Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is 394 kilometers (246 miles) south of Taipei. It's the second largest city and, like Taipei, has an international airport. It is also the home to Taiwan's largest and the world's 3rd largest seaport, with a population of 1,490,560 and metro population of about 2,681,000.

Kaohsiung was originally called "Dagou," the name of the local aborigines who use to reside in this area. In 1563, the tribe moved to Ping-Dong area because of pirates in the area. In 1920, during the Japanese Occupation Period, the city's name was changed to Takao, which is then changed to it's Chinese pronounciation of Kaohsiung after World War II ended.

Today, Kaohsiung is a large industrial and commercial city paved with wide streets and lined by modern office towers. In fact, Kaohsiung has 5 out of the 10 tallest buildings in Taiwan ROC, and it also has the most higher-than-30-floors buildings. The tallest building in Taiwan ROC now is the Tuntex & Chien-Tai Tower in Kaohsiung.

Kaohsiung's current statue is a Municipal city, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Government, two municipal cities in Taiwan ROC now are Taipei City and Kaohsiung City. Except Municipal Kaohsiung City itself, Kaohsiung metro area also includes parts of Kaohsiung County and Ping-Dong County.