Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan and is located in the south of the island. Kaohsiung is known for its harbor, although more for commercial than tourism reasons. Hence it is also known as the Harbor Capital of Taiwan. Its year-round fine weather and the low cost of living make Kaohsiung a must for visitors to Taiwan.

Kaohsiung is Taiwan's second largest city (with 1.5 million inhabitants) and its largest port. Although the ranking has declined steadily over the last few years, Kaohsiung is still the world's sixth largest cargo-container seaport. Unlike Taipei, Kaohsiung is a planned city with wide streets and slightly less traffic congestion than the capital. In recent years the city has made great strides in transforming itself from a primarily industrial city into a modern Asian metropolis, and several areas of the city, such as along the banks of the River Ai (Love River), have benefited from major beautification projects under the tenure of former mayor Frank Hsieh. The city is often known as Taiwan's "Harbor Capital” because of its close connection and heavy reliance on the ocean and maritime transportation.

Kaohsiung began in the 17th century as a small fishing village named "Takao", derived from the local aboriginal name meaning "bamboo forest". The name was changed to "Gaoxiong" by the Japanese in 1895, also pronounced "Takao" in Japanese, as they found the original name of “Takao”to be vulgar. The modern name of "Kaohsiung" is the pronunciation of "Gaoxiong" in Mandarin.

The Cijin District is located on a slender island in Kaohsiung harbor which serves as a natural breakwater for the harbor. The district is filled with seafood restaurants selling freshly caught seafood which can be prepared right after you pick it out. Cijin is connected to the rest of Kaohsiung City by underwater tunnels, but the transportation of choice is one of the many ferries that traverse the harbor. Fare for the ferry ride is NT$10 per person. The area is especially crowded on weekends with many visitors bringing their entire family along.