Taiwan's "second city" of Kaohsiung became a Special Municipality July 1 directly under the Executive Yuan and with increased control over its finances and other affairs. With population in excess of a million, Kaohsiung is the island's largest port and principal center of heavy industry. It is at the same latitude as Hongkong and more tropical than Taipei. Photo above is of the Kaohsiung City Hall with Mayor Wang Yu-yun (inset); a presidential appointee.
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Kaohsiung has one of the world's best harbors with seven wharves for container vessels. A newly opened second harbor entrance will accommodate ships of up to 75,000 tons. Goods move out of the city to the world from 2,200 factories turning out plastics, paper and pulp, cement, iron and steel, plywood, textiles, machine tools and a wide variety of electrical machinery. Here are located two of the island's three export processing zones (that at Nantze is shown at top right). The China Shipbuilding Corporation yard has the second biggest dry dock in the world and has built tankers of the 445,000-ton class. The China Petroleum Corporation complex at left refines crude oil and turns out a number of raw materials for the petrochemical industry. Despite all this industry, Kaohsiung is clean and scenic.
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Taiwan's southernmost west coast city is not forgetting its Chinese heritage. Many buildings are of classical architecture - in contrast to the President department store, the biggest in the Far East. The River of Love courses through Kaohsiung. Nearby Cheng Ching.
Lake is one of the island's favorite places for outings. Kaohsiung has become the second biggest city in Taiwan not merely because of its job opportunities, but also because it is a pleasant place to live. Beaches and mountains are an hour away and Taipei four hours by car.