Clouds on the Water--Beautifying Kaohsiung

While Typhoon Aere was lashing northern Taiwan, the southern city of Kaohsiung got occasional light rains. But, along the banks of the Love River, many people were strolling about in shorts. A foreign mime skillfully aped the movements of passersby to big laughs from a crowd-and, belatedly, the ones being mimicked. This was but one act in this "international street fair."

Foreign street performers share their magic by the Love River. Along with the concert hall and the film library, they give Love River's left bank an air of the arts.

Kaohsiung, water city

An elderly couple walks hand in hand along a wooden path. A child, sandals in hand, wades in the water on the terraced bank. Lovers watch the water and make pledges over coffee at the Mambo. Along the riverside, attractions like the starlight terrace, multicolored fountain, music stage, and pedestrian area bring the Love River into people's hearts by lending a sense of romance.

Following the Love River toward the sea, we see on the left bank the Kaohsiung Film Library, the Museum of History, the concert hall, and the Pier Two Art District, all bringing an air of culture. On the right bank, bikers ride along a bike path, and whether it's the plaza by the Light-Carved Bridge, the Tower of Light, Riverside Park, Sanmin Park, or the Love River Park, there is an atmosphere of leisure.

The Love River, flowing through the heart of the city, was full of fish as recently as the 1950s. Its name was borrowed from that of a boat rental company on its banks in the Japanese occupation era-telling of the traffic it once saw. But as the population increased, the river became a place to empty household and industrial wastewater, and came to be known as a "stinking gully."

Sights of Kaohsiung

The city sees the light

"Kaohsiung has mountains, rivers, and a port-it's just that the mountains aren't so beautiful, the rivers stink, and you're not allowed into the port! None of them have been well cared for," laments Hsu Ling-ling, chairwoman of the Kaohsiung Love River Association for Culture and Ecology. When Mayor Frank Hsieh took office, he advocated the concept of Kaohsiung being a "maritime capital," with "water and light" as its aesthetic guiding principles.

At night, the river gets a new look: To go along with the launching of a new tour boat service in July, the red Chungtu Bridge has been fitted with yellow lights like crescent moons, and the Chungcheng Bridge is lit with purple and yellow lights which shine like pearls. The most special feature, the Light-Carved Bridge, shimmers over the river. The Public Works Bureau went about the beautification process of the area with great care, designing unique lighting for each of seven bridges. The lights are reflected in elegant curves on the waters, brightening up the whole river.

The river's water doesn't stink anymore, so next on the list is the port. The "banana warehouse" near Port One was the center of Taiwan's banana export trade in the 1960s. As the golden years of that business faded, the warehouse fell into disrepair. Furthermore, the port was under the control of the Harbor Bureau, and ordinary citizens were not allowed to enter. Even residents of the surrounding area couldn't go up to enjoy the ocean breeze and see the ships unload.

To live up to the title "maritime capital," the city government redesigned the banana warehouse, building a stairway to the second floor that extends out of the restricted area. Citizens can now take this stairway up to enjoy the views from the building without disturbing the port's operations.

Besides the banana warehouse, Kaohsiung's maritime appeal can be felt at the Hsinkuang ferry port, Shauchuantou Park near Hsitsuwan, Tuntex Sky Tower by Port Two, the ferry terminal, Chichin Beach Park, and Wind Turbine Park, lit with electricity generated by the ocean breeze.

Lights add swathes of color to a water canvas, making Kaohsiung's night sky one of a kind.

Future vision in a historical station

In addition to Kaohsiung's most prominent feature, its river and port area, there are also historical spaces that have been handled well. "Old things don't simply need to be preserved, they also need new meanings bestowed on them to remain relevant," says Lin, and the best example of this is the "Vision for Kaohsiung" building in the former Kaohsiung train station.

The old train station is Taiwan's finest remaining example of Japanese occupation-era "Asian Revival Imperial Crown" style of architecture. "Asian Revival" refers to the emphasis on Eastern architectural styles, and the roof imitates the pointed, crown-like style of Tang Dynasty structures. In 2002, the station was slated for demolition as a new station was needed to accommodate the Taiwan Railway system, Taiwan High Speed Rail, and the subway system. But the city government was able to bring back the original Japanese architectural firm, Shimizu, to move the station 82.6 meters from its original site. With this notion of "time contrast," the new Vision for Kaohsiung building keeps history alive.

Along with the train station, the original Platform One, crafted from bent tracks riveted together, was saved from the scrap heap by the Public Works Bureau. It was given over to redesign by architects along with the community, artists, and historians selected through the "Kaohsiung Community Gallery Planning" competition. With the creativity and memories of the people, the platform was divided into sections and given new forms in Chienchen, Hsiaokang, Yencheng, Hsinhsing, and Nantzu Districts.

Lights add swathes of color to a water canvas, making Kaohsiung's night sky one of a kind.

Platform One for all

With guidance from architect Luo Pi-teh, Chienchen District made the platform into an outdoor stage for schools and the community, where children can perform music and dance. Five display walls were placed by the gallery, where children's artwork can be shown on one side, and participants in events can leave handprints on the other.

Luo says, "Most architectural works don't give an opportunity for dialogue with the community. This one was full of interaction with the citizens of the district-it was a lot of fun!" The platform, once a place for departure, now captures the community's spirit and joy.

As summer vacation ended and the 2004 school year began, the students of over ten local elementary and junior high schools found the road to school is different now. Actually, they've been anticipating this, as they too had a part in the "Path to School" planning project that started in the middle of last year.

The concept for the plan is to make airy, open pathways with wooden fencing, bushes, or low walls in place of the old closed concrete ones. It came about through the cooperation of principals, teachers, residents, architects, and-of course-the students, who had the chance to use their creativity and start to participate in designing their communities at an early age.

Students at Lingchou Elementary added birdhouses to the fenceposts, hoping birds passing overhead will stop by. Near the school's gate, they also added a "doggy restroom" of sand.

"Open the enclosures and make the space extend and unfurl, pull citizens together and a friendly atmosphere follows naturally," Charles Lin says. The number of projects the Public Works Bureau takes on per year is close to 100, but they all have in common a humanistic spirit.

Sights of Kaohsiung

Gallery of lights

In stories of "breakthroughs," Urban Spotlight is a shining example.

Urban Spotlight was originally a 150-meter walkway by Central Park on Wufu Road. It was cut off from the park by a wall, and though people passed by occasionally, they would never stop.

In 2001, the Public Works Bureau tore down the wall. Modern Art Association of Kaohsiung director Lin Hsi-chun came up with the concept of inviting nine artists to use light as a theme and illuminate the area from the terrace below and the trees above, bathing the area in reflections and shadows of blue, green, and yellow. With the addition of a sophisticated coffeeshop and live music on the weekends, this "sidewalk" became Kaohsiung's most exciting spot for the younger generation.

"You know, we people from Kaohsiung are warm, and we like to be close to others. The more the merrier. People can share an outdoor space together. It's a beautiful feeling," says Hsu Ling-ling.

Beauty is an overall sensory experience. Kaohsiung's beauty comes not only from its people-oriented public spaces, but also from an unseen source under the ground-its sewage system. The Love River's beauty comes not only from light but from its clean waters. "They say you've got to be healthy underneath for cosmetics to do any good," says Hsu.

A sewage system is a project that, while unseen, takes a great amount of time and expense to put in place. The city must spend NT$1 billion for every percentage point of increase in the number of households connected, according to Public Works Bureau estimates.

The system's connection rate was only in the single digits (6.5%) in 1998, but is now around 32.65%, second in the nation. Over the past five years, the city has seen the largest increase in Taiwan.

However, there's no alternative: For the Love River to remain clean, the sewage system must be expanded in order to prevent untreated effluent from flowing into it. Now that the sewer connection rate in the Love River basin has reached 60%, the river's water has naturally become cleaner. The "Black Dragon" Chienchen River, and Canal Two, which flows into the Love River, have been fitted with wastewater pipelines and treatment stations. With the wastewater taken care of, they are clean again.

The citizens of Kaohsiung have felt the changes in their city, in the government, and especially in the Public Works Bureau. Charles Lin, who previously turned heads with his work on the "Heart of Hsinchu" and that city's moat, says that in an age of heavy competition between cities, the citizens have awakened and have started to expect more of their everyday environment.

The administration must also make a turnaround in their thinking. In the past the Public Works Bureau was only responsible for maintaining basic items of public infrastructure such as roads, gullies, and bridges. But now that among these public spaces are the romantic Love River, the relaxing natural Wetland Park, and Wind Turbine Park, they cannot be treated as mere "infrastructure."

In the big city, Wetland Park is an oasis of green.

Lending a hand to protesters

As well as changing in-house attitudes, the city government has formed a "strategic partnership" with citizen groups.

Local governments are the public bodies closest to the people, and best placed to hear their voices. Only when the people's views are widely accepted, when local intellectuals and citizen groups integrate, will "public" space truly be realized.

"If a beautiful society does not come about through the arousal and power of its citizens, the government alone can't force it," believes Tseng Tse-feng, chair of National University of Kaohsiung's Graduate Institute of Urban Development and Architecture Design. Local people are always a step ahead of the authorities.

In 2002, the Kaohsiung Architects Association established a "Community Architect Workshop" in each administrative district through which local architects can specifically relay citizens' ideas to the government. The Pier Two Art District, the Tower of Light, and the school paths are all specific results.

As for the renewal of the Love River, the Love River Association for Culture and Ecology had been requesting since its inception in 1994 that the city tear down the river's concrete embankments, fill a nearby underground passageway, and close Hohsi Road, which runs between the river and nearby residences, to traffic. In the struggle to achieve this, Hsu Ling-ling and her high-school-age son once sat by the roadside with counters and counted passing cars and people from eight in the morning to five in the evening. Now it seems that their revolution has succeeded, their wishes have come true.

From a depressing center of heavy industry to the beautiful modern city-with a little effort the changes need not be only cosmetic, but can reach to a city's disposition and imagination. The feeling between people and a space, the identity and glory of a city are created by these changes.

Want to see the sights of Kaohsiung? Take a seat in the Vision of Kaohsiung building's futuristic interactive exhibit, put on the goggles and headphones, and fly like a bird over Kaohsiung. See the green Love River snaking through the city center, marvel at the multicolored night sky, soar to great heights-along with beautiful Kaohsiung.

Lights add swathes of color to a water canvas, making Kaohsiung's night sky one of a kind.

With a high surrounding wall torn down, this green space now makes the cultural center an inviting place for taking a walk.

At Pier Two Art District near the harbor, creative works by metalwork artist Liu Ting-tsan prove Kaohsiung is no longer an artistic wasteland.

With the addition of a stairway to the second floor, outside the restricted area, the formerly off-limits banana warehouse was transformed into a place for the public to enjoy the ocean view.

Lights add swathes of color to a water canvas, making Kaohsiung's night sky one of a kind.

Sights of Kaohsiung

The Light-Carved Bridge, with its unique curve, adds a romantic note to the newly-clean Love River.