We suffered the heaving trains many times while we were in China, so to see a subway in Kaohsiung with few commuters and to always get an instant seat even during rush hours is truly a seventh heaven. Another noteworthy about Kaohsiung MRT is the Formosa Boulevard Station that sits at the intersection of MRT's red and orange lines. It has the beautiful stained glass called "Dome of Light" that runs 360 degrees.


I only did a quick snapshot as we were in a hurry. The Dome of Light, 30 meters in diameter, is a piece of artwork consisting of glass, colored drawing and lighting designed by the highly acclaimed Italian artist, Narcissus Quagliata. The Dome of Light is known to be the largest glass art in the world.

We took the subway to go to Urban Spotlight and arrived at Central Park Station. The interesting sight here is the cascading waterfall that looks like a gleaming jewel between the two huge escalators to the concourse level.



The station is also covered by a magnificent white aluminum canopy nearly 60 meters and weighing 220 tons. I'm very impressed.




The Central Park that covers 12 hectares is a green eco-park. The park's visual beauty and nice landscape is just amazing.



Five minutes later as we perambulated along the street we happened to see a fleet of bicycles for rent. A wonderful way to roam around the park.



Here are some shots of the streets near the park.




Around the modern park is the artistic street named Urban Spotlight, which is one of Kaohsiung's night attractions located on the Wufu Road between Jhongshan Road and Jhonghua Road.



A gentle-ish walk brought us to the "SMILE 2001 - the Wall of Hope" where numerous photos of Kaohsiung citizens and the town's mayor are posted on the wall.


Another highlight of the park is the "Light" themed art installations created by nine local artists creating an artistic ambiance.




We also stumbled upon the Outdoor Café where we bought two cups of coffee for take out.


I would say it's a favorite hangout for locals and visitors since it was teeming with people when we were there. This café is a large open air with chairs set up on the front section near the road offering scheduled live musical performances.