TAIWAN -SOUTH (Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi, Penghu islands)
CHIAYL
This city is a real waste of time. I’m sorry I included it on my itinerary.
Historical Relic Museum. Japanese-era offices turned museum with photos & maps tracing the city’s past, plus kimono rentals. Don’t bother trying to find this. Maybe GM was wrong but it shows walking to the museum. Nobody has ever heard of it including the guy sitting outside the building that fits the above description with kimono rentals, and three tiny rooms with minimal artifacts. What a waste of time. Free
I then got completely lost ending up in a forest. I didn’t bring my phone for directions or translation as no one spoke English. I finally found the Chiayl Tower and the car. What a mess.
Chiayi Municipal Museum. Sections on medicine, a city scape, fossils, archaeology, artists, culture, food – none very interesting. Free if >65.
Zheng Chenggong Dashenxiang. 53.4 meter tall statue of a seated Koxinga finished in 1995. It rests on a base 59 meters high, leading to a total height of 112.4 meters of the monument. It is in 2019 the thirty-fourth tallest statue in the world.
Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum. Somebody had a lot of money to spend on this extravagant structure – 50TD parking, a 700 m walk to the museum, a large artificial lake, a very extravagant pedestrian bridge over the lake to get to the museum, a lobby larger than almost any museum I have been in and a large separate exhibition area with space not well used. About 6 exhibition halls: Treasures (6 pieces, 4 of them carved burls), Buddhist art (some incredible pieces), porcelain Cloisonne enamels, painting and calligraphy, and a small section on Taiwan. 150TD + 50 to park.
Donshi Pier. Dongshi Windmill. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, Dongshi Fishing Port has been an important port for fishing vessels in western Taiwan in the estuary of the Puzi River. Has great views, a fish market with a daily auction at 14:00 p.m., lifelike sculptures, gourmet cuisine, and a windmill.
High Heeled Shoes Church. Made of blue plexiglass with a geodesic dome structure, this sits in the middle of a park. It appears to have nothing church-like as all that is inside are 8 mosaic mirror balls and a photo of the church on a screen.
Crystal Church, Beimen. Sitting on a small island, this structure is an all white frame with open arches on the side. Both ends have clear panels.
Fangyuan Museum of Arts. Wow, don’t miss this lovely small museum. Most is great pottery with unusual shapes and wonderful glazes. There is also a lot of art by at least three artists. I liked most of it and actually went back to my car to get my camera to take photos of some.
TAINAN
Facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast, Tainan is the oldest city on the island and the capital of Taiwan for over 200 years under Koxinga and later Qing rule (1887). Tainan was initially established by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a ruling and trading base called Fort Zeelandia until 1661, Tainan remained the capital of the Tungning Kingdom until 1683 and afterward the capital of Taiwan Prefecture under Qing dynasty rule until 1887. Tainan became part of the Japanese colonial empire until the Republic of China regained control of Taiwan in 1945.
It is also one of Taiwan’s cultural capitals, for its rich folk cultures including the famous local street food and traditional cuisine, extensively preserved Taoist rites and other living local traditions from childbirth to funerals. The city houses the first Confucian school–temple in Taiwan, built in 1665, the remains of the Eastern and Southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments. Tainan claims more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any other city in Taiwan.
Taiwan Salt Museum. In an area of hundreds of small salt evaporation ponds, this museum looks permanently closed.
Sicao Dazhong Temple. Maybe the most OTT temple in Taiwan – the usual ornate three-tiered roof, red columns with gold calligraphy, all painted inside, and tons of gilt but a tiny black god.
Anping Tree House. Not really a tree house but a bunch of steel walkways and platforms. Most surround an old house with no roof but walls covered by many strangler fig trees, the real attraction here (hence the name “tree house”). Another platform extends over a pond/swamp. A small display explains banyan trees and figs in particular. 70TD
Anping Fort (Fort Zeelandia). Originally built in 1624 by the Dutch, destroyed by the British in 1866, and renovated by the Japanese who built all the tiered brick walls and installed a Western-style pavilion. Now the pavilion is a modern restaurant with an adjoining tower. 70 if >65
Eternal Golden Castle (Erkunshen Battery) is a defensive castle built from 1874-1876 by the famous Qing official Shen Baozhen to guard the coast and defend the island against the Japanese. Its first action was in the Sino-French War of 1884. When Taiwan was ceded to the Empire of Japan by the Qing in 1895, the Taiwanese people fought under the Republic of Formosa banner against the invading Japanese battleships from this fortress. Under Japanese control, it lost its value, and the fort’s cannons were sold.
It is surrounded by a park with rental paddle boats to sail around the castle. There are occasional music performances. Cross a causeway and enter a gate, about all that is left. Some elevated mounds mark the past walls with some cannons. 100TD.
Museum of Canal. Anping Customs, built in 1926, was where cargo ships stopped to pay tariffs when arriving at or departing Anping. This beautiful red brick Japanese-style building has installations that combine with the canal. It has many photographs and films in which Anping Canal appears and retains a lot of the equipment once used by the Customs. Free if >65
Chihkan Tower (Fort Provintia) was built in 1653 by the Dutch during their colonization of Taiwan and was eventually surrendered to Koxinga. Haishan Temple, the present building, was built on the foundation of the fort. It is a two-story building with a small shrine and ship models on the second floor. 70TD
Tainan Grand Mazu Temple. Another Tao temple but not nearly ornate as others. Lovely frescoes on both side walls.
ON Fuqi Hostel. In an old building, I have a dorm on the 3rd floor. Good common area.
Day 6 Wed Aug 25
On my 4th day of car hire, I need to make up time if I am to get back to Taipei on the 28th.
Nankunchen Temple. 2 temples, which worship Wufu Qiansui and Wanshan Ye respectively. The legend goes that Wanshan Ye was a shepherd boy of a Qing emperor. He practiced Buddhist principles in Kanglang Mountain and became a Buddha here. Wufu Qiansui came to Taiwan later also in the Qing Dynasty. As they both wanted to build a temple here, they had a fight over the land. Goddess of Mercy mediated between them and suggested they both build a temple here to help local people.
Nankunshen Daitian Temple is the largest and oldest Wangye Temple in Taiwan. There is Kunyuan, Huyuan, Haishan Pavilion, and other facilities.
National Museum of Taiwan Literature. Researches, catalogs, preserves, and exhibits local literary artifacts as part of its multilingual, multi-ethnic focus. The museum is housed in the former Tainan City Hall, constructed in 1916 and famous for its historical significance.
Tainan Confucius Temple (the Scholarly Temple) was built in 1665 by Cheng Ching, son of Koxinga, to offer lectures and cultivate intellectuals. It was the first learning institute for children when Taiwan was ruled by the Qing dynasty. The temple is a popular tourist attraction and preserves ancient Confucian ceremonies, which are conducted regularly. The grounds include storerooms for the ritual implements and musical instruments that are used in these ceremonies.
Tainan Art Museum. I enjoyed this especially old photos of Tainan by Tshun Guan. Free if ?65
Fangyuan Museum of Arts
Black Bridge Sausage Museum. In the NM Bizzarium series, this is a modern place – store on the bottom, how to make sausage on the 2nd, and about Blackbridge (started in 1957) on the third. I had two sausages for breakfast 120W. There were a hundred little kids touring the place.
Chimei Museum. In a spectacular palace (huge park-like grounds, lakes, bridge with Greek/Roman gods, huge building with big dome), I only saw the permanent exhibition – a large natural history section (huge selection of mammals separated by continent, birds) and weapons of war. 200TD, 150 if>65.
This is a private museum established in 1992 by Shi Wen-long of Chi Mei Corporation. The museum’s collection is divided into five categories: Fine arts (including painting, sculpture, decorative arts and period furniture); Musical instruments; Natural history and fossils; Arms and armor; Antiquities and artifacts. The museum is known for housing the world’s largest violin collection and for its significant collections of ancient weapons and sculptures. Forbes magazine, in its February 1996 article on private collectors in Asia, called the Chimei Museum “one of the world’s most surprising art collections. The museum moved to its current venue on Wenhua Road in 2014, and it is open to the public except on designated days.
The museum has several exhibition areas, including fine arts, natural history and fossils, arms and armor, musical instruments, and sculptures. The museum has a collection of European paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, presenting the development of Western art. The historic weapon exhibition presents weapons from prehistoric times, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age to modern times. The collection features few artifacts from Taiwan or areas close to it as the main idea of the collection is to allow Taiwanese people to see artwork and pieces. The museum’s founder grew up disadvantaged and wants to ensure that local children can be inspired by global culture even if their families do not have the resources to travel extensively.
KAOHSIUNG
National Stadium. An interesting construction with the structural tubing on the outside forming a lattice. Couldn’t be entered.
Holy Rosary Cathedral Minor Basilica. This is a relatively small 3-nave RC church. Constructed of grey stone, the inside has gold capitals, unusually painted stained glass windows, and no Ways of the Cross.
Kaohsiung Confucius Temple. Another typical Confucius temple – red, no one here, and the only “idol” is a 5-character saying.
Lotus Pond. A large lake next to the Confucius temple with a temple at the end of a long jetty and the two pagodas below on the SE corner. Interesting, there are no lotuses.
Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. Two almost 7-level pagodas on the shore of Lotus Lake. They are being renovated and covered with scaffolding.
Museum of Fine Arts. Great art in the permanent exhibition. I didn’t go to the temporary exhibition on the Anthropocene. 200TD, free if >65.
85 Sky Tower (formerly known as the T & C Tower) is an 85-story skyscraper, 347.5 m (1,140 ft) high constructed from 1994 to 1997 by the now-defunct Tuntex Group, it is the tallest building in Kaohsiung, and the 2nd tallest in Taiwan after the Taipei 101.
As of 2023, the building is almost entirely unoccupied except for a few condominiums and offices between the 12th to 35th floors. Many floors have not been used in decades, and their conditions have become dirty and run-down. When the building first opened, it once housed a department store, indoor amusement park, five-star hotel, observatory, steakhouse and disco, VIP club and spa, and other amenities.
It has an unusual ‘prong’ design with two separate 39-floor sections, which merge into a single central tower rising to a spire. This unique design leaves a substantial space below the central part of the tower.
There is no 44th floor in the building due to Tetraphobia), so the 43rd floor connects directly to the 45th floor; the 57th floor, a mechanical floor, is numbered 57A. The pyramid-shaped crown is the equivalent of three stories high and is hence marketed as 83–85 to arrive at a round number. There is no elevator access to floors above 80.
There is an Atrium that extends from Level 45’s Shimmer Ballroom (as of 2015 the entire floor is dark and unoccupied) to Level 83; it is one of the highest continuous atriums in the world.
Dream Mall. A nine-story mall (+3 levels below ground). I bought new Sketchers flip flops on the 6th floor. Etched glass facade. Ferris wheel accessed from the 9th floor.
The next three are on the end of a peninsula on the south side of the river.
Rainbow Church. Not really a church but more of a chapel as there are multiple rectangular colourful tubes with nothing inside. Sunset is perhaps the most beautiful time to visit as the sun’s rays permeate between the colorful entrance bars, and its colors are reflected on the visitors passing inside and outside the church. 
Cihou Fort is a historic fort in Cijin District formerly guarding the northern entrance to Kaohsiung Harbor. First built in 1720 when Taiwan was ruled by the Manchu-led Qing Empire of China. After the Japanese expedition in 1874, the Qing authorities constructed a modern fort, which in 1880 had new Armstrong’s guns installed. It played no part in the Sino-French War. After World War II the hill was fortified by Chinese army: light gun and machine gun nests cut in the rock can still be found there.
It now has some fortified barracks, two gates and the main rectangular battery with four guns. Free
Kaohsiung Lighthouse. When the Takau Harbor was opened to foreign traders in 1863, British engineers built a Chinese-style rectangular red-brick lighthouse at the top of Mount Ki-au. During the Japanese rule, the lighthouse was rebuilt in 1916 as part of the project. it is a lovely white Baroque building at the base with a lighthouse on top. It is the best place to see the entire Port of Kaohsiung.
I then had a decision to make – see more of Kaohsiung or continue my drive around Taiwan. With only 2+ days, I drove south towards the tip of the island and Eluanbi lighthouse.
It was then a tortuous drive back to a reasonable road. I took one 12 km stretch on a single one-lane. It was difficult to pass anyone when the road became passable, and horned until they let me by and had a guy chasing me with road rage.
Kenting NP
Shuangliu National Forest
GO TO TAIWAN EAST