Formosa Boulevard Station has been named the second most beautiful MRT station in the world. It includes the largest glass piece of artwork in the world, which covers the roof and pillars in the central part of the station. Did I mention it's an MRT station? Yeah. Some people like to take selfies here.
Background: Formosa Boulevard Station is currently the only interchange station on the Kaohsiung MRT, connecting the red and orange lines. It's name in Chinese is simply "Formosa Station" referring to the Formosa Incident in 1979 (aka the Kaohsiung incident) which was a crackdown by the KMT on the pro-democracy movement in Taiwan and helped lead to the full democratization of Taiwan. The added the name "boulevard" to the English name, refers to Chungshan Road which is also known as Formosa Boulevard. The "Dome of Light" was designed by Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata, and is made of over 4,000 glass pieces. The art piece took over 4 years to complete and the glass was shipped from Germany. The four main themes of the station are Water: The Womb of Life; Earth: Prosperity and Growth; Light: The Creative Spirit; and Fire: Destruction and Rebirth. It has a diameter of 30 meters. In addition, large bending glass windows on the four main exits were designed by Shin Takamatsu Architect & Associates. The station was completed in 2008 and had 18,000 daily passengers as of 2019. Hours: 6 AM to midnight. How to get there: By Train: Take the TRA to Kaohsiung Station, and then switch to the MRT line. Get off at Formosa Station, and you have arrived! Book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here. You can also book a Kaohsiung Travel pass here. By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 17 in downtown Kaohsiung to the intersection of Chungshan 1st Road and Zhongzheng 4th Road. The station is underneath the roundabout. Looking for scooter rental in Kaohsiung? You can check out Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can check also out our scooter rental guide here. If you are looking for car rentals, you can search Qeeq here, KKday here, or Klook here. You can also check out our car rental guide here. Accommodation We have stayed at and recommend Chao She Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia here) IHI Sanduo Travel Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia here), and Mingli Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Klook here, or Hotels.com here) which are three inexpensive and high quality choices in downtown Kaohsiung. I also have stayed at and recommend Kaohsiung Meinong Rabbit Paul Homestay B&B (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, or Trip.com here), a quiet B&B in rural Meinong, and Chengching Lakeside Resort (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com or Trip.com here)and the Grand Hotel Kaohsiung (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, or Expedia here) which both offer breakfast buffet and free entrance into Chenqing Lake Park. I have also stayed at the 85 sky tower which offers great views of the city; you can search for rooms in the 85 sky tower on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, Expedia here, or Trip.com here). Find out more about where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation on the islands. You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here. Need travel insurance? Compare prices on Insubuy here. Tours: You can find more tours and activities in Kaohsiung such as Pier 2, Meinong Hakka Museum, Hamasen Railway Museum, Suzuka Circuit Park, i-Ride Kaohsiung Visual 5D Flying Theater, National Science and Technology Museum , Senya Village Restaruant, Austin Land, Ski School Indoor Ski Slope, and many more on Klook here or KKday here. Just to let you know, if you book using the links above, we get some commission at no cost to you, and you can help support our blog. You can click here to receive $5 USD on your first Klook purchase. Map: Please see below: Our Journey: First of all, I cannot believe I am making this blog. This is an MRT station for crying out loud, and there are so many better things to see in Kaohsiung. I am sick of all those people that make blogs about this place like it is some kind of international tourist destination, worthy of the Kaohsiung travel top ten list but it's not. Go somewhere else. Do not come here unless you happen to pass by while taking the MRT. Go enjoy the rest of Kaohsiung. Now with that off my chest, I have visited this station many times. I used to live in Kaohsiung and had to pass this station on at least a weekly basis. 
You can find the station at the cross section of Zhongshan Road and Zhongzheng Road in Kaohsiung. These roads refer to former ROC presidents Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek. You will find roads with these names in every major city in Taiwan.
You can also take the MRT to the central transfer station, the only underground transfer station on the line. There are a total of 11 exits in this station.
At the roundabout on Zhongshan Road you can see the station clearly because of the glass towers that rise over the four main exits.
The class towers were made by a Japanese architecture firm and are quite beautiful.
Entrance to the station.
Looking up into one of the glass towers.
Looking up one of the escalators.
Looking at the glass artwork on the main floor of the station.
The "Dome of Light" was designed by Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata, and is made of over 4,000 glass pieces. 
Another view of the artwork.
The art piece took over 4 years to complete and the glass was shipped from Germany. The four main themes of the station are Water: The Womb of Life; Earth: Prosperity and Growth; Light: The Creative Spirit; and Fire: Destruction and Rebirth. It has a diameter of 30 meters. 
View looking at the main pillars in the station.
Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our blog posts about other more worthy and notable sights in Kaohsiung to come. You can find more tours and activities in Kaohsiung such as wake boarding, water skiing, SUP paddle boarding, Pier 2, i-Ride Kaohsiung Visual 5D Flying Theater, Ski School Indoor Ski Slope, and more on Klook here or KKday here. You can check out our full travel guide to Kaohsiung here. You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here.
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Author 作家We are US Expats that have extensive experience living, working, and travelling in Taiwan. In our day, we had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But we have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. Our blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. We are just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Archives 檔案
November 2023
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