Kaohsiung Things to Do

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Probably the best view of the city of Kaohsiung is from the 74th floor observation deck of the Kaohsiung 85 Tower (Tuntex Skyscraper). For an inexpensive NT 100 (compared to NT 350 for Taipei 101), you can take a modestly fast elevator for about 1 minute up 75 floors, where you come out at a bar/lounge. Descend the staircase to the observation area, which offers views west, north, and east; the view to the south is blocked off. The observation deck is rarely visited (at least when I was there. But that was an overcast day); I stayed there for an hour and at times I had the entire floor to myself. The amenities here are not as expanded as Taipei 101; there is no gift shop, no mass damper to see. There are also no labels/plaques of the view.

Some notable features visible from the tower are the Kaohsiung Harbor, Love River, and Chengcing Lake.

True Love Pier (Jin-ai Matou) (真愛碼頭) is at the southern end of Love River. This is a rather interesting place; you can board the short boat rides on the river here (though not if its raining). There's also a pedestrian bridge here that crosses the Love River. From the bridge, you get views of the pier, the Tuntex Skyscraper, and much of the rest of the Kaohsiung skyline; you can even see the port of Kaohsiung.

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Tuntex Skyscraper (Tuntex Sky Tower) (Kaohsiung 85 Tower) is the tallest building in Kaohsiung at 348 meters (1,140 feet) tall. It has 85 floors and has an observation deck, which I didn't visit. The shape of this building is noteworthy: the building is designed to look like the Chinese word Kao (高),the first part of the name Kaohsiung. Tuntex Sky Tower is the second tallest building in the Republic of China; when it was completed in 1997, it replaced Taipei's Shin-Kong Life Tower as the tallest on the island, and was the tallest building in Taiwan until 2003, when Taipei 101 surpassed it. Tuntex Sky Tower contains the second highest hotel rooms in the world, surpassed only by Shanghai's Jin-Mao Tower.

If you wake up early in the morning, it's a good idea to take an early morning walk along Love River. At night, there are restaurants all around the path near the river; in the morning, they are all closed. Love River is a good place to see the people of Kaohsiung exercise in the morning. However, I have to say I was disappointed by this: in Taipei, everyone does Tai chi or Yuanji wu; in Kaohsiung, everyone just... walks (not very photogenic). Still, you can see the Kaohsiung skyline and people watch when you come early.

Love River is more of an attraction for locals than foreigners; I didn't like it very much, though. Love River is actually a canal that cuts through the center of Kaohsiung. Originally, this river was regarded as a stink hole that nobody would go near; later on, the city of Kaohsiung gave the river a face-lift that supposedly would make it better. According to everyone I've met, it is better, but in my opinion, the canal is still very polluted and very smelly. Most people visit the Love River at night, when the Kaohsiung's lights come on; short boat rides are offered on the river, but it was raining during my visit, so all boat rides were cancelled.

Not a bad place to take an evening stroll in Kaohsuing, especially when they've got it all decorated up for the Lantern Festival Holiday...

Seems Kaohsiung has made some effort to clean this area up a bit over the past few years...

The lantern festival is held by the Kaohsiung government usually from 2/22 to 3/6. you can see fireworks in these days from 18.30 to 22.30 around the Love River. if im right, the firework is on every 30 mins. =)))))

One of the many immortals of the Chinese Pantheon is Kuan Kung, the God of war (or Knight saint) and is probably considered the most powerful.

He was also a General, (General Kuan Ti, Kuan Yu, or Wu Ti). Born in Shanzi China in 162AD towards the end of the Han Dynasty, he was a great warrior. He died at 58 in 220, when he was beheaded for not joining forces with the enemy who had captured him. His story is told in the Chinese classic The Romance of the Three Kingdoms