Kaohsiung

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Kaohsiung City (Chinese: 高雄市; Hanyu Pinyin: Gāoxióng; Tongyong Pinyin: Gaosyóng ,Wade-Giles: Kao-hsiung; POJ: Ko-hiông; old name: Takao, Takow, Takau; coordinates 22°38'N, 120°16'E; ) is a city located in southern Taiwan. Kaohsiung City is also the second largest city in Taiwan, with population around 1.51 million [citation needed]. As one of two Central Municipalities under the administration of the Republic of China, Kaohsiung City is a second-level political division, with the same status as a province. The city is further separated into eleven districts, each with a district office that handles day-to-day businesses between the Kaohsiung City government and its citizens.

Kaohsiung is a major center for manufacturing, refining, and transportation. Unlike Taipei, the streets of Kaohsiung are wide and traffic is less congested.[citation needed] Kaohsiung is the major port through which most of Taiwan's oil is imported, which accounts for the large amount of heavy industry.

It is an export processing zone—producing aluminium, wood and paper products, fertilizers, cement, metals, machinery, and ships. With its harbor one of the four largest in the world, Kaohsiung is the center of Taiwan's shipbuilding industry, as well as home to a large Republic of China Navy base. Its subway system, and the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT), should be running by 2007.

Kaohsiung City will host the 2009 World Games, a multisport event primarily composed of sports not featured in the Olympic Games.

Subdivisions

Kaohsiung is divided into 11 administrative districts:

Two islands in the South China Sea are administered by Kaohsiung City as parts of Cijin District:

Geography

Kaohsiung is located south of the Tropic of Cancer. The climate is tropical with average temperatures ranging from between 18.6 and 28.7 degrees Celsius, and average humidity between 60 and 81%. Average annual rainfall is 1134 mm.

The city sits on the southwestern coast of Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait. The downtown areas are centered around Kaohsiung Harbor with the island of Chijin on the other side of the harbor acting as a natural breakwater. The Love River (or Ai River) flows into the harbor through the Old City and downtown. Zuoying Military Harbor lies to the north of Kaohsiung Harbor and the city center. Kaohsiung's natural landmarks include the coral mountains Ape Hill, Shoushan and Banpingshan.

History

Founded near the end of the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century, the village was known as Takau (Chinese: 打狗; Pinyin: Dǎgǒu; POJ: Táⁿ-káu) in the Holo language spoken by most of the early immigrants. The name originates from the Makatao language of the local aboriginal tribe and translates as "bamboo forest". The Dutch established Fort Zeelandia in 1624 and defeated the local tribes in 1635. The Dutch were later expelled by the Kingdom of Tungning government founded by Ming Dynasty loyalists of Koxinga in 1662. Zheng Jing, the son of Koxinga, renamed the village Wan-nien-chow (Traditional Chinese: 萬年州; Simplified Chinese: 晚年洲; Pinyin: Wǎn Nián Zhōu) in 1664. The name was restored to Takau in the late 1670s, when the town expanded dramatically with immigrants from mainland China. In 1684 the Qing Dynasty re-annexed Taiwan and renamed the town Fengshan County (Traditional Chinese: 鳳山縣; Simplified Chinese: 凤山县; Pinyin: Fèngshān xiàn), considering it a part of Taiwan Prefecture. It was first opened as a port during the 1680s.

In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. It was during this period that the city's name was changed from 打狗 (Taiwanese: Táⁿ-káu) to 高雄 (romaji: Takao). While the sound remained more or less the same, the literal meaning of the name changed from "Beating Dog" to "High Hero". The Japanese developed Takao, especially the harbour. An important military base and industry center, the city was heavily bombed by Task Force 38 and FEAF during 1944-1945.

After control of Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China in 1945, the official romanization of the city name came to be "Kao-hsiung", based on the Wade-Giles romanization of the Standard Mandarin reading of the kanji name. Kaohsiung was upgraded to a municipality on July 1, 1979, by the Executive Yuan, which approved this proposal on November 19, 1978. The Kaohsiung Incident took place in Kaohsiung on December 10, 1979.

Politics

As the second largest city in Taiwan, the office of Mayor of Kaohsiung is viewed as a prestigious position, often seen as a counterweight to the Mayor of Taipei.

Kaohsiung is sometimes seen as the political mirror image of Taipei. While northern Taiwan leans towards the Pan-Blue Coalition, southern Taiwan has traditionally leaned towards the Pan-Green Coalition, and Kaohsiung is no exception. Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party was reelected twice as Mayor of Kaohsiung, where he was widely credited for transforming the city from an industrial sprawl into an attractive modern metropolis. Hsieh resigned from the office of mayor to take up the office of Premier of the Republic of China in 2005. The last municipal election, held on December 9, 2006, resulted in a victory for the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate Chen Chu, the first elected female mayor of direct-controlled municipalities in Taiwan, defeating her Kuomintang rival and former deputy mayor, Huang Chun-ying.

Transportation

Port of Kaohsiung

Also known as the "Harbor Capital" of Taiwan, Kaohsiung has always had a strong link with the ocean and maritime transportation. Ferries play a key role in everyday transportation, and often play the role that buses do in other cities, especially for transportation crossing the harbor. The Port of Kaohsiung is also Taiwan's largest container port, and is one of the largest in the world by some measurements, ranking 6th in the world in terms of container throughput.[1] However, Port of Kaohsiung is not officially a part of Kaohsiung City, instead it is administrated by the Port Authority of the Central Government. There is a push for Kaohsiung City to annex Port of Kaohsiung in order to facilitate better regional planning.

Kaohsiung International Airport

Kaohsiung City is also home to Taiwan's second largest airport, the Kaohsiung International Airport, which is located in the Siaogang District in southern Kaohsiung City.

Rapid Transit

A new metro system, the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System is currently under construction; it is expected to open at the end of 2007. A light rail route that circles central Kaohsiung City will also be constructed when funding becomes available. In 2004, the Kaohsiung City Government and Siemens AG built a two-station circle route in Central Park, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of building a light rail system in Kaohsiung City. It was meant to alleviate some residents' concerns that light rail would negatively impact their surroundings, such as producing excessive noise and hindering normal traffic flow. This Siemens Combino vehicle was later used as part of the defunct M>Tram network in Melbourne, later transferring to Yarra Trams. The demonstration light rail line is now closed.[citation needed]

Railroad

The city is served by the Taiwan Railway Administration's Western Line and Pingtung Line. Initially, Taiwan High Speed Rail serves Kaohsiung City via its new Zuoying Station in northern Kaohsiung City since it started operation in January 2007. Taiwan High Speed Rail will later extend its southern terminus to the new Kaohsiung Station in the city center when funding becomes available. Both the new Zuoying Station and new Kaohsiung Station will be replacements of the old stations at roughly the same sites and they will be joint stations of the "Three Rails": Kaohsiung Rapid Transit, Taiwan Railway Administration, and Taiwan High Speed Rail. Additionally, the light rail route will serve the new Kaohsiung Station on its route around the downtown area.

Attractions

Education

Sister cities