Kaohsiung's New Cruise Terminal

　The whale-shaped Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal(高雄港旅運中心) has become the city's new landmark. The inauguration ceremony was celebrated on March 6th of this year, with the first international cruise ships visiting the harbor since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It was celebrated as the Port of Kaohsiung's (高雄港) reopening to welcome the world back to its shores.

　Reiser + Umemoto, RUR Architecture DPC, and local architectural firm Fei & Cheng Associates (宗邁建築師事務所) were the designers that worked on the project. Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal was built with a steel frame structure. It has two underground and fifteen above-ground floors. The multiple arcs were built to resemble waves, with a bright and light atmosphere inside. The terminal can accommodate 250,000-ton cruise ships.

　A boardwalk on the third floor provides breathtaking panoramic views of the port. Therefore, it has become Kaohsiung's newest scenic spot, where visitors can enjoy a waterfront stroll. On one side, visitors can enjoy views of the Kaohsiung Pop Music Center (高雄流行音樂中心), and on the other, they can look down and watch the cruise ships coming into the terminal and docking.

※The First Cruise Ships to Dock at the Terminal

　Taiwan welcomed the first two cruise ships to dock at the new Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal. One of these ships was  the Seven Seas Explorer cruise ship (七海探索者號). It was also the first to be moored in the brand-new Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal and had about 600 passengers onboard. The other ship was the Westerdam (威士丹特號), which docked nearby at the Penglai Cruise Terminal (蓬萊旅運中心).

　Traveling on the Seven Seas Explorer was a couple from Texas. It was their first time visiting Taiwan. While in town, they went to Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum (佛光山佛陀紀念館), Lotus Pond (蓮池潭), and other attractions in Kaohsiung. They enjoyed Lotus Pond's Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (龍虎塔) and learned they would get good luck if they entered through the dragon's mouth and exited from the tiger's mouth! They also went to Meinong (美濃) and had Hakka (客家) cuisine for lunch, which they thought was extremely delicious!

　Sachs and Artmento from California visited the Kaohsiung MRT Formosa Boulevard Station (捷運美麗島站) to see the "Dome of Light (光之穹頂)," an artwork created by renowned Italian Artist Narcissus Quagliata, who spent nearly four and a half years working on it. They were stunned and thought it was the most gorgeous glass artwork ever created in the world!  

高雄港旅運中心 觀海新地標

 造形有如巨型鯨魚建築物的「高雄港旅運中心」是高雄港邊的新地標，高雄港旅運中心在今年3月6日舉辦郵輪首航啟用典禮，「七海探索者號」靠泊在新落成啟用的高雄港旅運中心，同時還有「威士丹特號」靠泊在高雄蓬萊旅運中心，疫情之後，首次迎來國際郵輪來到臺灣，也象徵高雄港重啟海上國門。

高雄旅運中心地上15層、地下2層的鋼骨構造建築，可供25萬噸級郵輪靠泊，由臺灣宗邁建築師事務所，與美國RUR Architecture D.P.C共同設計，以海浪流體動態為設計意象，內部空間圓弧牆面在燈光點綴下，散發著歌劇院般的氛圍。

位於3樓的海岸步道，擁有絕佳的環港視野，成為高雄港臨水岸觀海新景點，一面與高雄流行音樂中心遙遙相望，另一面居高臨下觀賞大小船隻航行停泊，郵輪靠泊時，是高雄港限定的美景。

郵輪旅客首訪高雄

豪華郵輪「七海探索者號」約600名旅客下船觀光，來自美國德州的夫妻首次造訪臺灣，走訪佛光山佛陀紀念館及蓮池潭等景點。兩人對蓮池潭的龍虎塔「從龍口進、虎口出，會帶來Good Luck！」印象深刻；午餐則在美濃品嚐客家料理，讓他們直呼好美味！

來自美國加州的Sachs和Artmento，前往捷運美麗島站欣賞義大利藝術家Narcissus Quagliata歷時4年半完成的「光之穹頂」，盛讚是世界上最美麗的玻璃藝術！