Introduction  Guishan Island (literally Turtle Mountain Island) is a turtle shaped island outside the coast of Yilan. It is a guard base without people living on it since the fisherman there have all moved to Taiwan. The island open for day tours. You can register online to apply for the tours to the island, including hiking and whale watching offshore.  …

Huisun Forest was called Nenggao Forest. It is the largest of the four forests of National Chung Hsing University. “Huisun” is the name of the late university president Tang Hui Sun. In memory of president Tang, the university renamed the forest Huisun. In addition to the dense forest, there are canyons and waterfalls in the forest. The mountain has an …

Behind the Matsu Temple, the fort was a stronghold of Dutch power until its capture by Koxinga in 1661 after a nine-month battle. In Kangxi Emperor’s regime of Qing Dynasty, Taiwan was included in the empire that the political center was transferred to Tainan City, causing the decline of the Fort. The red bricks of the Fort have been taken …

Just south of Dulan is the geological oddity known as Water Running Up. Can you figure out why it’s doing this? Visitors could see a stone with inscriptions of “Qiguan” (A Spectacular View) in red, standing alongside the road. A narrow ditch lies next to the stone and water in the ditch runs upwards against gravity. The site is a famous …

About 4km past Wulai Waterfall is this forested area popularly known as Wawagu (Valley of the Frogs). With its hiking trails through broadleaved and cedar forests, bird and insect life, river views and rushing waterfalls (especially the three-tiered Hsinhsian Waterfall; Xìnxián Pùbù), this place is worth a dedicated trip. It’s particularly enchanting on a misty winter’s day. At the time …

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. …

At the fourth largest container port in the world, Kaohsiung Harbor plays an important role to Taiwan’s economic development. The Harbor currently has a channel lane of 18 kilometers, available for boats 100,000 tons. There are 97 docks, with a total length of 20.570 meters. A cruise around Kaohsiung Harbor will let you see the modernization of the Harbor and …

If you have kids or if you’re in the area hiking, this zoo on the northern border of Shoushan Park in Gushan District has more than 80 species rare animals from all over the world, including camels, antelopes, macaques and ostriches. The highlight here is the adorable Formosan black bear and the aviary where you can see birds at eye …

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. …