Kaohsiung Tour
■ The Buddha Memorial Center
The Buddha Memorial Center was constructed with the intention of the construction commenced in 2001 enshrining the Buddha’s relic and lasted for ten years. It was officially opened on the 25th December 2011.
The Sanskrit word “sarira” refers to the relics of a sage, which usually appear in crystalized form. The relic is perceived as a sign of the sage’s spiritual cultivation over a lifetime.
According to the Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha, when the Buddha reached the age of 80, he announced the day that he will enter parinirvana . Fearing that the disciples will lose the guidance of their teacher, Ananda asked the Buddha what they should do after he entered parinirvana. After pondering over the matter, Buddha gave his final teaching, “After I enter parinirvana, and have been cremated, gather up my relic and build a stupa at the crossroads, so that those who see it can develop faith.”
■ Flight Simulator and E-DA World
E-DA World, which is located right beside Quan-Yi Mountain, a scenic area of Kaohsiung City, includes I-Shou University, I-Shou International School, E-DA Royal Hotel, E-DA Theme Park, E-DA Outlet Mall, E-DA Skylark Hotel, and E-DA Royal Villa.
E-DA World is not only one of the best vacation spots of southern Taiwan ,it is also the only complex in all of Taiwan that contains eight main categories〈leisure, holiday, health-care, education, art, culture, shopping and real-estate development〉
With romantic views from the light filled Ferris Wheel, and the excitement of a Greek Aegean Sea styled theme park, E-DA world gives you the feeling of being at a foreign Shangri la. E-DA World is not only the largest tourist resort within Taiwan, it is one of the biggest projects that have been created.
Taiwan's first flight simulator which lets you experience traveling with 22 peerless beautiful scenery in Taiwan.
■ Old Railroad Bridge Education Wetland Zone
The Kaohsiun-Pingtung Old Bridge was built by the Japanese engineer Ilida Toyozi and completed in 1913. A single-track railway, it was the longest railway bridge in Asia at the time. A century later, it was revitalized and renovated by the Municipal Government in a line with the principle of "not losing any original components", producing the Old Railway Bridge Hanging Trail, and providing a viewing platform on which tourists could relax. As well as being able to appreciate the beauty of the old railway bridge, the jade-green wetlands of Gaoping River and the beautiful rivers and mountains, it displays a multi-layered, lively beauty when the sun is setting.
Situated between the old railway bridge and the Kaohsiung-Pingtung Bridge (Gaoping Bridge), thirteen artificial Pound were cut, and serves to clean water through aerate, detritus pits and microorganisms. No pesticides are used in the Wetlands Park, which protects and preserves the Kaohsiung-Pingtung River riverbank through an artificial ecology. In this jade-green garden, tourists can use the comprehensive trails and bike trails to enjoy the natural scenery, and see over 100 species of wild animal and aquatic animal up close.
■ Kaohsiung Main Public Library
The Main Library is based in the Asia New Bay Area next to Kaohsiung’s waterfront and the Sanduo Shopping District. The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit Red Line R8 is nearby, and a Light Rail system serving this area is being promoted as well.
The library integrates the Kaohsiung Exhibition and Convention Center and the Kaohsiung Maritime Culture and Popular Music Center, in addition to other large construction projects awarded through international design competitions, as well as the Kaohsiung Software Technology Park.
This library in the middle of these public works will give the City a new title as a “cultural gateway” and national landmark. The construction of the new Main Library was the result of an international design competition.
The winning design was a collaboration by Ricky Liu and the Japanese architect Toyo Ito’s team. The architectural techniques of its design are truly unique, as this structure utilizes suspended steel rods for its lightweight construction, as well as glass curtain walls, thus making it the most spatially penetrable library in the world.
Characteristics
* Friendly Library with an Open Space
* New Location for a Rich Variety of Local Artistic Activities
* Modular Spatial Planning
* Suspended Structural System
* Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction: Green Architecture
* Minimalist Design
* Green Architecture: Trees and the Library Come Together as One
■ MLD台鋁生活商場（Metropolitan Living Development）
It is rebuilt from an aluminum plant, witnessing the past glory of heavy industry in Taiwan. The old factory has been refurbished, preserving the Y-shape RC pillar that bears the name of MLD in this historic industrial architecture. MLD revived.
「MLD台鋁」(metropolitan living development) is a creative cultural and entertainment mega mall that consists of restaurants, cinema complex, feast halls, bookstores, and exhibition halls. It aims to bring better life to people living in the city with different consuming and living imagination. Here everybody can encounter the things they love, the activities they prefer, and all the people they’ve ever dreamed of.
■ The Pier-2 Art Center
It was once an abandoned and forgotten warehouse buried in history due to the move from an industrial based segment to the service sector. However, with a group of persistent artist who injected waves of creativity and inspiration into the area, the Pier-2 area was released and re-born making the region a place where tourist and locals can come together to enjoy fine art. With the collision of an old area and new fine art, Pier-2 becomes an area of new vitality and liveliness.
Located at the sides of the pier are the artistic warehouse clusters. Not only are there unlimited flows of cars, boats, sea breeze and people coming and going every day but also when looking at the vast ocean and sky, one is relaxed, stress-free with limitless thoughts. The encounter of the land and the ocean is so vast at Pier-2, it seems to symbolized the bright future ahead.
Port of Kaohsiung is the 12th busiest container port in the world. Consequently, Kaohsiung City Government has been actively shaping the port zone to become Asia's New Bay Area. Starting in 2013, the government will initiate a series of building projects in the port area, along piers 15 to 21 and nearby. Projects include the Kaohsiung Exhibition and Convention Center, which will host major international exhibitions, the Port and Cruise Service Center, which will serve travelers, the Kaohsiung Maritime Culture and Popular Music Center, where musical and cultural performances will be held, and Kaohsiung Main Public Library, a superb example of eco-friendly architecture.
■ The British Consular Residence at Takow
After 1840s, as American and European influence was moving toward the Eastern Hemisphere to promote trade with China, the Ching government was forced to open five treaty ports. Taiwan (Anping) and Danshuei ports were opened for foreign trade. To expand the economic benefits of trade with Taiwan, the British established a consulate to protect its expatriates and commerce, as well as to exercise its consular jurisdiction and mediate with local authorities.
The British Consular Residence at Takow was designed in the Baroque style of the late Renaissance architecture, originally designed by a British architect. British measurements such as yards were adopted. The overall structure of the building is surrounded by the recurrent semicircular arches of the outer walls.
From the architectural style, it demonstrates a typical form of colonial architecture with veranda and symmetrical façade. The building style is memorial. The overall structure is a ternary form, consist of the roof, body and base. The major feature of the former Consulate is the arcade.
■ Xizi Bay
Xizi Bay is perched on the sea at the western edge of Kaohsiung City, just southwest of Mt. Longevity, with the Qijin Peninsuna stretching southward. Its main feature is a swimming beach known for its clear blue water, the beauty of its sunsets, and its natural reef.
The atmosphere and the scenery here change from morning to night; each time of the day has its special attraction, but the brilliant colors of the sunset are unparalleled in their beauty. The long breakwater here is the landmark of Xizi Bay, and basking in the sea breeze on the breakwater gives the most pleasant and comfortable sensation imaginable.
Lounging under a palm tree and basking in the soft cool breeze as the sun goes down is an experience that lifts you out of the mundane world.
