Not sure where to bring your family for shopping and playing in Kaohsiung? This kind of dilemma should not be bothering you much longer once you read through this article. Within the sprawling metropolis of Kaohsiung, plenty of shopping, entertainment, and family-friendly activities are waiting for you. Here are the few places to pay a visit to if you and your loved ones are ready for that fun-filled day ahead!
Shinkuchan Shopping Street
Bearing a striking similarity to Taipei’s renowned Ximending district, Kaohsiung’s popular Shinkuchan Shopping Street caters mostly to a younger crowd, and unsurprisingly, it is the hippest shopping area. Shinkuchan is a collection of several streets and is packed with clothing shops and restaurants along with smaller street stalls. Shinkuchan is merely a short stroll from Central Park Station, and its stores commence operations from mid-afternoon.
For the past few years, Shinkuchan Street has become the largest market in South Taiwan for imported goods. Products from mainly Europe are on sale here, and they are mostly targeted towards teenagers. This makes Shinkuchan an ideal optimal hangout area for youthful consumers. By your second or third trip to Shinkuchan Street, the place will undoubtedly be categorized under your list of top must-visit shopping paradises whenever you visit Kaohsiung!
Address: 800, Taiwan, Kaohsiung City, Xinxing District
Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 1pm - 12am
Dream Mall
Kaohsiung’s Dream Mall is reportedly the largest mall not just in Taiwan, but also in East Asia! With that, you should know that Dream Mall is a must-visit mall if you desire a gigantic, majestic entertainment complex with tons of variety.
There are ten floors including a basement food court. Each floor is designated by a certain type of store and product; for instance, children’s stores are on the fifth level while sports-related stores are situated on the sixth. The highlight of such a huge and spacious mall is actually the even larger full-sized Ferris wheel located on the rooftop. Go for a ride in the wheel and be greeted by a gorgeous birds-eye view of Kaohsiung. You may even see planes landing due to Dream Mall’s close proximity to the airport!
The mall is not that crowded during the weekdays but on weekends and holidays, it will be truly lively with events going on by the front entrance. Overall, Dream Mall actually lives up to its name as the largest mall and even if you are not into shopping, you ought to head there to at least flee the heat for a couple of hours!
Address: No. 789號, Zhonghua 5th Road, Qianzhen District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 806
Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11am - 10pm
Friday: 11am - 10:30pm
Saturday: 10:30am - 10:30pm
Sunday: 10:30am - 10pm
FE21’ Mega Mall
FE21’ Mega Mall is located right in the heart of the Sanduo shopping district, one of Kaohsiung's top shopping zones where Xin Kong Mitsukoshi and Pacific SOGO reside as well. The mall has a whopping seventeen floors, including five basement levels! FE21 Mega has become a popular place for Kaohsiung’s younger crowd in the past few years.
You can spend some time here by shopping for great deals on clothing, indulge in a fun meal, and round off with a movie. The cineplex is of world-class standard and takes up four levels in total. If you wish to catch an IMAX film in Kaohsiung, this is the place you should head to. Alternatively, head to the Eslite bookstore to check out some of their bestsellers or to the balcony on the 17th floor if want some fresh air and breathtaking views.
Address: No. 21號, Sanduo 4th Road, Lingya District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 802
Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 11am - 10pm
Han Shin Arena
One of Kaohsiung’s latest department stores and arguably the busiest shopping area in Tsoying, the Han Shin Arena department store features ten levels of almost everything you would expect from a world-class standard mall. The basement levels are home to plenty of food options, including a gigantic supermarket. You can shop for high-end luxury brands at the lower levels while the higher levels include casual day-to-day items and restaurants. The unique point about Han Shen Arena Mall is that they have an entire level solely dedicated to Japanese cuisine! Basically, expect yourself to ‘shop til you drop’ at Han Shen Arena Mall, a shopping spree that can be extended to the nearby Rui Feng Night Market.
Address: No. 777號, Bo'ai 2nd Road, Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 813
Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11am - 10pm
Friday: 11am - 10:30pm
Saturday: 10:30am - 10:30pm
Sunday: 10:30am - 10pm
Taroko Park
Taroko Park is Taiwan’s latest multifunctional shopping mall - theme park hybrid, and is actually Taiwan’s very first sports-theme park, offering a wide range of facilities for young children, which makes it ideal for families. In terms of convenience, Taroko park is the only theme park accessible by metro in Taiwan. What’s more - the park is only a single stop away from the airport, which means travellers can do some last-minute shopping before hopping on their flights.
Taroko park is unique in the sense that no entrance fee is collected. Unlike most other theme parks in Taiwan, you only need to pay for the individual facilities that appeal to you. This concept helps to save some dollars if you are actually more into the atmosphere as compared to the entertainment facilities.
For the entertainment facilities, you will get to enjoy amusement-park rides. At the main square of Taroko Park, you will be greeted with the sight of an impressive water fountain with the park’s name in front of a large and beautiful carousel. Get close to the carousel so that you can admire the outstanding craftsmanship of the merry-go-round along with its Venice-related paintings on the ceiling. At night with the lights on, the carousel will look more gorgeous than ever with its exceptional beauty reflected in the waters.
Just beside the carousel, you can get on a vintage-looking trolley car for a short ride that takes you to Manli Avenue, the park’s main artery. At the European boulevard-like Manli Avenue, you’ll discover toy shops, diners, and the entrances to West Mall and East Mall.
West Mall is the smaller of the two, and it features an exhibition centre and POYA outlet (Taiwanese shopping-mart chain) on the ground level. Kids can indulge in the various amusement park games like Taroko Laser Wars and the Crazy Jump Trampoline Park. East Mall is where you’ll find many international brand outlets. As Taroko Park is more sports-theme oriented, do expect almost half of the retail outlets to be selling sports-related stuff. Other brands are merely the tip of the iceberg.
Aside from the two malls, the main highlight of Taroko Park is the Suzuka Circuit Park, named after its most prominent feature: a largely scaled down go-kart version of the F1 raceway in Suzuka, Japan. You can experience some real-life mario kart thrills by zooming at adrenaline-pumping speeds around the 600-metre long figure-8 track. If you are a Go-kart enthusiast, you will undoubtedly fall in love with their state-of-the-art Birel N35 go-kart.
Apart from the racetrack, Kochiro’s Putti Town features the Circuit Wheel: Taiwan’s fastest Ferris Wheel and three driving facilities catered for kids. Other insane rides in the park- not for the faint-hearted - include the Drift-S, Air Racers, ACro-X, Drop Zone and G-speed.
Address: No. 1-1號, Zhong'an Road, Qianzhen District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 806
Opening Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11am - 10pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10:30am - 10pm
All in all, the above places in Kaohsiung are guaranteed to bring you endless amounts of joy and satisfaction with you and your loved ones. Kaohsiung may not be as huge as Taipei in terms of size, but when it comes to shopping and entertainment, be prepared for a crazy fun-filled day once you hit any of the recommended places above.
