Lonely Planet Six Degrees: Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s Harbour Capital, is busy transforming itself from an industrial hub into a vibrant modern metropolis. Boasting a strong maritime flavour and one of the busiest ports in Asia, Kaohsiung is on the move, sprucing up its iconic Love River, landscaping its urban heart, building a brand new underground and embracing the contemporary arts. In Lonely Planet Six Degrees Kaohsiung, traveller Asha Gill explores the resurrected Love River, hijacks a subway train and lights up the Kaohsiung lighthouse in the company of city architect Malone Chang. Extreme sports enthusiast Linda Wu takes Asha under her wing and onto the back of her 750cc easy rider to explore Kaohsiung’s motorcycle and dragonboat racing clubs. Club owner Jacky Tsao hooks Asha up with tai-ke rappers Ghetto Mob and the demonic bajaijiang – the retainers of the gods who ward off evil spirits. Asha gets her sea legs on Kaohsiung harbour with yacht designer Keith Chen, conducting trials on one of the largest luxury yachts built in Kaohsiung. Singer Paula Lee is Asha’s gateway to a Taiwanese wedding and an Aboriginal harvest festival, while baseball hero Kevin Huang eats his way through the city and recruits Asha for Kaohsiung’s LA New Bears first baseball game of the season.