Kaohsiung in 3 days

Cijin Island (旗津 — a narrow barrier island (12km long, 200m wide) formed by sand drift from the Gaoping River (the largest river in southern Taiwan), separated from the Kaohsiung mainland by the Cijin Channel; accessible by ferry from the Gushan Ferry Terminal (10 min crossing, NT$25 return, departures every 10 min)). Cijin is the oldest settled area of Kaohsiung (the Hokkien fishing community that settled here in the 17th century was the nucleus of the future city): the Cihou Lighthouse (旗后燈塔 — a British-built lighthouse 1883, on the highest point of the island, with a 360° view of the harbour entrance and the open Taiwan Strait to the west), the Mazu Temple (旗津天后宮 — a Mazu sea-goddess temple founded 1673, the oldest continuously worshipped temple in Kaohsiung), and the seafood street (the main tourist strip with dried seafood shops and fresh seafood restaurants).

Fo Guang Shan (佛光山 — Buddha's Light Mountain; Dashu District, 30km northeast of Kaohsiung; accessible by bus from Kaohsiung Main Station (Bus 8010, 1 hour, NT$60)); the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan and the home of the Humanistic Buddhism movement (人間佛教 — founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, born 1927; a modernist Buddhist teaching that emphasises social engagement, education, and cultural enrichment rather than monasticism and withdrawal); the monastery complex: the Great Buddha (大佛 — a 32m seated bronze Buddha (the largest outdoor Buddha statue in Taiwan)); the Buddha Museum (佛陀紀念館 — a 100-hectare Buddhist cultural campus (opened 2011) with eight pagodas, 480 smaller Buddha statues, and the Main Hall containing the Buddha's tooth relic (a Buddha tooth donated by Myanmar in 1998, encased in gold and kept in the reliquary)) — a scale and ambition that transforms a monastery into a Buddhist theme park of extraordinary beauty. Free entry.

Zuoying Old Town (左營舊城 — the historic walled city of old Kaohsiung (the city predates the Pier-2 area by 300+ years); the old city walls (built 1818 during the Qing dynasty, partially restored) surround a compact neighbourhood of temple lanes and traditional shophouses; the Chenghuang Temple (城隍廟 — the 'City God' temple that was the spiritual centre of the walled city). The Kaohsiung Confucius Temple (高雄孔廟 — on the Lotus Pond shore; a 1976 Neo-Confucian style temple complex with the largest Confucius figure in Taiwan (a 1.4m bronze seated Confucius); the temple is the venue for the annual Confucius birthday ceremony (September 28 — Teachers' Day in Taiwan) with a ceremony that has been performed continuously for 400 years). Free.

Milkfish (虱目魚 — Chanos chanos; the emblematic fish of southern Taiwan and specifically Kaohsiung; a large, bony silver fish farmed in coastal ponds (the milkfish aquaculture of the Tainan-Kaohsiung coastal plain has been practiced since the Dutch colonial period (1624–1662) and is the oldest surviving aquaculture tradition in Taiwan); the milkfish congee (虱目魚粥 — milkfish stomach or whole fish pieces added to a thin, soupy rice porridge (the congee is more liquid than Chinese-style congee, more like a rice soup), with soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil; a staple breakfast of Kaohsiung fish market workers, served from 06:00 by the fish market canteens and in the evenings at traditional Taiwanese restaurants). The milkfish ball soup (虱目魚丸湯 — handmade fish balls from minced milkfish, in a clear broth with winter melon; NT$50–80/bowl).

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (高雄市立美術館 — 80 Meishuguan Road, Gushan District; established 1994; the most important fine art museum in southern Taiwan (the National Palace Museum is in Taipei — Kaohsiung's museum focuses on Taiwanese and international contemporary art); permanent collection: 300-piece collection of 20th–21st century Taiwanese art (the Taiwanese art tradition is a hybrid: traditional Chinese ink painting (guohua) from the mainland tradition, the Japanese-influenced Western-style oil painting (yōga) that developed during the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945), and the post-martial-law (post-1987) contemporary art that emerged when censorship was lifted and Taiwanese artists began engaging with global contemporary art movements)). The museum is set in a large park (the Fine Arts Park — a green space with outdoor sculpture on the Gushan hillside). Adults NT$90.

The Hakka people (客家人 — Kèjiā people, literally 'guest families'; a Han Chinese subgroup that migrated from central China to southern China and then to Southeast Asia and Taiwan over many centuries; the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area has the largest Hakka population in Taiwan). Hakka food (distinct from mainstream Taiwanese Hokkien cooking): Lei Cha (擂茶 — the Hakka 'pounded tea': green tea, roasted peanuts, sesame, rice, sunflower seeds, and osmanthus flower are ground together in a mortar to a smooth paste, then mixed with hot water to form a drink; served with a selection of puffed grains to stir in; originally a Hakka mountain people's 'meal-in-a-cup'); Zhu Ban (豬板 — Hakka pork belly marinated in red rice wine (hong zao) and slow-braised until the fat is translucent; served with steamed mantou buns). The Dadong Cultural Center (大東文化藝術中心 — Fengshan District, 15km east; a spectacular public cultural complex by the architect Mecanoo (2012), with a luminous translucent roof canopy, free exhibitions, and a performing arts hall).

Sizihwan Bay (西子灣 — Sizihwan Tunnel, Gushan District; the bay on the western flank of the Shoushan (Monkey Mountain) hill, facing the Taiwan Strait directly; the most photogenic sunset location in Kaohsiung: the sun sets directly over the strait and the silhouette of the British Consulate at Takow (英國領事館 — built 1865 by the British on the hillside above the bay — it is the oldest Western-style building remaining in Taiwan; a red brick Victorian building in the bungalow colonial style, with a wraparound verandah and a hillside garden) is the classic Kaohsiung sunset photograph). Formosa Boulevard to Sizihwan by MRT (Orange Line to Sizihwan Station). The Shoushan hill above the bay has wild Formosan macaques (台灣獼猴 — an endemic subspecies of rhesus macaque found only in Taiwan) — they are common on the Sizihwan paths.

Sanfeng Temple Night Market (三鳳中街 — Sanfeng Traditional Market area, Sanmin District; a traditional morning market (dried goods, traditional groceries, Chinese herbs) that transforms in the evening into a neighbourhood food scene distinct from the tourist-facing Liouhe Night Market): smaller, quieter, more used by locals; the street has: traditional dried goods shops (preserved fruits, dried seafood, Chinese herbal medicines (the Kaohsiung traditional medicine market is among the largest in Taiwan)), and the Sanfeng Temple (三鳳宮 — a large, ornate Taoist temple to the Third Prince (哪吒, Nezha) with an extraordinary facade of glazed ceramic phoenix and dragon decoration). Evening food at the nearby Jhongjheng Road: duck rice (鴨肉飯 — braised duck slices over rice with preserved vegetables; the Kaohsiung specialty), and mango shaved ice (芒果冰 — the mango shaved ice of Taiwan is among the best in the world; Kaohsiung mangoes (the Irwin mango, grown in the Jishan area of Pingtung county just south of Kaohsiung) are considered the finest in Taiwan).