Ligang Old Street 里港老街

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Ligang Old Street is a historical small town in rural Pingtung dating back to the Qing Dynasty. At one time it even had a city wall built around it. Here you can find historical buildings are religious sites without any other tourists bothering you. There is also a night market and morning wet market to explore. It is definitely worth a visit on your next trip to Pingtung.

Please note this is referring to the old street in Pingtung. For the old street in Changhua, see our blog on Lukang Old Street here.  

Background:
For millennia Pingtung had been inhabited by plains aboriginal groups. Their biggest settlement was called Ahou, on the current site of Pingtung City, and another settlement to the northwest along the Gaoping River was called Aligang, which is where Ligang gets its name.
The first Chinese settlers came to the area in the late 1600s during the Kingdom of Tungming and Qing Dynasty. Before that time, the area was known as a place of exile for Chinese criminals. During the Qing Dynasty, the area was part of Fengshan County.
During these times there were often fights among local clans such as Hakka, Cantonese, and Min peoples that came from different parts of China.
For protection against rebellions, a city wall was built around Ligang, but was later destroyed during the Japanese Era. The Japanese also relocated two villages that were close to the Gaoping River near Ligang Old Street. 
Currently, the population of Ligang is roughly 25,000 people, a number which has remained constant for nearly 60 years. 
Normally there are not many people on the old street and the area is not very busy. 
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Hours:

Ligang Old Street:
24/7

Ligang Night Market (里港夜市): 
5 PM - 10:30 PM Thursday and Sunday evenings

Ligang Morning Vegetable Market (里港市場):
8 AM - 12 PM Tuesday - Sunday

Price:
Free

Tours and Activities in Pingtung:
There are many activities available in Pingtung, such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 

Where to stay:
Looking for a hotel? Find out 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 in Taiwan.
I have stayed at many hostels and hotels in Pingtung, and even almost bought a house here. Some places that I have stayed at and can recommend are Nanwan Kiki (book on Agoda here, Booking.com here), a B&B next to Nanwan Bay, Kenting's most popular Beach. There are also a few decent hotels near Kenting Street Night Market like Kenting Star Inn 888 (book on Agoda here, Klook here, or Booking.com here), or Kenting Dajianshan Hotel (book on Agoda here or Booking.com here). You will notice that none of these hotels are five star resorts (I do not come to Kenting to waste my time at a resort, but you can still search Agoda, Booking.com, or Klook here for those) but they are in my opinion the above have the best value for the money. 

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: Take Provincial Highway 22 East from Kaohsiung to Pingtung until you reach Ligang. From National Highway 3, you can also get off the 391 exit to Jiuru and head north just about 1 KM to Ligang. The Confucius Temple is on Shengli Road in the middle of the city. 
Looking for scooter rental in Pingtung? Click here or here to search for options.
If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  ​
By Bus: You can reach Ligang from Pingtung Bus 8220 or 8217. You can book tickets to Kaohsiung via high speed rail (HSR)  on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA)  on Klook here. You can book tickets to travel to Pingtung via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan's landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. 

Map:
Please see below:

Our Journey:

I have been past Ligang many times on the way to Maolin, but I have only really stopped and enjoyed Ligang Old Street once. It is a quiet old street with some historical buildings but not touristy at all, and there are not many restaurants. Come here if you are a fan of history. Otherwise, it may seem boring. 

This is also the hometown of one of my followers. He says that you should eat the famous pig knuckles and dumplings. In the evenings, there are tons of street food vendors along the Main Street. Thursday and Sunday nights there is a very nice night market with lots of good food! Also free live entertainment at the park on Sunday night. You should definitely go visit the traditional market at the other end of town near the junior high school in the morning!

Ligang Chen Family Shrine 里港鄉陳氏宗祠

I think the most interesting building on the old street is the Chen Family Shrine, dating back eight generations to 1851 during the Qing Dynasty. The building itself was built in 1930 as the family shrine. The Chen family is known as one of the most wealthy families in the town. 

Another view of the family shrine which as also become sort of a parking lot. 

Red side door. 

Front view of the shrine. 

History of the building. 

Stone snails at the entrance. 

Another view from the entrance. 

Ornate front doorway.

Closer view of the family shrine. 

There are more photos of the family shrine in the gallery above.

A strawberry ice and drink stand across the street. 

Further down the old street, you will see Shuang Ci Temple, which is the largest temple on the old street. 

Front entrance to the temple. 

The street then veers to the left. 

Old style house likely dating to the Japanese Era. 

Another exquisitely preserved house along the levee. 

Cure brick doorway on one house. 

More old brick buildings along the old street. 

And one that was destroyed. 

A Japanese era post office that is slowly decaying. Hopefully it will be restored and reopened soon. 

The Daitian Temple on the other side of the old street. 

Front view of the Daitian Temple. 

You can see more photos of the old street in the gallery above. 

I also came across this American style house with a front and back yard near the Levee. 

View of the town from the Levee along the Gaoping River. 

​Ligang Riverside Park 里港河濱公園

I also recommend checking out the Ligang Riverside Park, which is pretty cool because it has two tanks on display. 

There are also plenty of benches. 

The Levee also seems like a good place for riding a bike. 

More photos of the park in the gallery above. ​

Don't forget there are many more activities in Pingtung such as such as snorkeling, diving, SUPing, surfing, submarine riding, and river tracing. 
You can find more tours of Kenting on Klook here or KKday here. 

You can check out our full guide to Pingtung here. 

You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here. ​

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