• Jim on the sad state of beer in Taiwan.
• MJ hosts a BBQ party on the roof.
• Craig introduces readers to the familiar yet mysterious Eight Generals.
• Rachel goes zorbing in Kending.
• Stu takes a short hike to the Silong Waterfall.
• Is ‘adoah’ a humorous word used to refer to Westerners or insulting and offensive?  I simply find it annoying.
• Fili covers Chinese censorship and online social movements.
• Arthur Dent posts entries for a short paragraph the international press could use when describing the political situation of Taiwan.
• A-gu on former President Chen’s letter to President Ma asking him to lift the travel ban on his daughter. Also, A-gu’s 2009 County magistrate and mayoral elections map.  Speaking of which, Michael Turton provides an overview of the mergers and upgrades.
• On the book front:  J. Michael Cole announces the release of Democracy in Peril: Taiwan’s struggle for survival from Chen Shui-bian to Ma Ying-jeou. David reviews Austronesian Taiwan, a collection of papers on the Austronesian speaking peoples of Formosa, and Scott introduces readers to Caroline Tsai’s book Taiwan in Japan’s Empire Building: An Institutional Approach to Colonial Engineering.

EVENTS: The Taipei Film Festival runs from now through July 12. Dems Abroad with a Fourth of July fundraiser in Kaohsiung. Photowalks in Taipei and Taichung on July 18.  The 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung July 16-26.  Cosplay at NTU July 25-26.  More events at Taiwanderful.  Looking for a concert?  David has a round-up of upcoming summer music festivals.  Also check out GigGuide Taiwan!

I’ve been busy planning my honeymoon so I’ve been terrible about posting daily photos, but Darren never misses a beat!

The last attraction on our Kaohsiung trip was a stop to the Lotus Pond in Zuoying [蓮池潭龍虎塔].  The man-made pond is a short bus ride from the Zuoying KMRT and HSR Station and is located between Gui Mountain [龜山] and Banping Mountain [半平山].  Here are a few photos of the pond’s Dragon and Tiger Towers:

Kaohsiung’s Urban Spotlight [城市光廊] is located near the KMRT’s Central Park Station.  It’s theme is light and is the collaboration of nine local artists.  It’s a great place to stroll around after dusk.  Here are some pictures from our visit:

Who made a splash this week?

• ShuFlies covers the Fulong Sand Sculpture Festival.
• Hanjie visits Orchid Island.
• Mark of Tushuo with clips shot from the MRT.
• David with info on the 2009 Taipei Film Festival.
• The competition heats up:  Jenna of Laorencha enters Taiwan’s best trip in the world competition.
• Andres reminds NBA fans the Pacers and Nuggets will play a preseason game in Taipei.
• Craig visits Beitou’s beautiful eco-friendly library.
• Heading to Hong Kong?  FiLi provides a 7-day itinerary.
• Jeff continues his series on the Central Mountains covering Yushan and Alishan.
• Alton’s work featured on Taiwan Photographers.
• Tim Maddog translates the DPP’s ECFA referendum ad.

EVENTS: Canada D’eh on June 27 in Danshui.  The Taipei Film Festival runs from June 27-July 12. Dems Abroad with a screening of All the President’s Men at Yuma Southwest Grill in Taipei on July 1 and a Fourth of July fundraiser in Kaohsiung. Photowalks in Taipei and Taichung on July 18.  The 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung July 16-26.  Cosplay at NTU July 25-26.  More events at Taiwanderful.

Are my links too lighthearted?  Don’t worry!  Michael Turton provides weekly roundups on Mondays!

Our weekend in Kaohsiung began with a trip on the KMRT to The Ciaotou Sugar Refinery [橋頭糖廠].  The area is characterized by its sugar refinery which has been made into a museum of Taiwan’s sugar industry.  There are plenty of old buildings, narrow gauge trains, cafes, bike paths, and artwork by local artists on display for visitors to enjoy.

We followed signs to a tourist train that runs from Xingtang Station [興糖站]  to Jingnong Station [精農站].

It wasn’t long before our ride pulled up, the German-manufactured Diema diesel locomotive: The workhorse of Taiwan’s sugar railways since the late 1970s till the decline of the industry.

The locomotive’s interior:

The brief ride brought us past farms and along a bike path.  We were dropped off at an area that didn’t have much to explore except for a duck pond…

…and a lotus pond.  I wasn’t upset we only had about 20 minutes to explore the area before the train went back, because after 15 minutes it started pouring.

After taking the train back, we stopped for lunch and waited for the rain to let up a bit.  After lunch we grabbed popsicles at the former Kaohsiung headquarters of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation.  Now tourists can buy frozen desserts and souvenirs there:

Next up was The Ciaotou Sugar Refinery.  The refinery’s different buildings are well preserved and open to the public.  There are plenty of retired Diema Locomotives around:



Many of the buildings include informative displays about Taiwan’s sugar industry.  The sugar industry in Taiwan began after the Dutch took control over much of Taiwan.  In the mid-1600s, an influx of Chinese to the island specialized in growing rice and sugar.  Soon sugar became Taiwan’s primary export.

In the early eighteenth century, Taiwan prospered during a sugar boom.  Taiwan’s sugar mills were mostly small-scale operations until the Japanese occupation in 1895.

Under the Japanese, sugar processing was modernized.  Although Taiwanese sugar was uncompetitive on the international market, it was sold duty-free in Japan.

The Taiwan Sugar Corporation [台灣糖業公司] or Taisugar [台糖] was created in 1946 after Taiwan’s handover to Nationalist rule.  The corporation merged all the existing sugar companies left from the Japanese occupation era.  The sugar industry boomed during the 1950s and 1960s, but has since declined as Taiwan ceased being an agricultural economy.  Taisugar has diversified into tourism, floriculture, biotechnology, and retailing.  They also operate a chain of gas stations.
Sources: The Economic History of Taiwan, Taiwan Sugar Corporation [wikipedia], Locations of Sugarcane Railway Locomotives.

After breakfast on our second day in Kaohsiung we hopped on the KMRT and got off at Sanduo Shopping District Station [三多商圈站].  We had two things in mind: 1) buy new shoes for my wife because the pair she was wearing was not cut out for the walking we were doing and 2) visit the Tunix Sky Tower [高雄85大樓].

Since we arrived early and the shopping malls were still closed, we decided to head to the Tunix Sky Building.  It was a hot day, so the walk felt much further than it really was [even more so for Cathy who was stuck in uncomfortable sandals].  Luckily, I heroically carried her the final few meters to a shaded area of the Singuang Ferry Wharf [新光碼頭].

The Singuang Ferry Wharf is located at the end of Singuang Road is a great place to enjoy a walk or bike ride.

The Tunix Sky Tower is located beside the ferry wharf.  After its completion in 1997, the 85-floor Tunix Sky Tower surpassed Taipei’s Shin Kong Life Tower as Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper.  It wasn’t long before it was dethroned by the completion of Taipei 101 in 2004.  The unusual “prong” design of the Tunix Sky Tower was inspired by the Chinese character for “tall” [gao 高], which is also the first character of the city’s name.

The whole area was pretty much deserted when we went.  Perhaps Kaohsiung residents spent most of their time indoors on days like this.  Maybe the city will get a lot of international guests when the World Games starts in less than a month, hopefully by then someone will put English-language tourist brochures in the KMRT stations.

What was unloaded this week?

• Stu introduces his team Formosa Adventurers in Taiwan’s best trip in the world competition.  Check out the video and give them your vote today!
• Pinyin Info on excessively long names for MRT stations.
• Rachel and the joy of bubble tea.
• Jeff continues his series on the Central Mountains.
• A Hungry Girl finds pastries.
• James visits Taipei City’s Baoan Temple.
• Sponge Bear takes a family trip to Taipei.
• INDIAC asks readers to help give the Formosan Black Bear cub a Taiwan-centric name.
• Claudia Jean on the recent restrictions on political involvement for teachers.
• The Taiwan Link covers China’s anti-ship ballistic missile program.

EVENTS: Free Burma Concert at 7pm on June 19 at the No. 4 Park in Zhonghe [a stone's throw from the Yongan Market MRT Station]. Canada D’eh on June 27 in Danshui.  The Taipei Film Festival runs from June 27-July 12. Photowalks in Taipei and Taichung on July 18.  More events at Taiwanderful.

Have an event you want listed?  Contact me.

View the large.

This is the first of a series of posts from our recent two-day trip to Kaohsiung [高雄].  Kaohsiung is located in southwestern Taiwan and is the second largest and most densely populated city in Taiwan.

Formosa Boulevard Station [美麗島站] serves as a transfer station for the Red and Orange lines of the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System [KMRT 高雄大眾捷運系統].  The station hosts the Dome of Light, which is the work of Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata and is the world’s biggest one-piece stained glass creation.

View the large.

The dome spans 30 meters in diameter and covers 660 square meters.  Its 4,500 glass panels present 4 themes: water, earth, light and fire.

I have a handful more pictures from the Dome of Light at my growing Kaohsiung Flickr set.

In Jhongsing Village.

Feeding time in the blogsphere

• Ashish and Selina welcome a new addition to their family.
• Darren with tips for street photography.
• Mark Forman is featured on Taiwan Photographers.
• David attends the 15th anniversary of the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines.
• MJ’s tribute to his dear friend Mr. Oath who leaves the Fong Band.
• Craig’s provides an excellent guide to nighttime photography.
• Jeff provides an overview of the Central Mountains.
• Rachel goes snorkeling and SCUBA diving on Green Island.
• Talk Taiwan on the KMT’s stolen assets used to fund its campaigns.
• Taiwan Matters! with a summarization of links on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
• Jerome Keating’s Taipei Times editorial: The civil war that was never ours.

EVENTS: Free Burma Concert at 7pm on June 19 at the No. 4 Park in Zhonghe [a stone's throw from the Yongan Market MRT Station].  The Taipei Film Festival runs from June 27-July 12. Photowalks in Taipei and Taichung on July 18.  More events at Taiwanderful.

Have an event you want listed?  Contact me.