A New City on an Old Port: The 100 Year Transformation of Kaohsiung's Love River
For decades, the Love River (愛河 Ai He) has always been a sparkling spot of Kaohsiung’s cityscape. In this article, readers will find out how the story of this beloved river intertwined with the city’s century-long history, from the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese colonial era, to the twenty-first century.
By Ting-yu Kuo
Translated by Grace Ho Lan Chong
Edited by Harrison Chen and Yu-Han Huang
This piece first appeared on StoryStudio and its copyright is owned by Frank C. Chen Cultural and Educational Foundation. It is translated and published with the permission of the copyright owner.
If you mention the Love River to the people of Kaohsiung, this is the image that will undoubtedly pop into their minds: under a clear and hot blue sky, the Love River quietly flowing through urban Kaohsiung, reflecting a wide seascape, magnificent harbor, and bustling streets. At the estuary, there are large cargo ships leaving the port, with the light rail surrounding the bay area - this scene was also depicted in the painting “Love River Bay” (愛河灣), created by Meinong painter Tseng Wen-Chung (曾文忠) in 2018.
Love River, where do you flow?
Let me know why my heart's a mess
Love River, where do you flow to?
Take me home
to the river I long for in my dream.
These lyrics flow gently from folk legend Jacky Chen’s (陳建瑋) voice into the listeners’ ears, evoking images of the bustling streets by Love River. Chen, born in Chiayi, settled in Kaohsiung after the fifth grade. After starting work in Taipei, he often felt suffocated by the pressure of reality. During this time, he began to reminisce about his hometown and the all-encompassing Love River. He composed folk songs to describe his yearning for Kaohsiung and his upbringing there, softly singing for lovers.
Love River not only represents the image of the Kaohsiung City that we are familiar with today. It has also accompanied the city through its rich history, witnessing the 150 years since the city’s opening as the Port of Takao. The city has slowly grown from a small fishing port to a prosperous shipping port that anchors 10,000 ton cargo freighters.
THE PAST AND PRESENT OF LOVE RIVER: A STITCH THAT CONNECTS THE URBAN AREA
The Love River is around 12 kilometers long. Through silt, clay, and sand deposits from flood waters, alongside erosion, the area around the river began expanding around 400 years ago. During those early stages, it was merely a small river that connected a handful of ponds, hosting settlements along its shore and having numerous ports for ships to dock and depart from.
The original name for Kaohsiung, Takau or Takoo, was borrowed from Tankoya, the Makatao indigenous tribe that had lived in the area. The Hoklo settlers also wrote this pronunciation similar to “Tá-káu (打狗, “beating dog”)” or “ Tá-kóo (打鼓, “beating drum”).” During the Qing Dynasty, it was also referred to as West Port or Salt Water Port. During the Japanese colonial era, it was formally written as “Takao” (打狗). After the reorganization of administrative divisions in 1920, the colonial government replaced the Chinese characters “打狗” with its homonym in Japanese “高雄” and the river was named “Takao River” (高雄川). After 1945, the Chinese characters 高雄 would be read and romanized in their Mandarin pronunciation as “Kaohsiung.”
The process of naming and renaming of Love River during and after Japanese rule was closely related to the development of Kaohsiung’s city and port area. In 1908, the Government-General of Taiwan began building Takao Port, restructuring the port area to export important products like sugar and rice, promoting the rapid development of the city of Takao .
Takao gentry merchant Tân Tiong-hô (陳中和) also participated as a private developer in land consolidation needed for port and city construction and development. He also invested in emerging industries, such as industrialized sugar production and shipbuilding. He was involved in real estate and land development through the Takao Estate Company Ltd., port dredging, and land reclamation, which was later developed into the current Hamasen and Yancheng. He also leased out the 33,000 square meters of land next to the Takao River to the Japanese company Suzuki, who then established the “Kobe Steel Co., Ltd. Takao Branch Factor.”
The second phase of the port construction project began in 1912, and was incorporated into the reconstruction plans for Takao River, transforming its downstream area into an artificial channel. Originally located at the Takao River delta, through mutual cooperation between the Japanese government and businessmen, Tân Tiong-hô and other Taiwanese capitalists transformed the area from a salt field and sandbar to the wide river that we are familiar with today.
Takao River, later renamed and renovated, became a staple in urban life for emerging Kaohsiung in the 1920s. Today, the river is lined with embankments, roads illuminated by street lights, and parks to create a “modern” urban landscape.
Amongst those renovation projects was the Kawada Bridge. Connecting Yancheng and Gushan areas, what was originally a wooden bridge-pier sustained constant damage due to floods. In order to extend its usage, it was reinforced by concrete in 1921. It was also referred to as the “Lâm-hing Bridge” as the Lâm-hing Company established by Tân Tiong-hô was located at the banks of the Kawada Bridge. This area is now leased out, and is the location of the current Carrefour shopping mall, an integral part of the Love River landscape.
The Kawada Bridge was cemented in 1921 (Source: Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpo, "Recently completed Kawada Bridge in Takao", June 14, 1921, Nikkan 7th edition)
ROWERS, FAMILY WALKS, AND A MILITARY BASE: A RIVERSIDE SCENE IMBUED WITH JOY AND BITTERNESS
The Takao Port area on the banks of the Takao River isn’t just a place for recreational boat rentals and leisurely strolls, but also a space for shops, storage companies, and a variety of other functions. In 1931, the new Takao Prefectural Office building was completed by the river, next to the Youth Club, also completed a year prior. Over the years, the section of the Takao River that runs through the downtown area has increasingly become a public space, a departure from its previous role for farming, fishing, and salt evaporation.
The Takao Prefectural Government hosted the “Takao Port’s Development Exhibition” from May 1st to 5th in the same year to showcase Takao’s progress in areas of industrial economy, transportation construction, social culture, and education under Japanese occupation. Baseball and rowing competitions were held, and races were held on the Takao River in front of the prefectural office building.
1930s Takao River Charter Boat business (Source: Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpo, “Takao Sketch: Takao River Rental Boat,” August 30, 1933, Daily 3rd Edition)
In the latter half of the 1930s, Takao Port became a military port, under the political doctrine of the Japanese empire’s “southward policies,” which exported strategic materials and troops to meet the demands of the empire’s operations in China and Southeast Asia. At this time, the colonial government began to develop the munitions industry in Kaohsiung. The third phase of the Takao Port construction project took place in 1937, with one of the key areas being the present day Shijia area on the west side of the Takao River. Funds from Japanese zaibatsu were used to build factories here, including the factories for Takao branch of Nippon Aluminum Co., Ltd. and South Japan Chemical Industrial Co., which turned the docklands into an industrial zone.
In 1939, the Governor-General set up a military port in Zuoying on the north side of the port area and a naval fuel plant in the Nanzih-Houjing area, allowing Kaohsiung to become an important base for Japan’s southern operations. Factories and barracks were built along the lower Takao River as part of the militarization of Takao Port in the latter half of World War II, increasing its military and strategic value. This led to the US military bombing Kaohsiung City multiple times during the war, creating a dilapidated and war-torn city until the early postwar period.
February 1945: US forces bombing Takao Port and area along Love River (source: Wikimedia)
THE ORIGINS OF A NAME: AN INNOCENT NEWS REPORT
After the end of World War II, war-torn Kaohsiung was gradually rebuilt, and the Takao River was slowly reclaimed by citizens who wanted to incorporate the river into their daily activities. It was during this period that the river was accidentally renamed “Love River.” In 1948, Chen Chiang-pan set up a rental boat station next to the present Zhongzheng Bridge, inviting poet Lü Pi (呂筆) to name it. Lü christened the station “Love River Cruise.” This led to a lot of young people coming to row and go on dates.
Unfortunately, the signboard for “Love River Cruise” was partially destroyed by a typhoon, leaving only the words “Love River.” A reporter writing about the incident mistakenly took the signboard to mean the name of the river. Due to the exposure from the report, the name “Kaohsiung River” was gradually replaced with “Love River.”
People watching dragon boating activities on the banks of the Love River in the early postwar period. This picture shows the Kaohsiung District Court (formerly Takao Prefectural Office building) that had been bombed and damaged by the US military (Source: Wikimedia)
Love River was soon plagued with the issue of pollution, caused by an increase of industry and commerce along the river. Coupled with population growth, lack of proper sewage and waste disposal, industrial and domestic wastewater was discharged into Love River without proper handling or management. In the 1950s and 60s, many still rowed along and fished on the shores of the Love River. However, pollution and water contamination grew worse and by 1971, even dragon boats were refusing to enter the river during the Dragon Boat festival. Pedestrians no longer took walks along the river, holding their nose as they quickly sped past instead.
In response to this issue, Mayor Chen Chi-chuan (陳啟川) took measures to address and prohibit the issues of driftwood accumulation and garbage dumping. He also sought US aid for a dredging project in an attempt to tackle the environmental issues of the river.
The move to conserve and transform Love River into an environmentally-healthy location became the foundation for future sewage projects for successive mayors, like Wang Yu-yun (王玉雲), Yang Chin-tsung (楊金欉), Hsu Shui-te (許水德), Su Nan-cheng (蘇南成), and Major Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) in particular, there were major efforts on improving the middle and lower sections of the Love River. There was also work towards transforming the landscape by the river, installing night lights on the river bank. All of this helped reduce the pollution issues of Love River, transforming it into the blue-watered landscape of Kaohsiung that we are familiar with today.
Mayor Chen Chi-chuan invested funds to rebuild Love River during his tenure (Source: Frank C. Chen Cultural and Educational Foundation)
TRANSFORMING THE LOVE FOR KAOHSIUNG INTO A FLOWING RIVER
To the people of Kaohsiung, Love River is not only a tangible symbol of Kaohsiung’s transition from a barren land to a place of prosperity, but also a silent source of inspiration for works of art. Meinong-raised oil and watercolor painter Tseng Wen-tsung created “Love River Bay,” a massive piece of work measuring 7.2 meters in length and 1.64 meters in width. The painting perfectly represents the prosperous and leisurely urban scenery of Kaohsiung Harbor.
Likewise, aiming to depict the scenery of the Love River is famous Taiwanese painter Liao Chi-chun (廖繼春), born in Fengyuan, Taichung, whose work was selected for the Imperial Japanese Art Exhibition in 1928. He was influenced by the prevalence of abstract expressionism during his travels through Europe in the 1960s. This was reflected in his painting “Love River,” created during a sketch session by the riverside in 1967, which depicted romantic river scenes with Western style buildings and street lamps by the riverside in lively and vibrant colors, and showed a touch of European influence to Love River scenery.
1967: Liao Ji Chun’s “Love River” portrays Love River as though it were in Europe (Source: Education Encyclopedia/cc BY-NC-ND 3.0 TW)
I’ve returned to the Love River of my childhood,
Shadows and light falling on boats, Brahms
Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G Minor
A crisp sound
That quickly floats through a spring dream by the river:
“From today onwards, I will surround you.”
As amourous waves surge
With lively bubbles...
Jiao Tong (焦桐), a writer born in Kaohsiung, once published a piece of prose titled “My Love River” and a poem titled “Love River,” which drew on his experience as a youth growing up, playing games and falling in love by Love River, witnessing before his own eyes its change from polluted to clear waters. The sense of exoticism that appears in his poems parallel Liao Chi-chun’s paintings shows a charming gesture of feelings of love.
Furthermore, Love River has also been a source of inspiration for different genres of music. Cosmospeople (宇宙人樂團), a Taiwanese band, wrote “Going to Kaohsiung” in a pop-funk style, narrating their impression of Kaohsiung on a sunny day, with the Love River flowing into the vast sea. The overall style of the song is very relaxed, happy, and casual. In his song “Seaside Love Song,” Dadado Huang (黃玠), born in the ‘crowded Taipei Basin,’ highlights Kaohsiung’s incomparable sunny weather, sea breeze, and traditional cuisine of duck meat, rice, and tea. The lyrics reflect Kaohsiung’s leisurely-paced city scenery from the perspective of an outsider.
FLOWING FOR HUNDRED OF YEARS, WITH NO PLANS TO STOP
Throughout the past century, Love River, in response to the rise of Kaohsiung as a port city, has undergone dredging and urban development, its waters oscillating between being safe to play in or too polluted to enjoy.
It has been a source of creative inspiration for painters, poets, singers, and photographers. These diverse works have allowed people to witness the ever-changing face of Love River, and the youthful years spent on its shores.
And no matter how its appearance changes, Love River flows quietly through the streets of Kaohsiung, as it has in the past and will continue to flow in the future, connecting the people of Kaohsiung to their roots.
[1] In 1922, it was renamed Tân Tiong-hô Products Co., Ltd., and in 1943, it was renamed Nanwa Kosan Co., Ltd.
[2] China Times, Supplement Renjian, 2002.3
[3] United Daily News, UDN Supplement “Creation,” 2019.3
