Dakao Station of the North-south link Line was originally called “Dakao Post” and located at Sinbian Yidingmu, which is the present location of Kaohsiung Harbor Station.  When it was first established in 1900, it also set up ticket-collection area and gear storage.  In 1920, because the 8th Governor General of Taiwan- Den Kenjiro changed the local place name and so did Dakao Post changed to “kaohsiung Post,” in charge of cargo and passenger transportations.  It was the final station of TRA North-south link Line; later on, it was also the initial station of Pingtung Line after it was connected to Pingtung County.

Along with the daily growing prosperity of Kaohsiung City that rapidly increased all the exporting and importing products, the original location and facilities were no longer useful, it was then moved the passenger transportation business to the present address-Jianguo 2nd Rd. Sanmin District to conform to Kaohsiung Metropolitan Plan of 300,000 population in 1941; “ Kaohsiung Post” was changed to Kaohsiung Harbor Station from that time on to specify in cargo transportation business.

On Nov. 1 1979, it started to decentralize ticket selling in both the area in the station and Cianjhen car lot for booking seat-assigned Express Cars of Kaohsiung Station so as to increase service quality and to facilitate the passengers to purchase tickets close by.

During World War II, because this station was located at the vital communication of line, the fighter jets of allied countries destroyed all the station office and the main station area along with all its facilities.  After Taiwan regained its territory, the government put into all efforts to repair this place.  Not only it recovered to its original appearance, but also the line had been extended to reach each pier and to establish 1st harbor-front and 2nd harbor-front lines surrounding Kaohsiung downtown areas and extend to each main factory in order to go along with the extension of harbor piers and the development of the heavy industry in Kaohsiung City.  Since the station office was burned and destroyed during W W II, none of original documentations was left.  After it was burned, the office was rebuilt and last until now in Apr. 1947.  There were five platforms, cargo line, preparation line and each of outer and middle lines.  Two Lingyaliaos were also built for expansion in 1949.

Since repaired during Japanese rule, Kaohsiung Harbor Line had been positioned as “the industrial railroad.”  Her construction came with carrying out the policy of “industrialized Kaohsiung” during Japanese rule.  This harbor-friendly railroad had played a very important role of transporting industrial materials and industrial products.  Observing from the historical aspect, one of reasons that why Kaohsiung could take place of Tainan and become the trading center in the southern Taiwan was because of the construction of this railroad connection; this was an important chain during the historical evolution of Kaohsiung turning into a metropolis, which was one of unforgettable “group memories” of Kaohsiung residents. Observing from the aspect of cultural study, “culture” isn’t something dead, instead she is a type of “organic body,” something existing in the certain group of peoples’ “sharing-memory” center; that is, she is exactly the most vital “cultural body.”  “Preservation” or even adding with “ creativity,” this “ sharing memory,” in fact, is a very important construction to sculpture metropolitan characteristics.

The cargo capacity of Kaohsiung Harbor Station has been lessening and the broad hinterland will soon become the best-featured museum park containing local histories and literatures. After all, here was the earliest origin of Kaohsiung and there are some many relics and stories that we can share with our younger generations.  We can preserve a part of the railroad station as the traffic connection to the outside that can recover what it was like here over a hundred years ago at the southern part of the nation 406 km away from Keelung-the initial station to the final station of Taiwan North-South link Line; allowing steam engine to be here to tell the people on this Taiwan land that the tracks he had been through for over a hundred years.

Not only we can connect Tzaishan, Love River and the bay but also we can allow the history of Kaohsiung City to be reviewed from the beginning through the little car lots, storages, material storages and piers along the rail tracks; therefore, the preservation of this harbor line is then with an even more impressive “ humanity meaning.”  From every aspect of tourism, education and economics, the harbor line is the treasure of kaohsiung City.

》Kaohsiung Harbor
It is a very important role of Kaohsiung industrial tourism.  The tourists can appreciate the elegance and beauty of this water city at Kaohsiung Harbor, the worldwide known harbor and the beauty of the bay can compete with any other well-known harbors internationally.  Port of Kaohsiung opens for the tourists to visit and enjoy the spectacular constructions of Kaohsiung Harbor and the graceful scenery on the ocean along the path.
The sail route of the tour boats goes counterclockwise around the first and second harbors and Cijin Island.  While on the boat, there will play the explanations audiotapes or have a staff explain in an interesting way to talk about all kinds of things about Kaohsiung Harbor.  On the right and left side of the second harbor mouth, there are two very creative signal towers standing in the shape of 「高」(pronounced as Gao meaning “tall”), which is also one of the unique characteristics of Kaohsiung Harbor.

》Ocean-observing Platform of Kaohsiung Harbor
During 60s, most locally grown bananas of our province exported from Kaohsiung Harbor.  During its high-peak period, there were piled up everywhere outdoors; however, the bananas were easy to get rotten under the sun or in the rain so as to affect the exports; therefore, tearing down the original small storage at Pier 3 and Port of Kaohsiung rebuilt a new banana booth to facilitate the business operation.  The construction began in Dec. 1962 and was completed in the end of May 1963.

》The Pier 2 District
This is another example how Kaohsiung Harbor reused its idle storages and developed them into an open display space that artists can station here and hold art activities; they are self-managing and operating and publishing their own art publications.  Giving the artists such great flexible space that one will have unexpected harvests to visit here.

》Ci-hou Lighthouse
After Tian-jin Agreement in Sianfong 10th year Qing Dynasty (1860) or even traced back to Kang-si 12th year Qing Dynasty, China opened five harbors for trading and Taiwan continually opened four harbors of Keelung, Fuwei, An-ping and Dakao in three years.  With crowds of boats in and out of the harbors, the navigating facilities at the harbors were insufficient; therefore, there were frequent boat accidents and the original Chinese traditional light pools and flag pools were just out of time.  In Tongzhih 3rd year, while developing Dakao Harbor, there was already the issue to construct the lighthouse; however, not until Guangsu 9th year (1883) the Britain engineer was hired to build the western-style lighthouse on the mountain of Ci-hou.  According the documentations, it was told that it was a square-shape tower made of bricks, installed with 6 single-wick steady lights; the viewing distance was about 10kn and all the equipments and facilities were all purchased from England.

‧more information