Southern Taiwan's great harbor city, reinvented from steel, ships and smokestacks into a waterfront of art, music and light.
南臺灣的大港都,從鋼鐵、船舶與煙囪,脫胎成藝術、音樂與光的水岸城市。
Kaohsiung began as Takau (打狗), a harbourside settlement whose name comes from the language of the Indigenous Makatao people (linked to the Siraya), referring to a dense bamboo grove that once ringed the bay. Early Hoklo settlers wrote the sound with characters that literally read "beat the dog." In 1920 the Japanese kept the sound but elegantly rewrote it as 高雄, read "Takao" in Japanese; after 1945 the same characters were read the Mandarin way — Gaoxiong, romanised Kaohsiung.
高雄最早名為「打狗(Takau)」,這名字源自原住民馬卡道族(與西拉雅族相關)的語言,指海灣邊曾經茂密的竹林。早期閩南移民以字面「打狗」二字記其音。1920 年,日本人保留發音、雅化改寫為「高雄」,日語讀作「Takao」;1945 年後同樣的字改以國語發音——Gaoxiong,羅馬拼音作 Kaohsiung。
The city grew up around the Port of Kaohsiung (高雄港), Taiwan's largest harbour and one of the world's busiest container ports. From the mid-20th century it became the island's industrial engine — steel (home of China Steel), shipbuilding, petrochemicals and Taiwan's first export processing zone (1966). For decades Kaohsiung was a hard-working harbour town of freighters and smokestacks, with a proud blue-collar identity.
這座城市環繞著高雄港成長——它是臺灣最大的港口,也是世界最繁忙的貨櫃港之一。自二十世紀中葉起,高雄成為全島的工業引擎——鋼鐵(中鋼所在地)、造船、石化,以及臺灣第一個加工出口區(1966 年)。數十年來,高雄是一座勤奮的港都,有貨輪與煙囪,也有自豪的藍領性格。
In recent decades the city has turned its waterfront from heavy industry toward arts, culture and tourism — old harbour warehouses became the Pier-2 Art Center, the once-polluted Love River was cleaned into a leisure landmark, and major venues such as Weiwuying rose. Kaohsiung is woven into Taiwan's democratic story too: the Kaohsiung Incident of 1979 was a turning point on the road to ending martial law. In 2010 the city merged with Kaohsiung County, adding mountains, rivers, the Hakka town of Meinong and Indigenous mountain districts to the harbour city.
近數十年,高雄將水岸從重工業轉向藝術、文化與觀光——老港口倉庫變身駁二藝術特區、曾經污染的愛河整治為休閒地標、衛武營等大型場館拔地而起。高雄也深植於臺灣的民主歷程:1979 年的美麗島事件是邁向終結戒嚴的轉捩點。2010 年,高雄市與高雄縣合併,把山岳、河川、客家小鎮美濃與原住民山區一併納入這座港都。
A river running through the heart of downtown Kaohsiung, once badly polluted by industry and now a beloved leisure spot with riverside walkways, cafés and evening boat cruises lit up after dark.
A cluster of 1970s-era port warehouses, rediscovered in 2000 and turned into a vibrant arts district by 2002. Today it is full of galleries, studios, street art, shops, cafés and music venues along the old harbourfront.
A pair of colourful pagodas on Lotus Pond where visitors enter through the dragon's mouth and exit through the tiger's, said to turn bad luck into good. Nearby stand the Spring and Autumn Pavilions, ringing the temple-lined lake.
The cultural centre of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order, crowned by the Fo Guang Big Buddha — a seated bronze statue 50 m tall (108 m with its base), said to be the world's tallest seated bronze Buddha.
A long, narrow barrier island reached by a short ferry from Gushan, famous for its beach, the old Cihou Lighthouse and fort, bicycle paths and streets of fresh seafood.
A red-brick complex from Taiwan's treaty-port era: the hilltop consular residence, completed in 1879, overlooks Sizihwan Bay and the harbour entrance, with the consulate office below. It is now a museum.
Inside the metro's Formosa Boulevard Station glows the world's largest single glass artwork — 30 m across and made of 4,500 glass panels, by artist Narcissus Quagliata. The station's name honours the Kaohsiung (Formosa) Incident.
Opened in 2018, this banyan-inspired building is the world's largest performing arts centre under a single roof, with four halls including a 2,236-seat opera house — a symbol of Kaohsiung's cultural reinvention.
A forested hill overlooking the harbour, home to a famous population of wild Formosan macaques and hiking trails with sweeping views over the city and bay.
One of Taiwan's most distinctive Hakka towns in the eastern hills, famous for handmade oil-paper umbrellas, traditional blue Hakka shirts and old tobacco-curing barns.
A classic downtown night market near Formosa Boulevard metro, known for seafood, snacks and especially its famous papaya milk stalls.
Kaohsiung blends a hard-working harbour identity with a flourishing arts scene — and, up in the hills, one of Taiwan's most distinctive Hakka cultures.
In the eastern hills, Meinong is one of Taiwan's most distinctive Hakka towns, where over 80% of residents are Hakka. It is famous for handmade oil-paper umbrellas (油紙傘) — a craft introduced in the Japanese era, where "oil-paper" puns on "to have a son" — as well as traditional blue Hakka shirts and old tobacco-curing barns.
Kaohsiung's identity grew from steel, ships and freight, and that working-class spirit still runs deep. Today it powers a flourishing arts scene — the Pier-2 warehouses, Weiwuying and the Music Center — while the Dome of Light doubles as public art and a quiet memorial to Taiwan's democratic struggle.
A beloved Taiwanese comedian, television host and actor born in Zuoying, Kaohsiung. Famous for his quick wit and variety-show charisma, he became one of the best-known entertainers of his generation.
A popular singer, host and actor born in Kaohsiung, known for his energetic, flamboyant stage presence across decades of Taiwanese pop and television.
From roughly November to March, millions of overwintering purple crow butterflies gather in Maolin's valleys — one of only two major butterfly-overwintering valleys in the world, alongside the monarch valley in Mexico.
Around late March to early April, a spectacular martial folk-performance festival centred on Zizhu Temple in Neimen, long known as the "hometown of the Song Jiang Array."
Around Lunar New Year, lantern displays and events light up the banks of the Love River, drawing crowds to the glowing riverfront.
Each Dragon Boat Festival, teams race their dragon boats down the Love River in the heart of the city — one of southern Taiwan's liveliest summer events.
Kaohsiung's food runs from the seafood streets of Cijin to the Hakka kitchens of Meinong and the goat-meat town of Gangshan.
Fresh papaya blended with milk — a Kaohsiung signature; the famous Zheng's stall at Liuhe Night Market dates to 1965.
Liuhe Night Market 六合夜市Streets of seafood restaurants by the ferry on Cijin Island, serving the day's catch — grilled squid, oysters and more.
Cijin 旗津The northern district of Gangshan has been Taiwan's goat-meat centre since the 1920s; goat-meat eateries across Taiwan still invoke its name.
Gangshan 岡山A spicy fermented broad-bean paste that is a famous Gangshan specialty and a staple seasoning in southern kitchens.
Gangshan 岡山Wide, slippery flat rice noodles, a classic Hakka dish of Meinong, often served alongside hearty Hakka stir-fry.
Meinong 美濃Qishan is Taiwan's "banana capital," with banana-themed treats and old-fashioned popsicles (枝仔冰) on its historic main street.
Qishan 旗山A savoury Meinong staple of pork, dried squid, tofu and celery — salty, fragrant and full of Hakka flavour.
Meinong 美濃Around the ferry piers and old town: shrimp and oyster dishes, fried snacks and seafood soups by the water.
Gushan・Yancheng 鼓山・鹽埕Taiwan's largest harbour and a hub of maritime trade.
Steel, petrochemicals and shipbuilding, now turning toward arts and culture.
Weiwuying, the Pier-2 warehouses and a growing music-and-arts scene.
The handmade Hakka oil-paper umbrellas of the eastern hill town.
Taiwan's banana capital, with treats and popsicles to match.
The lit-up riverfront and the world's largest single glass artwork.
Introduce Kaohsiung to a visitor — tap 🔊 to hear each sentence. 用英文向訪客介紹高雄,點 🔊 聽聽看。
Sources · 資料來源:高雄市政府觀光局、交通部觀光署、客家委員會、衛武營國家藝術文化中心、維基百科等公開資料整理。