Cijin Island is a popular tourist spot for Kaohsiung. It has a beautiful beach, a couple of interesting historical sites, and a thriving street food scene. We decided to go there on our first day because we felt that all of us would appreciate some beach time.
Getting There
To get to Cijin Island, you need to take a quick 5 minute ferry at the Gushan Terminal, which is about 5 to 10 minutes walk from the Sizihwan MTR Station (西子灣). Along the walk to the terminal, we stopped by a popular shave ice shop daOnegong (大碗公冰品). It was famous for its giantic sized shave ice (30x). You can order a single bowl that can feed more than 10 people.
Street Food and Bike Rental
In Taiwan, we never had to worry about food. Some street food vendors were always around the corner. So, it was no surprise that the first thing we saw when we got off the boat was a busy street lined with street food vendors.
If you want, you can also rent an electric quadricycle to ride on the island with your family. The island was not very large, so we opt to exercise our feet instead.
Cijin Tunnel
The first spot we visited was the Cijin Tunnel. It was a tunnel built during Japanese occupation for military purposes through the Cihou Mountain. The tunnel was a nice place to let you escape from the scorching heat outside. As we exited the tunnel, we were rewarded with a beautiful panoramic ocean view and an opportunity to take some nice pictures.
Beside the exit of the tunnel, there was a monument built to commemorate Dr. James Laidlaw Maxwell. He was a medical doctor and a missionary but he wasn't welcome initially in Tainan. So, he moved to Cijin where he was able to establish his own practices, both on the medical side and on the missionary side, and benefited the local community.
Cijin Beach
The Cijin Beach is a dark sand beach and is a perfect place to let the kids run loose and enjoy themselves. After we had enough fun on the beach, we stopped by Cijin Sunset Barfor lunch. The bar offers a nice view of the beach and I am sure it would be amazing to see the sunset there. The staffs there spoke very good English and were very friendly to all of us.
Cijin Seaside Park and Rainbow Church
As sunset was approaching, we walked along a path inside the Cijin Seaside Park and enjoyed the sceneries. Our last destination in Cijin Island was the Rainbow Church. It isn't a church per se but a beautiful structure to let you take some photos and many people do.
