The new and cool Dùa hotel, designed by Koan Design

I have been to Taipei many times over the years but I never been to Kaohsiung before, so I was quite looking forward to visiting this city. Being the second largest city in Taiwan, this city has been transformed quite dramatically in recent years esp. after the current female mayor, Chen Chu was elected in 2006. Apart from hosting the World Games in 2009, the city’s government is also trying to promote it as a new art and cultural hub, as well as a city that is green and highly livable. Hence, a lot of money has been invested into the transport system and the landscape of the city.

The high speed train from Taipei is fast and convenient, it only takes 1.5 hour to reach Kaohsiung and they are very frequent. My travel companions and I spent two nights at a new Taiwanese-owned design hotel called Dùa, meaning “living” in Luohe dialect. I did not realise that the hotel was designed by Koan design ( the designers of Koan clock and T-bamboo cup) until I got back, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.

There are many nice touches at the hotel like the lobby’s library where guests can borrow a variety of books, and the use of the Taiwanese floral pattern in the minimalist guestrooms. All the furniture and furnishings are very high in quality, though our main issue was with the lighting, i.e. too dim in the corridor and bar area, and the controls are slightly confusing in the rooms.

Top left & right: Formosa Boulevard Station designed by Shin Takamatsu; Main: Dome of light created by Narcissus Quagliata

Near the hotel is a well-known MRT station called Formosa Boulevard Station, the station opened in 2008 and is designed by Japanese architect Shin Takamatsu. Inside the station is the world’s largest public art installation, Dome of Light, made from individual pieces of coloured glass and created by renowned Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata.The dome took about four years to complete, and it tells the story of human life in four themes: Water, Earth, Light and Fire.

Kaohsiung National Stadium designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito

On the outskirts near the High speed railway station is the Kaohsiung National Stadium, which was designed for the 2009 World Games by this year’s Pritzker Prize winner, Toyo Ito. This semi spiral-shaped stadium is a stunning piece of architecture and is the world’s first stadium to provide power using solar energy technology.

Despite its cool design, I could feel the desolation when we visited one morning. Then I was told that the stadium was used for a concert by Taiwanese music band Mayday last year, but nothing much has happened since then. Similar to the fate of the Bird’s Nest in China ( and the Olympic stadiums in Greece), the lack of long term strategies for these sports stadiums meant that millions have been spent on the construction, yet they are not being utilised fully after the events. Disputes between The Sports Affairs Council (SAC) and the Greater Kaohsiung Government are partly to blame and it is a shame to see this stadium not serving its original purpose because of pathetic political issues.

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art

Due to our tight schedule in Kaohsiung, I almost didn’t make my visit to The Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts located in the Neiweipi Cultural Park, which is not accessible by MRT. It turned out that this museum is really worth visiting, not only it is free, it also hosts many well-curated temporary exhibitions. At the moment, there are several excellent exhibitions like Men and Women in Fluxus, Hsieh Chun-Te‘s Slight Touch and the 2013 Kaohsiung awards, a few hours are needed to enjoy them thoroughly.

Kaohsiung Hakka Culture Museum

Thanks to the large number of Hakkanese in Taiwan ( 15% of the total population), Hakka culture is being preserved here and the largest Hakka museum, Kaohsiung City Museum of Hakka Culture can be found in the Sanmin District.

The Hakka style building is a modernised representation of a traditional tobacco smoke house designed by the Hakka architect Hsie Ying-jun. Inside the free museum, visitors can learn about the Hakkanese way of life and see artifacts and photos from the past. There is also a library and temporary exhibition space in basement, but I was especially impressed by the staff ( who I later learned is a volunteer here), she was extremely welcoming ( like most people we meet in Taiwan!) and explained everything to us in detail. Although not a spectacular museum, it is interesting, cosy and is located next to a well-known Hakkanese restaurant that serves delicious Hakkanese dishes that are hard to find outside of Taiwan/ China.