Inside KaohsiungA Local Field Guide

The harbor

Kaohsiung's harbor, stop by stop

Warehouses turned art spaces, a river with a boat ride, and a ferry to an island. All of it along one light rail line.

The harbor is what makes Kaohsiung different, and the best way to see it is the Circular Light Rail. Ride it along the water from Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (C8) to Hamasen (C14), get off for the Music Center and the Pier-2 warehouses, then cross to Cijin Island by ferry. Come back for the Love River in the evening: we've done the boat, and it's a gentle way to end a day here.

  • Ride Circular Light Rail, C8 Kaohsiung Exhibition Center to C14 Hamasen
  • Cross Gushan to Cijin ferry, NT$30, every 10 to 15 min
  • Evening Love River boat, 15:00 to 22:00, 25 min
  • Allow A full day, with Cijin; half a day without

Asia New Bay

Asia New Bay (亞洲新灣區), the new waterfront at the southern end of the harbor is where Kaohsiung shows off its modern buildings.

Kaohsiung Music Center (高雄流行音樂中心). A cluster of white wave-shaped buildings on the water, designed by the Spanish architect Manuel Monteserin with a Taiwanese team, built for pop concerts. The outdoor waterfront is open around the clock; the halls open for shows. Light rail: Love Pier (C11) or Glory Pier (C10).

Kaohsiung Main Public Library (高雄市立圖書館總館). Eight floors of glass and greenery with an open roof, opened in 2014. Open 10:00 to 22:00 (to 17:00 on national holidays), closed Mondays. Light rail: Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (C8).

Pier-2 Art Center

Pier-2 Art Center (駁二藝術特區) is a row of old harbor warehouses that once stored fishmeal and sugar. Artists moved in after 2000, and the city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs has run it since 2006. Today it's galleries, shops, cafés and big outdoor art, spread along the waterfront. → Pier-2 in full Only some of the venues sell tickets, so most of it is free to wander.

  • Hours Mon to Thu 10:00 to 18:00; Fri to Sun and national holidays 10:00 to 20:00
  • Entry Ticketed venues only, such as the Pier-2 Contemporary Art Museum NT$120 for all exhibitions (NT$80 for one)
  • Address No. 1, Dayong Rd., Yancheng District
  • Station Light rail: Dayi Pier-2 (C12) or Penglai Pier-2 (C13). MRT: Yanchengpu (O2, Orange Line)

Hamasen

Hamasen (哈瑪星) is the old harbor district at the western end of the line. The name comes from the Japanese for "coast line", a railway branch built here in 1905. Kaohsiung's first railway station, Takao Station, opened nearby in 1900; land to its south was reclaimed from the sea, a harbor line was run onto it in 1905, and the station moved south onto the new land in 1908. It carried freight until 2008. It's now the Takao Railway Museum (舊打狗驛故事館), with old tracks laid out in a park outside. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00; the park is open all the time.

Station: light rail Hamasen (C14), or MRT Hamasen (O1, Orange Line). This is also where you catch the ferry to Cijin.

The British Consulate at Takow

On a hill above the harbor mouth, the red-brick British Consulate at Takow (打狗英國領事館文化園區) was built in 1879, and the city calls it the oldest surviving modern Western building in Taiwan. The hilltop residence reopened in July 2026 after restoration. Come for the building and the view over the harbor and Sizihwan.

  • Hours 10:00 to 19:00; Sat, Sun and national holidays from 09:00. Last entry 18:30
  • Closed Wednesdays (open if a national holiday falls on a Wednesday)
  • Entry NT$99 adult; NT$39 ages 1 to 5 and 65+
  • Address No. 20, Lianhai Rd., Gushan District
  • Station A walk or short taxi from Hamasen (O1 / C14)

Below the hill, National Sun Yat-sen University sits on Sizihwan bay. → The consulate in full · Sunset spots

Cijin Island

Cijin (旗津) is the long, thin island that shelters the harbor. Take the ferry across from Gushan Ferry Pier in Hamasen (NT$30 a passenger, about 05:00 to 02:00). On the island you'll find:

  • The seafood street on Miaoqian Road, right off the ferry.
  • Cijin Tianhou Temple (旗津天后宮), founded in 1673 and described by the city as Taiwan's first Mazu temple; the current building dates from a 1926 rebuild.
  • Kaohsiung Lighthouse (旗後燈塔), first built in 1883 and rebuilt in 1918. Since 2022 it has been Taiwan's first lighthouse open at night: 10:00 to 21:00, every day.
  • Cihou Fort (旗後砲台), a Qing-era fort built after the 1874 Mudan Incident, open all the time.
  • Cijin Beach (旗津海水浴場), open April to October (closed November to March). Work on its entrance plaza and walkways runs until December 2026, with detours.

→ Cijin in full

Good to know: the ferry is busiest on weekend afternoons, and on long weekends visitors can't take petrol scooters across between 11:00 and 19:00. Walk on, or bring a bicycle (NT$40 with the rider).

The Love River

The Love River (愛河) runs through the city centre into the harbor. The Japanese dredged it into a canal; the name comes from a boat company that opened by Zhongzheng Bridge in 1948. Paths run along both banks through the centre.

The Love Boat (愛之船) is a small solar-powered boat that does a 25-minute loop: from the pier opposite the Ambassador Hotel (愛河國賓站) up past Zhongzheng Bridge, then down to Love Pier by the Music Center and back.

  • Hours 15:00 to 22:00 daily (to 23:00 on Saturdays), about every 30 min
  • Fare NT$150 adult, NT$120 student, NT$80 concession, under-2s free (as listed by the city)
  • Board Opposite No. 176 Hedong Rd., Qianjin District
  • Station MRT Cianjin (O4, Orange Line), about 500 m

Beyond the harbor

Two more sights are worth adding on the way through. The Dome of Light (光之穹頂) is a 30-metre stained-glass ceiling by the artist Narcissus Quagliata, lit in 2008, inside Formosa Boulevard Station (R10 / O5): it's free whenever the MRT is running. Up north in Zuoying, Lotus Pond (蓮池潭) has the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, built in 1976: you walk in through the dragon's mouth and out through the tiger's. Their renovation finished in early 2025.

→ The harbor in one day · The light rail and the ferry · What to eat, Cijin seafood included · Shows at the Music Center · Shoushan, above Hamasen

Sources: Kaohsiung Travel (Love River, Cijin, Cijin Beach works, Hamasen, Music Center, Lotus Pond, Dome of Light). Love Boat route and hours: Kaohsiung City Shipping; fares from Kaohsiung Travel. Pier-2 Art Center and its tickets. The British Consulate at Takow. Kaohsiung Music Center. Kaohsiung Public Library. Lighthouse: Maritime and Port Bureau. Pagodas: Taipei Times. Stations: KRTC. Checked October 2026.

Questions

What is the best way to see Kaohsiung harbor?

Ride the Circular Light Rail along the waterfront, from Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (C8) to Hamasen (C14), and get off at Pier-2 and the Music Center on the way. From Hamasen, take the ferry across to Cijin, then finish with a Love River boat after dark.

How much is the Love River boat?

The city lists NT$150 for an adult on the solar-powered Love Boat, which runs a 25-minute loop from the Ambassador Hotel pier from 15:00 to 22:00 (to 23:00 on Saturdays).

Is Pier-2 free?

Mostly. Only some venues sell tickets, such as the Pier-2 Contemporary Art Museum (NT$120 for all exhibitions). Pier-2 opens 10:00 to 18:00 Monday to Thursday and to 20:00 Friday to Sunday.

When is the British Consulate at Takow closed?

Wednesdays, for heritage maintenance, unless a national holiday falls on a Wednesday. Other days it opens 10:00 to 19:00 (from 09:00 at weekends), with last entry at 18:30.