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Kaohsiung

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Kaohsiung City (old name: Takao, Takow, Takau) is a city located in southern Taiwan. Kaohsiung City is also the most dense and the second largest city in Taiwan, with a population around 1.51 million. As one of two Central Municipalities under the administration of the Republic of China (ROC), Kaohsiung City is a second-level political division, with the same status as a province. The city is further divided into eleven districts, each with a district office that handles day-to-day businesses between the Kaohsiung City government and its citizens.

Kaohsiung is a major center for manufacturing, refining, and transportation. Kaohsiung is the major port through which most of Taiwan's oil is imported, which accounts for the large amount of heavy industry.

It is an export processing zone—producing aluminium, wood and paper products, fertilizers, cement, metals, machinery, and ships. With its harbor one of the four largest in the world, Kaohsiung is the center of Taiwan's shipbuilding industry, as well as home to a large Republic of China Navy base. Its subway system, and the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT), opened for revenue service in early 2008.

Kaohsiung City will host the 2009 World Games, a multisport event primarily composed of sports not featured in the Olympic Games.

History

Founded near the end of the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century, the village was known as Takau (POJ: Táⁿ-káu) in the Holo language spoken by most of the early immigrants. The name originates from the Makatao language of the local aboriginal tribe and translates as "bamboo forest". The Dutch established Fort Zeelandia in 1624 and defeated the local tribes in 1635. The Dutch were later expelled by the Kingdom of Tungning government founded by Ming Dynasty loyalists of Koxinga in 1662. Zheng Jing, the son of Koxinga, renamed the village Wan-nien-chow in 1664. The name was restored to Takau in the late 1670s, when the town expanded dramatically with immigrants from mainland China. In 1684 the Qing Dynasty re-annexed Taiwan and renamed the town Fengshan County considering it a part of Taiwan Prefecture. It was first opened as a port during the 1680s.

In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. It was during this period that the city's name was changed from 打狗 (Taiwanese: Táⁿ-káu) to 高雄 (romaji: Takao). While the sound remained more or less the same, the literal meaning of the name changed from "Beating Dog" to "High Hero". The Japanese developed Takao, especially the harbour. An important military base and industry center, the city was heavily bombed by Task Force 38 and FEAF during 1944-1945.

After control of Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China in 1945, the official romanization of the city name came to be "Kao-hsiung", based on the Wade-Giles romanization of the Standard Mandarin reading of the kanji name. Kaohsiung was upgraded to a municipality on July 1, 1979, by the Executive Yuan, which approved this proposal on November 19, 1978. The Kaohsiung Incident took place in Kaohsiung on December 10, 1979.

Geography

Kaohsiung is located south of the Tropic of Cancer. The climate is tropical with average temperatures ranging from between 18.6 and 28.7 degrees Celsius, and average humidity between 60 and 81%. Average annual rainfall is 1134 mm.

The city sits on the southwestern coast of Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait. The downtown areas are centered around Kaohsiung Harbor with the island of Chijin on the other side of the harbor acting as a natural breakwater. The Love River (or Ai River) flows into the harbor through the Old City and downtown. Zuoying Military Harbor lies to the north of Kaohsiung Harbor and the city center. Kaohsiung's natural landmarks include the coral mountains Ape Hill, Shoushan and Banpingshan.

Government

Politics

Kaohsiung is sometimes seen as the political mirror image of Taipei. While northern Taiwan leans towards the Pan-Blue Coalition, southern Taiwan has traditionally leaned towards the Pan-Green Coalition, and Kaohsiung is no exception. Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party was reelected twice as Mayor of Kaohsiung, where he was widely credited for transforming the city from an industrial sprawl into an attractive modern metropolis. Hsieh resigned from the office of mayor to take up the office of Premier of the Republic of China in 2005. The last municipal election, held on December 9, 2006, resulted in a victory for the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate Chen Chu, the first elected female mayor of direct-controlled municipalities in Taiwan, defeating her Kuomintang rival and former deputy mayor, Huang Chun-ying.

Subdivisions

Kaohsiung is divided into 11 administrative districts:

Tongyong Pinyin Chinese character(Hanzi) Wade-Giles Hanyu Pinyin
Traditional Simplified
The Old City
Cijin District 旗津區 旗津区 Ch`i-chin Ch'ü Qíjīn Qū
Gushan District 鼓山區 鼓山区 Ku-shan Ch'ü Gǔshān Qū
Yancheng District 鹽埕區 盐埕区 Yan-ch`eng Ch'ü Yánchéng Qū
Zuoying District 左營區 左营区 Tso-ying Ch'ü Zuǒyíng Qū
Downtown
Sinsing District 新興區 新兴区 Hsin-hsing Ch'ü Xīnxīng Qū
Cianjin District 前金區 前金区 Ch`ien-chin Ch'ü Qiánjīn Qū
Lingya District 苓雅區 苓雅区 Ling-ya Ch'ü Língyǎ Qū
Sanmin District 三民區 三民区 San-min Ch'ü Sānmín Qū
Outer Districts
Nanzih District 楠梓區 楠梓区 Nan-tzu Ch'ü Nánzǐ Qū
Cianjhen District 前鎮區 前镇区 Ch`ien-chen Ch'ü Qiánzhèn Qū
Siaogang District 小港區 小港区 Hsiao-kang Ch'ü Xiǎogǎng Qū

Two islands in the South China Sea are administered by Kaohsiung City as parts of Cijin District:

Transportation

Port of Kaohsiung

Also known as the "Harbor Capital" of Taiwan, Kaohsiung has always had a strong link with the ocean and maritime transportation. Ferries play a key role in everyday transportation, and often play the role that buses do in other cities, especially for transportation across the harbor. With five terminals and 23 berths, the Port of Kaohsiung is Taiwan's largest container port and the 6th largest in the world.. In 2007 the port reached its handling capacity with a record trade volume of 10.2 million TEU's.. A new container terminal is under construction, increasing future handling capacity by 2million TEUs by 2013.

The Port of Kaohsiung is not officially a part of Kaohsiung City, instead it is administrated by Kaohsiung Port Authority, under Ministry of Transportation. There is a push for Kaohsiung City to annex the Port of Kaohsiung in order to facilitate better regional planning.

Kaohsiung International Airport

Kaohsiung City is also home to Taiwan's second largest airport, the Kaohsiung International Airport, which is located in the Siaogang District in southern Kaohsiung City.

Rapid Transit

A new metro system, the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System is currently under construction; it is expected to open for revenue service in 2008. A light rail line that circles central Kaohsiung City was also approved in 2007. In 2004, the Kaohsiung City Government and Siemens AG built a temporary two-station circular light rail line, along with one trainset, in Central Park, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of building a light rail system in Kaohsiung City. It was meant to alleviate some residents' concerns, such as producing excessive noise and hindering normal traffic flow, that light rail would negatively impact their surroundings. This Siemens Combino vehicle was later used as part of the defunct M>Tram network in Melbourne, later transferring to Yarra Trams.

Railroad

The city is served by the Taiwan Railway Administration's Western Line and Pingtung Line. Taiwan High Speed Rail also serves Kaohsiung City via its new Zuoying Station in northern Kaohsiung City. Future plans include extending high speed rail to the new Kaohsiung Station in the city center. The new Kaohsiung Station will be a underground station, replacing the current surface station. Additionally, these two stations will also be served by Red line of Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System when the line open for revenue service in early 2008.

Attractions

Education

Sister cities

See also

References

External links



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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 06:04:34 PDT (GMT -0700)
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