Downtown fantastic playgrounds /城市中的美麗樂園
The most important commercial metropolitan of Southern Taiwan,Kaohsiung, has more and more resorts these years.
They add various flavors to the bustling industrial and commercial metropolitan,making it both colorful and romantic.
Urban Spotlight
Walking along Wufu road, one of Kaohsiung's main boulevards, is full of surprise. At nights, the area surrounded by Wufu Road, Chungshan Road and Chunghua Road is sparkling like a diamond. Named as "Urban Spotlight", the area is a fashionable place combined glittering light, shadow effect and the green land of the nearby Central Park.
The idea of Urban Spotlight derives from the 2001 Lantern Festival held by the city government along Love River. At that time, the staff came up with the idea of "light carving", intending to break the traditional setting by using light as a theme to decorate Kaohsiung. At the end of 2001, Urban Spotlight launched. With shadow and light, flowing water and green land, it is a landmark in the history of Taiwan's public construction. Every night, the cafe is always full of citizens who adore the ambiance. Visitors from other counties also regard Urban Spotlight as a must-visit stop in their touring plans. It becomes a significant representative of Kaohsiung's enchanting night.
Great Plaza for Civic Art
In contrast to the splendid Urban Spotlight, the Cultural Center located at the end of Wufu Road offers an entirely tranquil ambiance. The creative design on the base of the original construction impresses citizens a brand-new Cultural Center. The west wall of Cultural Center was torn down for making it an open space to the citizens. To fit with the cultural ambiance, the Great plaza for Civic Art is decorated with artistic works from the Kaohsiung International Steel Sculpture Festival and Van Gogh's paintings. Art is in the air everywhere.
Step into Cultural Center, you can see many citizens spending their leisure time by strolling on the meadows in the afternoon. Various performances are available at night in the halls, which can wash off a day's hard work and bring you a lovely mood. Bookstores, cafe, and National Kaohsiung Normal University all contribute to this cultural area which worth everyone's visit.
Ecological Park
In addition to Cultural Center, another exhibition space with nature resorts is Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, which is located in Neiweibi Culture Park. Other than frequent exhibition of exquisite art works, there is a spacious ecological park: Art Museum Park. The design of the park aims to reconstruct Neiweibi pond of the early time. There are many Taiwanese original forest species preserved in the park, and natural permeable ground is applied instead of artificial one. It does not only bring the old Neiweibi back but also can lead the rainfall into the lake, providing the function of flood prevention.
Moreover, the city government also makes great efforts on nourishing those near extinction wild species such as fireflies. It aims to create a paradise where human beings can get along with nature perfectly. Due to everyone's efforts, many animals are now breeding in this natural area. In the skyline within view distance from here, Tzaishan and Panfpingshan can be seen. All these prove the government's constant efforts in greening and nourishing work. Kaohsiung is no longer a gray city, which only focuses on heavy industry and ignores environmental protection, but a green city that breathes healthily.
Wind Turbine Park
Besides downtown scenery changes, ocean plays another essential role in these creative schemes. Chichin, the only outer island belonging to Kaohsiung, has developed several brilliant ideas by making use of its close relationship with the ocean these years. Chichin Wind Turbine Park, for instance, is the first wind turbine-powered resort park in Taiwan which contributes to tourism, leisure, and environmental protection with its romantic seashore walking paths, extensive lawns for frisbee games and kite-flying, double squares for singing concerts with the capacity of thousands of people, and the rest areas' coffee sets popular with the youth, which will serve as a terrific place for Kaohsiung City to hold seashore singing concerts. Citizens and tourists to Chichin, besides enjoying seafood, will have one more resort to go to watch the sunset, drink coffee, and enjoy a restful moment.
Whether you prefer a romantic night at the cafe or a tranquil evening at the beach while sun sets, you can find them all in Kaohsiung. It is indeed a lovely Ocean Capital with imagination and creativity.
南台灣最重要的商業都市-高雄市，除了有世界級的國際商港及繁榮進步的市區外，近幾年來，充滿創意的休憩空間不斷開發，使得原本忙碌的工商大都市，點綴許多浪漫色彩，讓城市更多采多姿。
城市之夜 光影流動
沿著高雄市最重要的大道之一-五福路行走，將充滿驚喜。在五福路、中山路、中華路所圍繞的區域，每到晚上，總是閃亮無比，成為高雄市夜間最美麗的明珠。這座稱為「城市光廊」的人行道，巧妙利用炫麗的光影，結合綠意盎然的中央公園及潺潺水聲，形成一個既時髦、又與自然結合的場所。
「城市光廊」的構想，來自於2001年市府在愛河舉辦的元宵燈會，當時想要突破以往燈會傳統的工作人員，提出「光雕」的概念，希望用「光」來裝飾高雄市，當年年底，「城市光廊」於焉誕生。光影、流水、綠地，開創了台灣公共建設的新紀元，也大受市民歡迎，在一年後，更擴大其範圍。每個夜晚，「城市光廊」中的咖啡座總是高朋滿座，來此談心、散步的民眾，更讓「城市光廊」人氣十足，就連外縣市的民眾，到了高雄市，都指名要到「城市光廊」一遊，使得「城市光廊」成為高雄市夜間的代表。
藝術大道 陽光閃耀
相對於「城市光廊」的炫麗，五福路底的文化中心則展現另一種典雅、寧靜的風貌。一如「城市光廊」重新給予中央公園另一種定義，文化中心也是「舊瓶裝新酒」，在種種創意下，讓這個高雄市民原本就很熟悉的景點，再度活躍起來。
與「城市光廊」相仿，文化中心也拆掉了多年來與市民隔閡的圍牆，但不同於「城市光廊」的現代耀眼，文化中心選擇與其氣質相容的「藝術大街」
，行走其間，有鋼雕藝術節參展的雕刻作品、梵谷的畫陪伴，仔細呼吸，連空氣中也充滿了藝術的因子。
走進文化中心，廣大的草坪上，總是有許多市民在此度過悠閒的下午，晚間更有許多優質的藝術節目，洗滌忙碌了一天的心靈，附近的社區、書局、咖啡廳、高雄師範大學，更連接成一個文化區，值得來此細細品味。
物種復育 生態公園
除了文化中心，高雄市還可找到另一個擁有展覽會館、自然風景的區域，那就是包含美術館的內惟埤文化園區。
園區內不但有常常展出一流作品的高雄市立美術館，更著名的就是高雄市內最富有自然生態的大型公園─美術館公園。這個公園的設計，希望能重現內惟埤早年池塘的生態。因此在園內，有山、有湖、有許多台灣的原生樹種，而且很少採用舖面，多半都是自然的透水地面，不但彷彿回到往昔的內惟埤，更具備防洪功能，可將多餘的雨水排入湖區。
除了生態的恢復舊觀，市府更用心的培育如螢火蟲等市區已絕跡的野生物種，讓高雄市區能回到往日，人與自然和平相處的美好境界，在眾人努力下，如今已有許多動物在此繁殖，成為真正的自然區域。從此地抬頭望去，還可看到市府多年來綠化有成的柴山、半屏山，一片綠意，也象徵市府近年來綠化復育工作的成果，高雄已不再是只重工業，不重環保的灰色都市，而是綠意盎然的綠色之都。
海風徐徐 風車公園
除了市區內的改變外，與高雄市最密切的大海，也是發揮創意巧思的重點。高雄市唯一的外島─旗津，在忽略多年後，近幾年來，市府利用其與大海的互動
，發展出許多令人稱讚的構想，如中洲污水處理廠旁的「風車公園」即是一例。利用海邊強勁的風力，設置發電用的大型風車，結合旁邊的大型綠地，成為全國第一座觀光、休閒兼環保的風力發電休閒公園。
公園內有浪漫的海岸步道、有大片玩飛盤和放風箏的草坪、有千人的演唱會雙廣場及可以觀賞海邊美景的咖啡座。也讓當地從原本發展較緩慢的地區，成為高雄市的新地標，帶來大批旅客，也促進了當地的發展。
走進高雄市，伴隨著許多巧思，不論你要度過都市的浪漫夜、享受都市中片刻寧靜、或是欣賞沙灘夕陽，在此都可以如你所願，這是一個充滿創意的城市，也是一個最美麗的海洋首都。