The nicest Asian city you’ve probably never heard of
You can arrive in Kaohsiung by plane, or on a high-speed train that wafts you from Taipei in 90 minutes. But if you’re fortunate to sail in by cruise ship, you’ll see a city in transformation even before you dock.
Kaohsiung from the water.Credit: iStock
Cheerful people wave at you from promenades as you stride the deck. Amid the cranes and concrete apartment blocks of a working harbour, startling new buildings rise. One resembles a giant honeycomb, another a space rocket.
The brand-new cruise terminal is part giant wedge, part bent tube, and said to look like a whale. It’s the latest infrastructure project designed to revitalise the city and encourage tourism.
Kaohsiung is a city with an eye to opportunity, and the nicest Asian city you’ve probably never heard of. There are cities more important, more flamboyant and wilder, but none so focused on making life so pleasant for its inhabitants.
Kaohsiung hangs off Taiwan’s southern tip and is one of the world’s busiest container ports, but over the last two decades it has shrugged off its heavy-industry image and adorned itself with revamped streets, impressive arts venues and fizzing festivals.
The population is young and optimistic, the food a treat, the boulevards wide and leafy. A subtropical climate provides agreeable weather year-round, not to mention excellent pineapples and lychees.
The crowds and chaos of other Asian cities are absent. Instead, you’ll find dollops of culture and relaxing, low-key attractions.
The city’s original core sits on the happily-named Love River, with a newer, more high-rise downtown nearby. The riverbanks are graced with new cycle paths, walkways, green spaces and cultural precincts. At night, upside-down skyscraper reflections sparkle in the water as locals chit-chat in riverside cafés.
A short walk away is harbour-side district Pier-2 Art Centre, whose warehouses have been taken over by theatres and galleries. It has no snobbishness. Families come to enjoy street performances, browse quirky boutiques and fly their kites. Giant pop-art sculptures loom at street corners as ships glide past just beyond the end of the wharfs.
Pier-2 is part of Yancheng District, worth a further wander for its delightful muddle of old-school temples and noodle shops, trendy bubble-tea cafés and handbag stores.
Kaohsiung has other worthy sights for the art-minded. Alien Art Centre, housed in a former military barracks, celebrates contemporary Taiwanese and international art, while the Museum of Fine Arts has a world-renowned contemporary collection of indigenous Austronesian art.
It says a lot about Kaohsiung that you can also find spectacular contemporary art at an MRT (or metro) station. Formosa Boulevard features Dome of Light by renowned American-Italian glass artist Narcissus Quagliata.
Find the striking “Dome of Light” installation by Narcissus Quagliata at Formosa Boulevard.Credit: iStock
It’s the world’s largest glass public-art installation, telling the story of human life and creativity in an eruption of blue, red and orange glass that glows from pillars and covers the entire ceiling.
Time your visit for evening because this MRT station is near Liuhe Tourist Night Market, where you can stuff yourself on steamed shrimps, sizzling beef and oyster omelettes. You’ll also find Hakka snacks such as sticky rice and pork wrapped in banana leaf. Ladles clack in woks, chopsticks click and pop music wails.
Make a little more effort, and you’ll find a more local and youthful atmosphere at Ruifeng Night Market near the high-speed railway station, which mixes traditional street fare with trendy new international fusion snacks.
Liuhe Night Market: incredible food and Hakka snacks awaits.Credit: iStock
The joy of Kaohsiung is that it isn’t all new. You’ll still find street stalls, tiny four-table eateries and back-street businesses making pineapple buns or steel knives.
Trek to the city’s north to see Lotus Pond, ringed by riotously ornate Taoist temples. Two lurid pavilions reached by a zigzag bridge are fronted by a giant dragon and tiger.
Enter through the dragon’s mouth and leave through the tiger’s if you’re looking for good fortune, it’s said. It must be true: it certainly seems to have worked for the people of this fine city.
THE DETAILS
Cruise
Luxury cruise line Regent Seven Seas Cruises sails several Asian itineraries that visit Kaohsiung, among them a 10-night Tokyo to Hong Kong cruise departing October 20, 2023. From $11,980pp all-inclusive. See rssc.com
The writer was a guest of Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
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