Kaohsiung Harbor Museum, Transport museum in Gushan District, Taiwan.
Kaohsiung Harbor Museum is a transport museum in Gushan District, Kaohsiung, housed in a two-story brick building with a classical facade and decorated walls. The collection covers maritime objects, charts, and documents tracing the history of shipping and trade at this port.
The building was completed in 1917 during Japanese colonial rule and originally served as the Customs House for the port. In 1943 it became the Harbor Affairs Bureau, and it later transitioned into a museum open to the public.
The red-brick building itself tells much about the colonial era in which it was constructed, and visitors can read that history in its facade and interiors. Inside, the displays focus on the lives of dock workers and traders who passed through this port over the decades.
The museum sits close to Sizihwan MRT Station, making it straightforward to reach by metro. Once inside, plan enough time to walk through both floors since the rooms follow a loose path and there is no strict one-way route.
The building contains a Y-shaped staircase that splits in two directions from a single landing, which was an unusual design choice for its time. This detail, combined with arched corridors and tall columns, shows how Western architectural forms arrived in Taiwan during the colonial period.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
