operate day and night to and from major cities like Taipei and Taichung.
By air
Kaohsiung International Airport is a short metro ride from the city center. While the number of available flights is not as large as Taoyuan airport near Taipei, it has daily connections to countries such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. There are also domestic flights to cities like Taipei, but as they tend to be rather expensive, most people take the Taiwan High Speed Rail.
Official tourism website: khh.travel