Yancheng District Kaohsiung: Travel Guide

If you’re visiting Kaohsiung, going to Pier2 Art Center is a must. This isn’t just the center of Yancheng, but the whole city. You can find absolutely everything on the pier, from bougie restaurants, trendy bars, pop-up expo halls, and countless markets and vendors. If you love art, this is the place for you, because the entire area is covered in murals and art installations. Most of the warehouses from the old docks have been converted into trendy shops and studios. This is the best place to find local artisan goods, eat a fancy dinner, or just hang out with the rest of the city.

We didn’t come with any plans, we just wanted to experience the pier. Luckily for us, there was a ton to see and do. A huge Pikmin event was taking up a nearby park, so hundreds of people were walking around with adorable Pikmin headbands. As we turned the corner around the pier, we ran into a 3v3 basketball tournament with live coverage and a rowdy crowd. Of course, there were several food markets as well, and we even passed by rooftop bars with live rap performances. If you’re going into every shop and stall, you could easily spend an entire afternoon and evening at Pier 2, it really is the life of the city.

One of Kaoshiung’s largest landmarks is the Great Harbor Bridge. Located in the heart of the district, this modern pedestrian bridge is the center point between Pier 2 and the rest of the city. If you come to Yancheng by train or trolley, it’s one of the first things you’ll see. While the view is nice, the bridge is even cooler at night as it’s illuminated with colored lights after dark. At one end of the bridge is a pier with fancy restaurants and a park, and on the other end is the Dayi warehouse area. When we visited, there was a massive night market full of food and local vendors, and several parties on the rooftops of the warehouses.

In reality, it’s not that large compared to other iconic bridges we’ve seen in Sydney, Australia, and the Expo Bridge in Daejeon, South Korea. However, it really feels like the center of life in Kaohsiung. I was shocked at how packed the area was, with huge events, restaurants, bars, cafes, and markets on every side. I’ve seen a few people say Kaohsiung is boring compared to Taipei, but if you’re looking for nightlife, you can’t do better than the arts district, and the harbor bridge is really the center of it all.

I’m always on the lookout for delicious coffee in every city I visit, but this was a truly mythical pull. Yemisi somehow found this shop on Google called 五零年代咖啡（手沖專門-自家烘焙）, which apparently doesn’t have an English name. When we asked the owners what the translation should be, they weren’t fully sure, but something like “1950’s vintage cafe” is the best approximation. The name of the game here is simplicity.

The owner brews everything by eye with incredible attention to detail, and it shows. In all our years of travel, this has to be some of the most delicious coffee I’ve ever had, made with so much care. You can tell he makes hundreds of cups a day because he is so focused as he brews. Using his senses of smell, sight, and taste, he gave me a balanced, sweet, juicy brew of Taiwanese beans that had me dying inside. If you don’t like black coffee, there’s not much for you here. However, if any shop is going to win you over this is probably it.

Taiwan is famous for beef noodles, and it’s the first thing we ever ate in the country a few years ago. I absolutely love beef noodles, which is lucky for me since this is the best restaurant for beef noodles in the city. Yemisi found this place because it’s super popular with the locals, and they also serve it with pork knuckle, which is one of her favorites. We decided to get a serving of beef, and pork knuckle, and we’re so glad we did.

The temple is definitely cool, with large towers on either side, over 5 stories tall. It’s certainly the largest temple like this that we’ve seen. But another great reason to visit is the incredible sweeping view of the city. There aren’t a lot of places to get a nice view of Kaohsiung, and the temple offers a great hillside 360 view. When we visited, the temple was completely empty, giving us a nice break from the bustling pier area. We already really loved the tram ride on the way there, with a ton of cute murals on the buildings, so it’s an easy recommendation.

At this point, I don’t have much more to say about milk tea. Taiwan is just the best, and no matter where you go, you’re going to get an amazing drink. It was getting late, and we were totally beat, so having one last milk tea to satisfy our thirst and beat the heat was amazing. I asked the attendant what the most popular flavor was, and he said they sell the most of the normal sweet tea with boba, and it was definitely delicious.

One of the last places we visited in the Yancheng district was Duck Zhen. This local kitchen is Michelin guide-recommended and incredibly popular, and we ended up waiting around the block for our food. Thankfully, a super kind local lady struck up a conversation with us, which helped the time pass by. Kaohsiung is famous for duck rice, and the lady confirmed Duck Zhen is the best place in Yancheng to get it, so we were in good hands.

Various cuts of smoked duck are served over rice. It’s super fatty and smoky, and kind of reminded us of a smoked turkey leg. The dish is very similar to the popular braised pork rice we had in Kaohsiung and Tainan. But what really pushed it over the edge was the delicious garlic sauce that came with it. That savory flavor explosion is what makes Taiwanese food so amazing to me.