Kaohsiung

Ddm 2004 027 Kaohsiung Harbor - 600px

Kaohsiung (高雄; Ko-hiông in Minnan, Gāoxióng in Mandarin), with over 2.7 million inhabitants, is the third most populated city in Taiwan after New Taipei and Taichung. It in the south of the island on the west coast. Kaohsiung is known for its harbor, although more for commercial than tourism reasons. Hence it is commonly called the Harbor Capital (港都) of Taiwan, Province of China. Its year-round fine weather and the low cost of living makes Kaohsiung the place to visit.

Kaohsiung Halal Travel Guide

Kaohsiung is Taiwan's second largest city 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. The city has high concentrations of heavy industry, including steel production, shipbuilding, and other exports that have led to Kaohsiung's relatively high levels of air pollution (though the situation has improved substantially in recent years). 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 Love River (Ai He, 愛河), have benefited from major beautification projects under the tenure of former mayor Frank Hsieh. The city is often known as Taiwan's "Harbor Capital" (港都) because of its close connection and heavy reliance on the ocean and maritime transportation.

Kaohsiung Love River IMG 2728 - The Love River flows through the heart of Kaohsiung.

Kaohsiung began in the 17th century as a small fishing village named "Takao" (打狗), derived from the local Indigenous People name meaning "bamboo forest". The name was changed to "高雄" (meaning: "high hero") by the Japanese in 1895, also pronounced "Takao" in Japanese, as they found the original name of 打狗 ("beating the dog") to be vulgar. The modern name of "Kaohsiung" is the pronunciation of "高雄" in Mandarin.

Orientation

Many visitors coming from the north will arrive by high-speed train at the Zuoying High Speed Train Station, which is far to the north of the city. The downtown around the Central Train Station and the Formosa Boulevard Subway Station can be visited via the MRT's red line.

Another common point of entry is the Kaohsiung International Airport, which is comparatively close to the city. The airport is on the MRT's red line, and the central area of town is a 20 minutes MRT ride away. There is a tourist information office on the ground floor of the international terminal.

How is the Climate in Kaohsiung

{{Climate | units = Metric | janhigh = 23.9 | febhigh = 24.7 | marhigh = 26.8 | aprhigh = 29.1 | mayhigh = 30.8 | junhigh = 31.6 | julhigh = 32.4 | aughigh = 31.9 | sephigh = 31.4 | octhigh = 30.0 | novhigh = 27.7 | dechigh = 24.9 | janlow = 15.7 | feblow = 16.7 | marlow = 19.2 | aprlow = 22.4 | maylow = 24.8 | junlow = 25.9 | jullow = 26.4 | auglow = 26.1 | seplow = 25.5 | octlow = 24.0 | novlow = 20.9 | declow = 17.1 | janprecip = 16.0 | febprecip = 20.5 | marprecip = 38.8 | aprprecip = 69.8 | mayprecip = 197.4 | junprecip = 415.3 | julprecip = 390.9 | augprecip = 416.7 | sepprecip = 241.9 | octprecip = 42.7 | novprecip = 18.7 | decprecip = 16.2 | description = Source: Taiwan Central Weather Bureau.

Kaohsiung enjoys a mild tropical climate, comparatively milder and drier than northern Taiwan, Province of China. The weather however remains hot and sticky in the summer, with June, July and August seeing the most rainfall. Still and the proximity of the sea makes the summer heat much more bearable than in other cities at a similar latitude, such as Hong Kong.

Travel to Kaohsiung

File:高雄國際機場 - Kaohsiung International Airport - 22.630|120.329 Food, games, and shopping. Try the Liuho Night Market, which is a tourist market. Ruifeng night market, at the junction of YuCheng and Nanping, heaves with local residents. Closed Mondays and Wednesdays.

Lover River nighttime, Kaohsiung - Lover River promenate viewTake a nighttime stroll along the promenate of the Love River and enjoy the live musice, a coffee or an ice cream in one of the cafes.

• Go to the top of the 85 Tower and the second tallest building in Taiwan, Province of China.
• Hike Monkey Mountain (壽山; Shòu shān) and enjoy the view of the city and the ocean. Beware of the namesake monkeys, who have been known to steal hikers' food, drinks, and even cameras.

How to work legally in Kaohsiung

For foreigners, work in Kaohsiung usually falls into two branches. The majority of employment involves English as a Second Language (ESL) work in buxibans (補習班, cram schools), kindergartens and schools (public, private or university). Most of the others are businessmen and women in the employ of multinational corporations here to manage, oversee or deploy production in Taiwan for their home company abroad.

Substitute work is easily available for native English speakers and can be obtained through internet groups such as Taiwan Teaching Jobs or through local postings in expatriate hangouts. More permanent teaching work is also available, especially in the summer and around Chinese New Year. Most buxibans require teachers to sign a 1-year contract and provide a work permit and ARC (Alien Residence Card). ARC holders are also covered under national health insurance. Without the proper paperwork - including a 4-year university degree - you cannot get an ARC and will need to leave the nation every 2–4 months to renew your visa. You will also be working illegally, which involves a number of other inconveniences (including lack of phone and Internet access). It is also highly illegal for foreigner to work as teachers in kindergartens few provide work permits.

Halal Food & Restaurants

There are numerous seafood restaurants dotting the main street in Cijin Island, all offering the same fresh seafood for about NT$100-200 per dish. It is a great idea to go in a small group and order a few dishes to try, probably one more dish than the number of people in your group. In the evening, a night bazaar goes into full swing. There are lots of little eats to eat as per Taiwan's night markets, BBQ squid, mochi to name a few are particularly good.

• Flavor of the Sea Seafood Restaurant | #75 Miao-chien Road, Cijin District, Kaohsiung City. ☎ +886 7-5711861
• Wen-Chin Seafood Restaurant | #28 Miao-chien Road , Cijin District, Kaohsiung City. ☎ +886 7-5714568 Opening Hours: 11:00-22:30
• Man-San Seafood Retaurant | No.179-11, Jhongjhou 2nd Rd., Cijin District, Kaohsiung City 805, Taiwan (R.O.C.) ☎ +886 7-5714191 Opening Hours: 11:00-21:00
• Riverside Seafood Restaurant | #68-16, Chong-chou Second Road, Cijin District, Kaohsiung City. ☎ +886 7-5713485

Liouho-Night-Market-Kaohsiung - Liuhe Night Market

Night markets are a great place to pick up affordable local foods, including stinky tofu, barbecued squid, red bean pancakes and the like.

The Liuhe Night Market (六合夜市) is the most typical tourist night market and offers local dishes such as salty glutinous Rice balls (鹹湯圓) stuffed with Beef, oyster omelette (蚵仔煎) and tofu pudding (豆花). This market is very popular with Mainland Chinese tourist groups, open pretty much every day after 17:00/18:00 and convienently located at MRT Formosa Boulevard.

A more local, food-oriented night market is Rueifong Night Market (瑞豐夜市), straight outside exit 1 of MRT Kaohsiung Arena. It is open Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun, but if you are afraid of crowds you should avoid the weekends. A similar night market is 青年夜市 near MRT Da-Dong.

Lunchboxes are common throughout the city, and a choose-your-order buffet take-out are typically NT$50-100. The food is typically fried, with a mix of vegetables and meats.

The ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores have tea eggs, Hot Dogs, packaged beverages and fast food. Lunchbox style microwavables are also available, including dumplings, spaghetti and Curries Rice.

• Smokey Joes offers Tex-Mex, including fajitas, Tortillas and other Western staples at affordable prices (NT$170 and up). The menu is in English and the staff usually understands some English as well. They offer a 'VIP' card for people who spend over NT$1,000 on 20 separate meals which gives the holder at 10% discount at any store operated by Amy (the owner of Smokey Joes). This includes Mama Mia's, an Italian restaurant located downtown.
• The Pantheon serves traditional Greek and Mediterranean food at good prices. They are known for their Gyro lunch (around NT$200), qne hey also offer a 20% discount on takeout.

• Cosplay Cafe - ☎ +886 7 235-0128 Opening Hours: daily noon-21:30 Offers a cosplay themed restaurant. 161, ChangMing St, SanMin District. English language review

• Bull Fighter Restaurant 79, Wu Fu 3rd Road, Cianjin District - GPS: downtown near Love River ☎ +886 7 241-5530 - It mainly serves Steak and grilled seafoods and is suitable for most Western visitors at fair costs (NT$400-500 each, free salad bar included). Or, you can choose Pastas (only NT$200, salad bar included).

• Escape 41 a little bit hard to get to without your own transportation (if you are sporty, a bicycle will do, but don't be afraid of uphill-riding, cab might drop you off there as well) though you'll be rewarded. Its located directly on the coastline behind Zhongshan University, far off the cities hustle and bustle. Great at sunsets, big terrace; international food, not affordable but ok. 41-2, CaiShan, Gushan District(07) 525-0058.
• Michino Diner, serving popular breakfast and brunch. You can choose between burgers, sandwiches, salads, omelettes and real American breakfast and brunch at NT$150-300. ☎ (07) 216-2290 - #79 Datong 1st Road (高雄巿新興區大同一路79號) Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10:00-22:00
• Sushi Express - 22.6342, 120.2859 near alal-food/carrefour/ Carrefour and Starbucks (Please do not support Starbucks as Starbucks supports Israel. Shun this coffee and go for alternative brands and if possible for a Muslim owned brand.), next to McD Sushi train with good variety including healthy Vegetarian options. NT$30 per plate.

• The Spice Shop 508 Mingcheng 2nd Road ☎ +886 7 558-5709 - An Indian restaurant serving a-la-carte style meals, with each dish ranging from NT$120-270.

There is also a Ruth's Chris, an Outback and several Steaks houses in town.

Two local organic juice companies, Tsingtao and Taiwan are ubiquitous throughout the island and can be purchased by visitors cheaply with little hassle about age restrictions. Most major soft drinks are available, and tea stands on almost every corner offer concoctions of fruit, yogurt, green tea and the Taiwanese specialty "bubble tea," and a variety of other flavors.

While tap water is most certainly not potable, good reverse osmosis filtration will remove bacteria and heavy metals, and is considered safe for consumption. Water dispensers, which resemble gas stations, are present throughout the city. However and they, along with many of the bottled water brands, are suspect. Both have been found, in the past, to simply bottle or distribute tap water. To avoid ingesting non-potable water, only purchase bottles that are sealed with an expiration date clearly printed on the bottle. Often, it is easier to simply purchase green tea at a stand or a convenience store, or a soft drink. Restaurant water is safe, with the exception of some lunchbox eateries and stands on the street.

• 2 Coins Cafe - 2 COIN小酒館 | 350 Fujian Street ½ block from the Lees Hotel at Wu-Fu 1st Road and Fujian - 2 Coins Cafe is a small bar down the street from the Lees Hotel. The bar owner is quite nice, but doesn't speak English. Good music and decent prices are standard for this relaxing café.

• Green Creek Cafe | #2, Hai-an Rd., Cijin District, Kaohsiung City. ☎ +886 7-5720157 Opening Hours: 07:00-23:00
• La Mambo Cafe & Dine | 2F., #10, Hai-an Road, Cijin District, Kaohsiung City ☎ +886 7-5721998 Opening Hours: 11:00-23:00

Nightclubs in Kaohsiung

• Lamp - 3F, 42 Zihciang 3rd Road MRT Sanduo Shopping District Station Exit 1, across from the 2 legged skyscraper Opening Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 22:00-04:00
• Brickyard - 507 Jhongshan Road MRT 2 blocks south of Central Park Station Opening Hours: Club nights W, F, Saturday Door charge on Friday and Saturday: men NT$300, women NT$150

Lounges

• Siang Shia Zou - 向下走 | B1, 323 Xintian Road behind Hanshin Department Store Opening Hours: 18:00-02:00
• Roof Island - 屋頂 - 51 Liwen Road, Zouying Dist MRT station Kaoshiung Areana Opening Hours: 18:30-03:00

Buy Muslim Friendly condos, Houses and Villas in Kaohsiung

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At eHalal Group, we understand the importance of meeting the unique requirements of Muslim individuals and families seeking properties that align with their cultural and religious trainings. Our extensive portfolio of Muslim-friendly properties in Kaohsiung ensures that clients have access to a diverse selection of options tailored to their needs. Whether it's a luxurious villa, a modern condominium, or a fully equipped factory, our team is dedicated to assisting clients in finding their ideal property.

For those seeking a comfortable and modern living space, our condos are an excellent choice. Starting at US$ 350,000 and these condominium units offer contemporary designs, state-of-the-art facilities, and convenient locations within Kaohsiung. Each condo is thoughtfully designed to incorporate halal-friendly features and amenities, ensuring a seamless integration of Islamic values into everyday living.

If you are looking for a more spacious option, our houses are perfect for you. Starting at US$ 650,000, our houses provide ample living space, privacy, and a range of customizable features to meet your specific requirements. These houses are located in well-established neighborhoods in Kaohsiung, offering a harmonious balance between modern living and Islamic values.

For those seeking luxury and exclusivity, our luxury villas in Kaohsiung are the epitome of sophistication and elegance. Starting at US$ 1.5 million and these villas offer a lavish lifestyle with private amenities, breathtaking views, and meticulous attention to detail. Each luxury villa is meticulously designed to provide a serene and halal environment, allowing you to enjoy the finest living experience while adhering to your Islamic principles. For further details please email us at info@ehalal.io

Muslim Friendly Hotels

• Austria Star Bed & Breakfast - 10 min away from the HSR (free shuttle bus every 30 min from 6:15 until 22:45)

• Backpacker 41 Hostel - 背包客四一 - @.com No. 39, Lane 261, Siwei 3rd Road (苓雅區四維三路261巷39號) 22.61616, 120.30430 ☎ +886 952 612212 Dorm: NT$410 Pretty and clean hostel with large beds and a kitchen.

• Cozy Planet Hostel - Cozy Planet - @planet.com 8F-3. No. 331, Jhonghua 4th Rd., Qianjin Dist. Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 22.620604, 120.29896 When you see Splendid Field Dental Clinic, enter the door between the clinic and Suzuki Motorbike store. Reception is on the 8th floor. ☎ +886 921-576-577 0800 668-606 Check-in: 15:00 / Check-out: 11:00 NT$550-1600 Cozy Planet hostel has both dormitories (2,4 and 6 beds) and private double rooms, free WiFi, AC, hot water, fully equipped kitchen, lounge with satellite TV, guest computers, and lockers. The place is centrally located near metro station, sights and shopping area. Complimentary daily room cleaning, laundry service, bikes, and simple breakfast. Non-smoking and no pets allowed.

• Hostel Hamasen - Dorm rooms and private suites located 200 m from Sihziwan MRT and within walking distance of the Cijin Island ferry and Sunday Yat Sen University. The owner, TC, is very cool and helpful. This is a budget option, with beds starting at NT$350 a night.

• Takaobay Hostel - takaobay33@ No.33 Dacheng Street, Yancheng District 22.6208995, 120.287791 ☎ +886 983-666-345 £10-30 Newly furnished with a very friendly and helpful proprietor. Close to the Pier-2 Art Center.

Century Hotel, Kaohsiung, Taiwan - Century Hotel

• Century Hotel - 世紀旅店 - No.85-5, Lingya 2nd Rd., Lingya District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 22.617383, 120.299744 KMRT Sanduo Shopping District Station, KMRT Central Park Station ☎ +886 73310111
• Hotel Holiday Garden - 279, Liouhe 2nd Road (六合二路279號) Clean and modern tourist guest house. Around 4-star service and rooms. Staff speak English and are very forthcoming in helping you in anyway. All rooms have free highspeed WLAN-connections. Taxi drivers recognize the hotel by the Chinese hotel name "華園飯店". Close to Love River and behind hotel there is a orange-line K-MRT station.

• Huahou Hotel - 華后大飯店 - | address219, Gong Yuan 2nd Road= ☎ +886 7 551-8251 From NT$933 - Clean hotel near the river.

• The Kingship Hotel Kaohsiung | #98, Chi-Shen 3rd Road, Yen-Chen District, Kaohsiung City. ☎ +886 7-5313131 +886 2-27152121
• Moon Lake Shinkuchan Modern Hotel | 348 Minsheng 1st Road
• Nobel Hotel | 146 Sanduo 1st Road ☎ +886 7-7151470
• T-Hotel - 大益飯店 - 177 Datong 1st Road (高雄市新興區大同一路177號) 5 minutes walk from Formosa Boulevard (美麗島) KMRT station ☎ +886 7 231-2141 Rooms from NT$1880 Renovated, clean, comfortable and modern. Standard hotel room offers LCD TV, iPod docking sound system and free broadband internet connection. Extra services include laundry, bike rental service and a recreational area. Full buffet breakfast included with lodging.

• Venus Hotel - 高雄昭来大饭店 - 311, Cing Nian 1st Road Southeast Corner of Jhongshan 2nd Road/Cian Nian 1st Road ☎ +886 7 333-5111 (青年一路311號). (note: website is in Traditional Chinese). Clean and affordable hotel near the downtown and shopping centers (Far Eastern 21 shopping mall, night markets) and minutes from KMRT stations (between R8 and R9 stations)right across the street from Brickyard. Free breakfast is included in room rate with choice of traditional Eastern or Western style faire. The hotel offers free internet and the front staff speaks enough English to get you what you need or to get you where you need to go. Rooms from NT$880 for students; NT$1099 for everyone else.

• Howard Plaza Hotel Kaohsiung - 福華大飯店 - 311 Chihsien 1 Road ☎ +886 7 236-2323
• The Lees Hotel Kaohsiung - 高雄‧麗尊大酒店 - No.105, Wufu 1st Road Walk 8 minutes from Sinyi Elementary School MRT station Check-in: 15:00 / Check-out: noon NT$3000–4500 per day. (高雄市苓雅區五福一路105號). The staff can all speak English and they are extremely helpful in every way. The hotel is well maintained and in a nice neighborhood.

• The Splendor Kaohsiung - 金典酒店 - 7-85F, No. 1 Tzu-Chiang 3rd Road ☎ +886 7 566-8000
• Wen Pin Hotel | No.22, Dan-Yeng Rd. ☎ +886 2-25178118

Stay Safe

Kaohsiung's crime rate is much lower than probably any city of comparable size in the West, so tourists need not be too worried. Theft tends to be the most common form of criminal activity encountered by foreigners, and expensive bikes and scooters are frequent targets.

As a major seaport, organized crime has also become an increasing problem in the city, and a fair number of businesses are nothing more than a front for local gangs. That said and the gangs do not resort to random violence or theft.

In general, Kaohsiung offers a very safe environment as long as you mind your own business and don't get involved with local rivalries. Violent crime is very rare, and visitors should not encounter any problems - though, like any major city, it is always wise to err on the side of caution.

Also please remember: tap water is not potable.

Travel Next

• Tainan is to the north. It can easily be visited by train or car. There is a regular train service from Kaohsiung Central Train Station. The journey takes around 30 minutes, which makes Tainan an attractive day-trip or even half-day destination.
• Pingtung County is to the south. All the way to its southern end is Kenting.
• Taitung County is to the east. However and the Southern Cross-Island Highway (Tai 20.svg|20px Provincial Highway Number 20) has been closed mid-way since 2009 due to the Typhoon Morakot, so you have to take a very long detour via the South-Link Highway (Tai 9.svg|20px Provincial Highway Number 9) if going by road.
• Penghu – An outlying island archipelago, with a saturated turquoise sea around and coral sand, so pack beach wear.

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