Cijin (旗津 ) Island in Kaohsiung

1 April 2024

Cijin Island is a popular destination for a day trip from Kaohsiung. The long and narrow island is only a cheap and short ferry ride from the mainland. Cijin Island offers a mix of temples, quirky art and a lively old shopping street with restaurants serving excellent seafood. There is also a black sand beach where one can watch the sunset.

We did not have many days to explore Kaohsiung, so we allocated a day in our itinerary to see both Pier 2 Art Center and Cijin Island.

We spent the morning exploring Pier 2 Art Center. From there, we took an easy 10-minute walk to Gushan Ferry Pier from the western end of Pier 2 Art Center near the Sizihwan Station. It was already about 3 PM when we arrived at the pier.

Ferries docked at the pier.

Cyclists and motorcyclists could ride their vehicles through these gates directly into the ferry.

The ferry to Cijin Island leaves every 10 to 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes at night till 2 AM. Payment of the fare is by tapping the Easycard before boarding. We saw many people riding their bicycles and motor cycles up the ramp into the ferry as well.

It was a short 5 minutes journey on the ferry but we enjoyed good views of Kaohsiung City and the pier area from the deck of the ferry. 

Colourful row of houses as seen from the top deck of the ferry.

Skyscrapers in Kaohsiung City across the water.

After the ferry docked at Cijin Island, the motorcyclists and cyclists zoom off first. We turned right after leaving the ferry terminal and headed down the Old Street that lead to Cijin Beach.

A prominent temple along the way is the Cijin Tianhou Temple. The temple dedicated to Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea and Patron Deity of fishermen, sailors and any occupations related to sea/ocean. This is the third temple dedicated to Mazu that we saw in the last 2 days in Taiwan and is also Kaohsiung’s oldest temple.

Figure of Mazu outside the Cijin Tianhou Temple.

Mazu at the altar inside the temple.

Beautiful decorations on the roof of the temple.

Cijin Tianhou Temple at night.

Many visitors to the island would rent bikes to explore the island faster. There are many bike shops offering rentals but we decide to only explore the northern part of the island on foot and skipped the quirky places that attracted Instagrammers, e.g. Shell Museum, Rainbow Church and Windmill Park located in the middle and southern part of Cijin Island.

We walked down the "main street" towards the beach and noted the many seafood restaurants in the area. This is where we planned to have dinner later. But first, we need to look for a restaurant that serves lunch.

One of the dishes I craved for when visiting Taiwan is their beef noodles in soup. We went to Jixiang Jie Beef Noodle, an under-rated and obscure shop located in a small street near the Cijin Tunnel. It was way past lunch time, so we were the only customers.

Beef noodles soup that is cheap and good. Tender, well cooked beef and dark flavourful broth. Highly recommended.

 

The menu posted on the wall. We ordered the standard beef noodle soup although there are options for innards, dry version of the noodles, vegetables, beef soup without noodles etc.

Small bowl costs 90 TWD. We can get the larger portion with more noodles for 10 TWD more.

Hunger and cravings satisfied, we went to the Cijin Tunnel.

The tunnel, which was excavated in the Japanese Colonial Era and passes through Cihou Mountain, was originally a military tunnel. We could see concrete guns positions just outside the entrances to the tunnel.

Old machine-gun bunker at the entrance to the Cijin Tunnel.

The tunnel has since been decorated with glow-in-the-dark paintings of marine animals, including orcas, jellyfish and corals and LED lights, transforming it into a beautifully lit passage called the Cijin Star Tunnel.

Cijin Star Tunnel’s illuminated and painted walls. The illumination throughout the tunnel changes colour every couple of seconds.

The end of the tunnel opens into an open area with views of the other side of Cihou Mountain’s limestone cliffs, incessantly battered by the choppy waves of the sea. 

The tunnel opens up to this view.

We continued along a scenic, breezy walkway, where we saw sweeping ocean views of Taiwan Strait, some unique looking cactus plants, ships entering the harbour and even a wedding couple doing a photo shoot.

Interesting to find lots of cactus on this side of the island.

Wedding couple having a photoshoot and a ship entering the Kaohsiung Harbour in the back.

Walking back to the tunnel.

There is a lighthouse and a fort located on top of the Cihou Mountain but we did not have the desire (and energy) to climb up for a visit.

We returned via the tunnel and took a walk along the Cijin Black Sand Beach. The beach has very fine black sand, hence its name.

Having some fun on the Cijin Black Sand Beach.

We did not see anyone swimming in the sea although there was a lifeguard station with several lifeguards inside.

A quirky art piece of a lifeguard and his dog outside an actual lifeguard station along the beach.

It was almost sunset when we arrived at the popular Sunset Bar, located right on the beachfront. This is a highly recommended place for good music, cheap drinks and sunset viewing. It would be packed during the weekends but since we visited on a Monday, we managed to get seats facing the beach.

Happy hour at the Sunset Bar on Cijin Island.

We managed to get good seats facing the sea.

Perfect relaxing evening at the beach, sipping cocktails, nice music and watching the sunset.

The Sunset Bar offers spectacular views of the sunset over the ocean and the nearby Cihou Mountain.

The beach is also a great spot to watch the sunset.

Once the sun had gone down, the lights on the beach were turned on giving the whole place a different vibe.

Sunset Bar after sunset.

Romantic beach scene at Cijin Island.

We returned to the Old Street to have dinner at one of the seafood restaurants we saw earlier. I read that this place has the best seafood in Kaohsiung.

There are many seafood restaurants, with trays of seafood on ice laid out in front to entice the hungry diners. By now, our cash on hand was running low and most, if not all, of the seafood restaurants in Cijin Island do not accept credit cards.

We went to a shop with a charismatic and chatty owner who recommended the fish, prawn, vegetable and clams based on our budget. The seafood items were weighed, prices quoted and then methods of cooking was recommended by the owner and agreed with us.

The owner asked if we want to try some local vegetables only found in Taiwan and we agreed. I had a hunch that it is the bird’s nest ferns and I was right.

The restaurant was simply furnished with tables and chairs and minimal decorations.

Steamed fish with preserved cordia dichotoma. The slightly sour berries are found in Taiwan.

Boiled live prawns to be eaten with a dipping sauce.

Clam soup cooked with ginger.

Interesting vegetable found only in Taiwan. This is the young shoots of the bird’s nest ferns. I actually have this fern growing in my garden! One of the most common preparations of bird’s nest fern is fried together with red chilli, salted dried anchovies and preserved cordia dichotoma.

Curly part of the shoot. I actually had this dish in my previous trip to Hualien, Taiwan. This is a delicious dish and I will eat it again if I could.

After dinner, we took the ferry back to the mainland and took the MRT back to our hotel.  We need to change trains at the Formosa Boulevard Station MRT Station, which featured the Dome of Light. 

The dome is the world's largest public art installation made from individual pieces of colored glass.

The Dome of Light has a 30-meter diameter and covers an area of 660 square meters. Quite impressive.

My original plan was to walk to the Liuhe Night Market from the Formosa Boulevard Station, plus a quick visit to Sanfeng Temple to see the impressive lights in the temple at night. Plans were made to be changed and we went back to our hotel for an early rest instead.