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Saturday, September 28, 2019

Taiwan Trip Day 10 - Kaohsiung (高雄) | The Pier 2 Art Center (驳二艺术特区)

10 December 2018

Our second day in Kaohsiung and we will be self traveling through the city on our own. As usual, we woke up early after a restful night at Jia's Inn. Our accommodation is only 5 - 10 minutes walk away to Metro Stations (O4 - City Council & O5/R10 - Formosa Boulevard) and hence getting around Kaohsiung city is really easy and convenient with the developed metro and bus network in place that brings us straight to the shopping malls and places of interest.

Kaohisung Station Guide Maphttp://www.krtco.com.tw/en/StationGuide_map.aspx



Our first stop is Pier 2 Art Center (驳二艺术特区). We hopped onto the train to O1 - Siziwan Station, which is only 3 stations away. 


Take Exit 2 and it is only another 5 to 7 minutes walk away to Pier-2 - Penglai Warehouses. 


Welcomed by rows of old railway tracks and a vast land ahead, the once abandoned and forgotten warehouse that were built in 1973 has now transformed into an art space where tourist and locals come together to enjoy fine art.


It is a HUGE space and you do need a couple of hours to really explore the entire area fully. We started from Penglai (right side of the map below) and moved towards Dayi zone.


The surrounding grounds are filled with modern art sculptures, statues, beautiful wall murals and various artistic footprints. It is also a lovely place to take on long walks or cycling. Whether you are a fan or art or not, this is indeed an interesting place for photography or simply spend a more laid back and leisure time to experience the different corners of the art center.


It was interesting to see many gigantic iron sculptures on the field and each of them has a message to convey. 

'KEEP CLEAN' - Sweep away the troubles and unhappiness in life

'MY HOME'

One of my favourite sculpture here - 'SUITCASE'. While I yearn to travel which takes me to new places, there is always a time to be home.



'LOOK! IT'S THE SOUND OF IRON' - The most fun sculpture to hop in



'CRUISING' - a gigantic spinning top where the children tries to find a shady spot to pose.

'BALL'

'MOUNTAIN'

'STOP & GO' - The claw shaped structure makes this swing feels a little intimidating to sit on. Though the view from here is pretty nice.

'THE PRESENCE OF GUAN YU' - Normally we see Guan Yu - the brave warrior and deity standing tall with his weapon. This is an interesting image of the historical figure of him seated down.

Old steam locomotive in sight. 

From Penglai area, we headed towards B8 Warehouse to hop on the Hamasen Pier-2 Mini Train Ride. If you love trains, you may also wish to pay The Hamasen Museum of Taiwan Railway (哈瑪星台灣鐵道館) a visit. Opened in 2016, the museum displays a variety of trains and railway models. You can see the trains running on the tracks through the various landmarks of Taiwan. 

There are 3 types of ticketing price - Combo (Museum + Mini Train Ride = NT219), Museum (NT149), Mini Train Ride (NT149)


Hamasen Pier-2 Mini Train Ride - Despite our sizes, we managed to fit on the train seats. The total ride took about 6 minutes and you can admire Pier-2 Art Center as the train whiz through the warehouses. The little ones will love it!


It was a leisure walk through Pier-2 Art Center and you will notice 2 iconic statues - Labor and Fishwoman. Both their front and back of the sculptures are the backs which imply that the figures 'work hard silently' without fear of being anonymous and nobodies.

Labour

Fishwoman

Apart from the metro lines, the light rail track runs through Pier-2 Art Center making it convenient to travel to other destination. There are also scenic view as we travel along the lines. 


We continue heading towards Dayong Area and you can find more beautiful wall murals on the buildings around Pier-2

Artwork - 'SIT HERE, DO NOTHING'. Wish I can also relax and enjoy my life

Towering Bumblebee Transformer Statue near C5 Warehouse


Hopping on the light rail to take us to our next destination.

As we arrived a little early, and many shops seems to be closed. We spent about 2 hours at Pier-2 Art Center without even fully exploring the entire space. If you are keen to check out the art installations and visit the exhibitions, then more time need to be allocated.

Pier-2 Art Center (驳二艺术特区)
Address: No.1, Dayong Rd., Yancheng Dist., Kaohsiung City 803, Taiwan
Website: https://pier-2.khcc.gov.tw/eng/home01.aspx?ID=1

Part 2 of Day 10 on our next post.

More photos at BPDGTravels Facebook Page
Check out our 2 Weeks Taiwan Itinerary Family Trip here

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