A Day in Town: Hunei, Qieding, Luzhu, Alian (Kaohsiung City)

I just completed my fifteenth trip under "A Day in Town," my multi-year backpacking plan of spending a day in each of the approximately 350 townships in my country. My destination this time was Kaohsiung, Taiwan's third most populous city and the largest city in southern Taiwan. One of the six special municipalities, Kaohsiung City ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with 38 districts─the most among the 20 subnational administrative regions in Taiwan. I visited four districts during the trip─Hunei, Qieding, Luzhu, and Alian─all situated south of the Erren River, forming the northwestern corner of Kaohsiung City.

As usual, I set off on Monday when the destination of my journey, Kaohsiung City, had suffered from heavy downpours for days. Luckily, it stopped raining on Tuesday, so I was able to move around as planned. I began by taking a train to Zhongzhou, the southernmost railway station within Tainan City. From there, I explored southward on foot, crossing the Erren River into Hunei District, unbeknownst to me until this trip and home to an archeological site with unearthed items dating back to 3,500 years ago. As I passed a village called Taiye, I spotted a street vendor selling a dessert called "white sugar cake". I had never heard of it and was attracted by its frugal, straightforward name, so I tried it. It had a pleasantly simple, sweet flavor─just like its name.

I continued exploring around Hunei, visiting eight of the 14 villages administered by the district before boarding a train at Dahu Station, the northernmost in Kaohsiung, to check into my hostel located in downtown Kaohsiung. Before reaching Dahu Railway Station, I visited a memorial with an interesting history behind it. It was about this historical figure Zhu Shugui. Known as the Prince of Ningjing, Zhu Shugui was a royal member of the Ming and the last of the pretenders to the throne of Southern Ming after the execution of the Yongli Emperor in 1662. He took shelter in the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan after mainland China completely fell under the control of Manchu-led Qing Dynasty. Despite his status as a royal member, he virtually shared no political power with the Zheng dynasts who were the actual rulers of the kingdom. After the Qing forces successfully annexed Taiwan in 1683, he committed suicide. He was buried with a memorial erected alongside his cemetery in Hunei.

On the second day, I visited Qieding District. I first took the MRT to Kaohsiung Medical University Gangshan Hospital and transferred to a bus to Chilou Village, the largest of Qieding District's 15 villages, occupying about a half of the district's area. From there, I explored on foot, visiting 12 of the 15 villages administered by Qieding District. Qieding is home to Hsinta Port, a historical fishery port near Hsinta Power Plant, Taiwan's second largest coal-fired power plant after Taichung Power Plant. As part of my pre-trip study, I learned about an interesting story: Qieding District, along with a few districts─both coastal and inland─used to be part of an ancient lagoon called Jouckan. Over time, the lagoon dried out to become land, while Hsinta Port remained the only remnant of Jouckan that once spanned 20 kilometers north-south.

Unexpectedly, this trip turned out to be nostalgic as I first experienced it in Qieding, and later in Alian, the district I visited on the fourth day. Before I ended my day in Qieding, I arrived at Wanfu Village, once known as Baishalun, the first fishery port built in Kaohsiung and the northernmost fishery port of Kaohsiung. In its heyday, Baishalun was the commercial center of Qieding and its neighboring districts. I felt nostalgic because I lived in Baishalun for months during my two-year compulsory military service in the early 1980s. I also noted a rising sea level because the shoreline was hundreds of meters further out when I lived here over 40 years ago.

On the third day, I visited Luzhu District, home to Kaohsiung Science Park, the largest of the six industrial parks that form the Southern Taiwan Science Park. I first took a train to Dahu Railway Station, which is located in Luzhu District but shares the same name with a village of the neighboring Hunei District. Interestingly, the departure hall of Dahu Railway Station was furnished like a coffee shop, with cozy seating arrangements and power outlets for phone charging. From Dahu Railway Station, I started exploring on foot, visiting eight of the 20 villages administered by Luzhu District.

The name Luzhu originates from Bessuyden, a term adopted during the Dutch Formosa period, meaning "the farmland south of the Erren River". Thus, the land was among the earliest cultivated in Taiwan and was transferred to the Prince of Ningjing and his Southern Ming followers in the 1670s. As I passed the vast Kaohsiung Science Park, I couldn't help wondering if the park was part of the farmland defined by Bessuyden 400 years ago. Before ending my day in Luzhu, I stumbled upon "Taiwan Soya-mixed Meat Museum", a unique food museum located in Ben Zhou Industrial Park, Gangshan District. I was amazed by the vibe of creativity and passion inside the museum and would recommend it to all food lovers.

On the fourth day, I visited Alian District. Just like on the second day, I first took the MRT, and transferred to a bus to Zhonglu Village, the northwestern part of Alian. From there, I explored on foot, visiting eight of the 12 villages administered by Alian District. Though I have never lived in Alian, I felt nostalgic there, too, for several reasons. First, it was the very first township of Kaohsiung that I knew by name─thanks to a new neighbor whose hometown was Alian─when I was still in junior high school. Second, Alain was the hometown of Huang Xitien, a renowned performer and singer who has remained active since 1961. Huang is my favorite artist, so I couldn't help showing respect when passing Alain Elementary School, his alma mater.

The third reason for my nostalgia involved a directional sign: "left to Xinhua, straight to downtown Alain, right to Alain". It roused my long buried memories─once again bringing me back to my military service, during which my infantry company had to march 60 kilometers per day as part of our training. This was exactly our training route, so as I revisited it I couldn't help but reconnect with my younger self─43 years later. Before ending my day in Alian, I passed Dagangshan, a popular mountainous recreational area in Alian, whose name was often confused with Gangshan, a nationally renowned district located just south of Alian.

The hostel I stayed at this time was in downtown Kaohsiung, near the iconic Formosa Boulevard MRT Station. Every day, I began and ended my journey with an MRT ride, and felt blessed to live in Taiwan where travels have been made so easy. I ended my trip sitting in a coffee shop near Kaohsiung Railway Station, where I began writing this post while waiting for my train home.