Cijin Island (aka Qijin Island or Chijin Island) has one of the most accessible sandy beaches in any urban area in Taiwan. Besides the nearly 10 Km stretch of sandy shores, the island also has an old street with tasty snacks, a seafood market, a lighthouse, an ancient fort, a star tunnel, a shell museum, and much more. It is one of the most popular destinations in Kaohsiung and definitely worth a trip.
Qijin Island was first settled by a Chinese fisherman named Hsu Ah-hua (徐阿華) in the 1600’s, discovered after he took shelter there during a typhoon. He brought many families with him from Fujian to settle there. They created the first Mazu temple there, Chi Jin Mazu Temple in 1673. The lighthouse dates from 1883 and was built in the English style. The fort on the hill to the north of the Island was completed in 1875 during the Qing dynasty. After WWII, Qijin was made a district of Kaohsiung City. In 1979, Taiping Island and Dongsha Island were added under the district’s administration. Qijin Island used to be a sandbar peninsula but was separated from mainland Taiwan at its southern tip to make a second entrance into Kaohsiung Harbor in 1967. There were plans for a cross-harbor gondola but they were scrapped due to the height needed to cover the harbor. Please note there are at least three spellings of the island on signage around Kaohsiung (Qijin, Cijin, or Chijin) so try not to get confused.
How to Get to Cijin/Qijin Island:
By Passenger Ferry: Ferries leave from Gushan near Xiziwan MRT station about every 10 minutes 24/7 (last boat leaves Qijin at 2 AM) or there is also another passenger ferry in Qianzhen that connects with Zhong Zhou Ferry Terminal, or the ferry between KM2 and Cijin, mentioned in greater detail below. You can book tickets to travel to Kaohsiung via inter-city bus on Klook here. You can book tickets to Kaohsiung via high-speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here. Book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here. You can also book a Kaohsiung Travel pass here. By Car/Scooter: Take the underwater tunnel on the south side of the island. Scooters can cross, but not bicycles. Looking for scooter rental in Kaohsiung? You can check out Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can check also out our scooter rental guide here. If you are looking for car rentals, you can search Qeeq here, KKday here, or Klook here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.
Price:
Gushan Ferry Pier or Qianzhen Ferry Pier to Cijin Ferry Pier
The following prices are the same from either ferry pier:
Passenger ferry crossing: 30 NT Bicycle ferry crossing: 40 NT Motorcycle ferry crossing: 60 NT Showers: Free! Please note that the above prices have actually gone down as Kaohsiung has moved to electric ferries. The last ferry back to the city is at 2 am daily.
KW2 Ferry Pier to Cijin Ferry Pier
Passenger ferry crossing: 80 NT Bikes and scooters are not allowed. Please use the Gushan or Qianzhen Ferry instead, or scooters can also use the tunnel.
Ferry Route Summary:
There are three ferry lines and a road tunnel that connects Qijin Island to Kaohsiung City. Gushan Ferry Terminal is the one that most tourists will want to take.
The Gushan Ferry Pier is the busiest, with 90% of ferry traffic coming through this port thanks to the convenience of Xiziwan MRT Station. It is the same price as the Qianzhen Ferry.
This Ferry is used less and connects to Zhongzhou which is not a tourist area. This ferry is mostly used by work commuters who live on Qijin Island.
KW2 棧貳庫海上巴士 to/from Cijin Ferry Pier 旗津渡輪碼頭
This ferry is a convenient transportation route from Pier 2 in Kaohsiung but it is more expensive than the Gushan Ferry Route and you cannot bring bicycles or scooters on the ferry.
Hours:
Qijin Island: 24/7 The last ferry back to Kaohsiung City is at 2am daily
Activities and Tours:
The beach is open to swimming, surfing & SUP year-round before dark when there are no dangerous wave conditions.
See a map of places we will cover in this blog below:
Our Journey:
I have been to Qijin (Cijin) Island over 30 times, and I still wish I could go back every day. There was a time when my Visa-free 90 days were winding down and I did go to Qijin Beach every day. Those were good times.
Ferry Ride 旗津渡輪
If you plan on visiting the island via public transportation, you’ll need to take the ferry. That means taking the yellow line MRT to Xiziwan station and walking over to the ferry dock (about 3 minutes from the station). Now, you can also take off from Qianzhen Ferry Terminal, and it’s 30 NT per person each way. There are places to rent bicycles at Xiziwan station and on the island itself. If you want to take a bicycle on the ferry it’s 40 NT each way. The prices have stayed the same in the past eight years.
View of Kaohsiung from the Ferry.
Once you get off the ferry, you have arrived at Qijin Old Street. From there you can rent bikes and ride around the island.
If you have multiple people, you can consider a tandem bike, or four-person Flinstone bike, or a rickshaw! There are also a few Youbike stations on the island.
Qijin Old Street 旗津老街
Qijin Old Street has some delicious food and souvenirs, focusing on seafood and beachwear. Notice one of the Flinstone carts to the right.
Some fresh seafood is being sold on Qijin Old Street.
Fried Seafood snacks for the taking.
More seafood than you could ever want.
And of course, some ice cream to cool down on a hot day.
Qijin Main Swimming Area 旗津海水浴場
At the end of the old street, there was a fountain that sat in front of the beach. This was a popular spot for toddlers to play. However now it has been replaced by a big statue.
A sea full of swimmers and surfers. The water here is kind of murky, but the beach is clean.
Typical Taiwanese beach-goers get their feet wet and avoid getting a tan. There are multiple shower areas next to the beach. There is a shower area behind that white building in the background, and further down the beach, there are two other wooden showering structures that are free to the public. This includes enclosed shower areas and foot washes.
Qijin Star Tunnel 旗津星空隧道
At the end of the northern beach, there is a tunnel that connects the southern part of the island through the mountain to the northern tip. The tunnel was originally made by the Japanese for military purposes but was rebuilt in 2005 as a tourist destination.
The tunnel features lights, benches, and a boardwalk suitable for riding bicycles through.
After you make it through the tunnel, the boardwalk extends around the north part of the island.
There are great views of Xiziwan, Zhongshan University, and Kaohsiung Harbor along the way.
Qijin Lighthouse 旗津燈塔
Another sight is the Qijin lighthouse which was completed in 1916 during the Japanese occupation, styled after English architecture. You can’t go up to the top (like most lighthouses in Tawain), but there are some nice views of Kaohsiung Harbor.
Admission is free, but remember that it is closed on Mondays.
Here people are relaxing next to the lighthouse, with Qijin Beach in the background.
Another view of Kaohsiung and Qijin from near the lighthouse.
Between the lighthouse and Cihou Fort are some abandoned military structures, probably also built by the Japanese.
An abandoned tunnel that I did not explore.
Cihou Fort 旗後炮臺
Cihou Fort was built in 1875 by the Qing Dynasty as part of growing tensions with the West and Japan. It was built using Western-style architecture. In 1894 the Japanese attacked the fort with canons from nearby ships, damaging the nameplate of the fort. Later that day the Japanese invaded the island, taking the fort. Later they removed the canon on the fort and left the fort abandoned. The fort was later renovated by the Kaohsiung Government as a tourist destination in 1995.
View to the west.
The main entrance to the fort.
Municipal Historic Site: Cihou Fort
During the final years of the Cing (Qing) Dynasty, three forts were built along the height of the terrain at Dapingding, Shaochuantou, and Mt. Cihou on Mt. Dagou to defend the Dagou Harbor area. The oldest one, Dapingding Fort, had been buried underground. Cihou Fort was the second highest, and that of the Syonjing North Gate at Shaochuantou, meaning “defending the harbor with mighty force,” was the lowest one. Together, the three forts constituted triangular crossfire for coastal defense and formed a basis for battery construction. Mt. Cihou was noted in the “Fongshan Sian Jhih” (History of Fongshan County of 1720, 59th Year of Kangxi Emperor): “A large battery, smoke tower, and a watch tower were built near the shoreline of Cihou.”
After the Mudan Tribe Incident in 1874 (the 13th Year of Tongjhih Emperor), the Cing administration sent Shen, Bao-Jhen, the Minister of Naval Affairs, to Taiwan for coastal defense preparation. The Minister invited the commander of the Anhuei Army, Tang, Ding-Kuei, and the commander of the Fukien Army, Wang, Fu-Lu to carry out the task. They hired an English engineer named J. W. Harwood as the fourth-class director general to design the fort. The construction of this Chinese and Western combined style started in 1875 (1st Year of the Guangsy Emperor) and was finished in the following year.
The foundation of Cihou Fort is large at the bottom and top and is divided into three sections: the north section is barracks, the middle section is ammunition depots, and the south one is the ammunition area. Two for Britain-made 6.5-ton Armstrong cannons are installed. The main entrance of Cihou Fort is designed as an archway, and the door frame is engraved with the Chinese character “喜” (double happiness) arranged by red bricks on each side of the entrance walls.
During the Battle of Yihwei in 1895 (21st Year of Guangsy Emperor), on the afternoon of October 15, the Japanese cruiser Yoshino led cruiser Akitsushima and other modern sea vessels to attack Cihou and destroy the entrance to Cihou Fort. Prior to the bombardment, Commander Liu, Cheng-Liang escaped alone and left his troops without command. By five rounds of shelling, the fort became battered. The Japanese army landed at 14:30 and the unmanned Cihou Fort was quickly occupied. By the end of the Japanese occupation period in Taiwan, the cannons were disarmed, and melted, and the Cihou Fort became a ruin.
After the Kuomintang Administration took over Taiwan, led by the Ministry of the Interior, and now a municipal historic site under Kaohsiung in 1985, Cihou Fort was designated a second-class historic site. In 1991, the City Government commenced a three-year restoration project and the Fort was reopened on January 1, 1995.
The main courtyard.
The main gate of the fort. The sign above was originally destroyed by Japanese canon fire, but two characters were restored by the Kaohsiung Government: 天南. The other two characters are long gone; no one knows exactly what was written before. Also, there is the character 雙喜 which means good luck, happiness, and fertility. During the Qing Dynasty, this was also a place for marriages.
Explanation of 天南, and why there are two missing characters:
“威震天南” A Brief History of “Wei Jhen Tian Nan”
The entrance transom of Cihou Fort was destroyed by the Japanese Navy bombardment in the Battle Yihwei of 1895, and only “Tian” (meaning sky) and “Nan” (meaning southern), the last two of the four Chinese characters inscribed on the board, were recognizable from a historical photograph. When the Kaohsiung City Government began restoration in 1991, the historical photograph was magnified and used as a reference in the making of the replica of “Tian” and “Nan,” while the other two missing characters were substituted by “Wei” and “Jhen,” respectively.
There are two sources of information concerning the two missing characters on the inscribed board of the entrance. In 1915, Liu, Fan-hsing, and Sie, Ming-He mentioned in their A Journey to Taiwan that the four characters inscribed on the board were “Di Jhu Tian Nan” (meaning the great stone holds the southern sky). The other source is from Ci Shanji (A prose collection by Master Chen, Si-Rui in 1927). In this article, we read, “An inscribed board is hung on the top of the barracks, and the board says Wei Jhen Tian Nan.” Both of these sources about the inscribed board of the entrance are listed here for reference purposes.
Another view of the fort.
View of the main swimming area from the fort. Those concrete blocks are long gone now.
The steep walk down to Qijin.
Sand Sculptures 沙雕
From about June to August, there used to be sand sculpting competitions and exhibitions on the beach. Recently, this has been replaced with an annual kite festival.
Dragon wrapped around the 85.
Egg yolk man playing guitar.
A woman’s face.
Traditional sand castle.
You tell me what this is.
The beach is usually calm and good for swimming, with decent-sized waves, but on a stormy day of course it is not safe to swim.
Above are the waves on a stormy day.
Qijin Shell Museum 貝殼博物館
Past Qijin Beach there is a shell museum with over 3000 different species of shellfish on display. The admission is 30 NT per person.
There are two levels in this museum as well as bathrooms. I remember the A/C was pumped at full blast and it was freezing so we didn’t stay long.
Southern Qijin Beach 旗津沙灘南邊
The southern part of Qijin Beach is in my opinion the nicest. On a weekday this part of the beach is practically empty. It features palm trees and pavilions every 200 meters or so to rest and stay out of the sun. If you have a bike, you should definitely ride along here.
View from the pavilion.
People playing on the beach near the Shell Museum.
A very handsome person just getting back from bodyboarding.
This is the sand on Qijin: dark and hot. Be sure to wear sandals in the summer or your feet will burn off.
Sunset on the beach.
Another view of the sunset.
Ships just off the Qijin coast.
Fire in the sky over the Taiwan Strait.
Qijin Windmill Park 旗津風車公園
Windmill Park is a large grassy area and seaside park in the central part of the island.
A view further down the park.
View of Kaohsiung Harbor and Qijin Household Registration Office.
Another view of the western coast of Qijin.
Kuangchi Palace Beach 中洲廣濟宮沙灘
The last and most secretive place on this island that I will share in this blog is the beach behind Kuangchi Palace, pictured above. There are about 10 private bays formed by concrete barriers along the south side of the island behind the temple. Usually, there is no one there. There are free showers behind the temple, as well as the best oyster omelet stand in Taiwan. It is the best because all of their omelets are super crispy.
Axia Oyster Omelette 阿霞蚵仔煎
Axia Oyster Omelette is the best Oyster omelet I have ever tasted in Taiwan. It sits right behind Kuangchi Palace Temple.
See above for a photo of the oyster omelet. This oyster omelet is the best because it is so crispy. The dough is fried super crispy and dry like you are eating the hard-shelled taco of oyster omelets.
Cijin Sunset Bar 旗津沙灘吧
Cijin Sunset Bar offers food, drinks, music, and ocean views. There are also often dances and events held here, and discounts during happy hour. Overall it is a relaxing spot to enjoy the sunset.
View of the concrete barriers and bays behind the temple and oyster omelet shop.
Sunset at one of the bays.
Another view of the sunset.
View from inside the Star Tunnel in Qijin at night which is lit up. The tunnel was originally made by the Japanese for military purposes but was rebuilt in 2005 as a tourist destination, and has recently been renovated.
View from Qijin Beach in Kaohsiung, which now lights up purple at night.
