One of the best beaches in New Taipei City is found at this little bay that’s sometimes called White Haven Beach. The Chinese name translates as ‘white-sand bay’. The entrance to the beach is down a side road 100m or so off Hwy 2 (there are English signs around the 23km mark). Swimming is permitted from May to September, as…

Caves of the Eight Immortals, aka Baxian Cave, has both the geologically and archaeologically interesting. It is located on the cliffs that face the Pacific Ocean in Shanjian Village in Changbin Township. There are dozens of natural sea caves. These sea caves were originally in the sea. Now they are scattered in 150 meter high cliffs. This is because the…

Yingge Old Street, with its (new) cobbled roads, traditional street lamps, red-brick facades and walk-in kilns, was Yingge’s earliest ceramics hub. Pottery shops and stalls flanking sections of Wenhua Rd, Jianshanbu Rd and Chongqing Rd compete for your business, and you could spend hours just browsing. Note that the majority of items you see do not come from Yingge, or…

The lighthouse, built in the 19th century by British engineers and restored in 1918 by the Japanese, offers killer views of the Port of Kaohsiung. Situated atop Cihou Mountain, the snow-white, dazzling Cihou Lighthouse which watches over Kaohsiung Port is a symbol of Kaohsiung. The square lighthouse was built by the British to provide ships with illumination in 1883. An…

Almost all big cities have a beautiful river passed by, this is especially true in Kaohsiung. Love River lies across Kaohsiung for times of sunrises and sunsets. Love River, known as Dagou River in Qing Dynasty, was renamed by Japanese as Takao River. Love River was once an open sewer and it has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years.…

Not the place you want to be during an earthquake, this was the tallest building in Taiwan before Taipei 101, with a look inspired by the Chinese character 高 (gāo), meaning ‘tall’.  The 74th floor View Deck provides spectacular panoramic views over the city and harbor. Take the world’s 2nd fastest lift, which reaches the 74th floor in only 43…

The transfer station between Red and Orange Lines, which ranked second-most beautiful metro station in the world, Formosa Boulevard Station is definitely a site to be seen when you visiting Kaohsiung. Situated at the Kaohsiung MRT transfer station for the Red Line and Orange Line (Formosa Boulevard Station), Dome of Light was created by renowned artist Narcissus Quagliata. The 4 station…

To the west of the city, an ageing village has been transformed into an art piece with vibrant colours and drawings on every inch of the walls by Mr Wong, the nonagenarian ‘resident painter’ who’s also a KMT veteran of the Chinese Civil War (1945–49). To get there, take bus 27 (50 minutes) from the train station. Alight at Gancheng…

This 200m-long swaying pedestrian bridge was built by the Japanese in 1937. It offers a great vantage point from which to gaze south towards the forested hills of Taiwan’s northern mountain range, or back up the river to the concrete jaws of the city.On the bridge, the entire river and shore view of the “Bitan Scenic Area” is in sight.…

Ten years in the planning, this 57-hectare nature reserve opened in 2001 under the control of the Wild Bird Society of Taipei. There’s a visitor centre and good trails and hides, as well as over 200 species of birds, 150 species of plants and 800 species of animals. It’s a 15-minute walk from Guandu MRT, or take the R35 bus…