Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung City, is one of the five special municipalities under the administration of Taiwan. Since its start at 17th century, Kaohsiung has grown from a small trading village, into the political, economic, transportation, manufacturing, refining, shipbuilding, and industries centers of southern Taiwan. It is a global city with sufficiency as categorized by GAWC in 2010.

Kaohsiung is, with over 2.7 million inhabitants, the second most populated city in Taiwan after New Taipei and is located in the south of the island. Kaohsiung is known for its harbor, although more for commercial than tourism reasons. Hence it is also known as the Harbor Capital of Taiwan. Its year-round fine weather and the low cost of living make Kaohsiung the place to visit.
 
Kaohsiung is Taiwan's second largest city and its largest port. Although the ranking has declined steadily over the last few years, Kaohsiung is still the world's sixth largest cargo-container seaport. The city has high concentrations of heavy industry, including steel production, shipbuilding, and other exports that have led to Kaohsiung's relatively high levels of air pollution (though the situation has improved substantially in recent years). Unlike Taipei, Kaohsiung is a planned city with wide streets and slightly less traffic congestion than the capital. In recent years the city has made great strides in transforming itself from a primarily industrial city into a modern Asian metropolis, and several areas of the city, such as along the banks of the Love River, have benefited from major beautification projects under the tenure of former mayor Frank Hsieh. The city is often known as Taiwan's "Harbor Capital" because of its close connection and heavy reliance on the ocean and maritime transportation.