Kaohsiung Museum of History Audio Guide

Kaohsiung Museum of History: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Kaohsiung Museum of History

   Kaohsiung Museum of History: The building itself dates from 1938, late in the Japanese colonial period.

   Welcome to the Kaohsiung Museum of History, known locally as 高雄歷史博物館. You are in Yancheng District, close to the Love River, standing in front of a building that once ran the whole city. Before it held exhibitions, this was the seat of Kaohsiung's government. That gives the place a double life. The building was constructed in 1938 as the city hall. Later it was reborn as a museum, and it is the first museum in Taiwan planned and built by a local government. It opened on the twenty-fifth of October, 1998. Its mission is to tell how Kaohsiung grew, from a small fishing village into a busy modern port city shaped by mountain, sea and river. As we move through this guide, we will look at the building's days as city hall, the dark day in 1947 whose marks still show on its walls, and the architecture and wider family of museums that grew around it. Look at the façade as you listen. It has been standing here far longer than it has been a museum.

2. 02

   Kaohsiung Museum of History: When This Was City Hall

   Kaohsiung Museum of History: In 1947, the February 28 Incident swept across Taiwan, and this building, then Kaohsiung's city hall, became one of the settings for what happened in Kaohsiung.

   To understand this building, go back to 1924. On the twenty-fifth of December that year, Kaohsiung was officially made a city. Its first city office was set up at Minatomachi, fourth block, in what is today Gushan District. But the city's center of gravity was drifting eastward. So in 1939, the Japanese administration moved the city office to Sakaemachi, which is exactly where the museum stands today in Yancheng. The building itself dates from 1938, late in the Japanese colonial period. After the Second World War, in 1945, it was taken over and renamed Kaohsiung City Government. It remained the seat of city government until January 1992, a stretch of roughly half a century in which decisions about roads, harbors and neighborhoods were made inside these walls. When the government moved out, the city faced a choice. This was a landmark, a symbol of civic authority and a keeper of memories. Rather than let it fade, the city decided to give it a new purpose as a museum of its own story.

3. 03

   Kaohsiung Museum of History: Marks of 1947

   Kaohsiung Museum of History: It closes on Mondays and on Lunar New Year's Eve, and it stays open on national holidays and long holiday weekends.

   Some history here is not hidden in a display case. It is on the walls. In 1947, the February 28 Incident swept across Taiwan, and this building, then Kaohsiung's city hall, became one of the settings for what happened in Kaohsiung. During those weeks, a Kaohsiung branch of the incident committee, made up largely of city councilors, was based here. It was also the scene of the event often called the Kaohsiung massacre, in which military forces opened fire on civilians and key members of the committee. Bullet marks from that time can still be seen on the outer walls. This is part of why the city saw the building as more than a handsome old structure. Its outside and its meaning together record Kaohsiung's glory, its scars and its past. As you walk around the exterior, take a moment to look closely at the surfaces. They hold a chapter of the city's memory that no label could fully replace.

4. 04

   Kaohsiung Museum of History: Architecture and a Network of Museums

   Look at the building as a whole. It is a blend of Japanese and Western styles, a little solemn and a little elegant at once, which suits a place built to represent civic dignity. It is a late-period colonial building, and the city later recognized its importance. It was listed as a city historic building on the twenty-sixth of February, 2003. On the eighteenth of October, 2004, it was upgraded to a municipal historic site. When the city decided to preserve the old city hall, it did not turn the whole complex into a single museum. The plan created three buildings with new roles: the history museum, an industry and commerce exhibition center, and a music hall. The museum is also the hub of a larger family. Its affiliated venues include the Zuoying Confucius Temple, the Old Dagou Station Story House, the War and Peace Memorial Park, the Hamasing Taiwan Railway Museum, the Former Residence of Ke Chi-hua, the Kaohsiung Shadow Puppet Museum and the Taiwan Military Dependents Village Cultural Park. Together they cover railways, the old walled city, performing arts, human rights and migrant communities.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you go, a few practical notes. The museum is generally open Tuesday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It closes on Mondays and on Lunar New Year's Eve, and it stays open on national holidays and long holiday weekends. The Kaohsiung Research Documentation Center keeps different hours: Wednesday to Sunday, nine to five, with a break from noon to one. Getting here is easy. Yanchengpu Metro station is a short walk away, and there are YouBike stations and a parking lot very close by. Admission to the exhibitions is free. As you leave, turn around once more and look up at the building. Ask yourself what it must have been like when the whole city's business passed through those doors. Then let the Love River and Yancheng's streets carry you onward, and see what other traces of Kaohsiung's story you can find.