Kaohsiung City

Introducing Kaohsiung City

We here at Lonely Planet may once have called Kaohsiung not a must-see, but a city to keep your eye on. Well, no-one is more surprised than we are at how quickly the change has come.

In some ways of course this is because Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second-largest city, and largest port (the fourth- or fifth-largest in the world), was so sorely and long neglected. Like the double-digit growth of many developing countries, Kaohsiung’s transformation seems astonishing in part because it has so much catching-up to do.

We wouldn’t be thrilled about the change if Kaohsiung didn’t have something worth transforming. But it does. The harbour, the beaches, the Love River, the historical sights, and the 1000 hectares of almost-pristine forest have of course always been there. It finally took someone with a good vision to see their true worth.

The visionary in many ways was former Mayor Frank Hsieh. He saw the Love River cleaned up, and its banks turned into lovely promenades. He also saw the city get potable water for the first time, oversaw the start of an extensive MRT system (though he was tainted with a scandal on that matter), the opening of the harbour to tourism, and even scored the 2009 World Games. The city is proud to be hosting the games, the second-largest sporting event after the Olympics­. And like many Olympic-bid-winning cities, Kaohsiung is using the honour to push through even more urban renewal projects.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009