KaohsiungTravel Budget Guide

The founding old brand of Gangshan doubanjiang in Kaohsiung, established in 1948 by ROC Air Force veteran Liu Mingde in a military dependents' village; hailed as Taiwan's top sauce and counted among the three treasures of Gangshan.

A famed stall founded in 1965 at the entrance of Liuhe Night Market, its freshly blended papaya milk is the first sign visitors meet stepping into the market.

A Kaohsiung-original snack founded in 1963 at the Gushan ferry pier in Hamasen, its recipe traces back to Japanese baking technique; locals call it the afternoon tea of old Kaohsiung.

Kaohsiung's signature street drink, freshly cut papaya blended with milk into a creamy, fragrant shake, the first sign at the entrance of Liuhe Night Market.

The signature condiment of Gangshan, Kaohsiung, grown from the brewing craft of Sichuan-born Air Force veterans and counted among the three treasures of Gangshan.

An old-fashioned Kaohsiung-original fried pastry, crisp outside and soft within with a strong egg fragrance, the signature snack of the Gushan ferry pier in Hamasen.

The signature seafood snack of Cijin's seaside, fresh squid grilled or blanched and served with five-flavour sauce or salt-and-pepper, a must-eat around the Cijin ferry pier.

A Kaohsiung savoury rice cake steamed in a bowl, with a tender bouncy body dressed in sweet-savoury sauce and toppings, a fine example of southern Taiwanese wangguo.

The stronghold of southern Taiwanese shadow puppetry, represented by troupes such as Donghua, preserving many hand-copied scripts from the Qing and Japanese eras; a major traditional performing art of Taiwan.

A near-century Hakka handcraft of Meinong, Kaohsiung, with umbrellas made entirely by hand from bamboo, cotton paper and tung oil; a symbol of Meinong Hakka culture.

Nanguan music, the "thousand-year pure sound," whose Kaohsiung bearer Chen Yan-zhu is registered by the Ministry of Culture as a bearer of an important traditional performing art and honoured as a "National Living Treasure."

Traditional instrumental music passed on in the Meinong and Shanlin Hakka communities, led by suona, gongs and drums, indispensable to Hakka weddings, funerals and temple fairs.