Qishan Old Street (旗山老街, also spelled Cishan Old Street) is a historic street with lovely baroque architecture in Qishan district of Kaohsiung city.
This daytime market street offers a variety of traditional and local specialties, including widespread use of locally grown bananas, making it a fun, food-focused, off-the-beaten-track half-day trip from the Kaohsiung city center.
In this article, I’ll introduce a few must-eats on Qishan Old Street, based on my recent visit, how to get there, and how to combine it with other attractions in the area such as Fo Guang Shan Monastery and Baolai Hot Springs.
Qishan Old Street Introduction
Qishan was once inhabited by a branch of the Siraya Indigenous peoples. When Han settlers moved into the area, they lived in huts and planted sweet potatoes, thus the area became known as Sweet Potato Hamlet (蕃薯寮).
In the early 20th century, agriculture switched to bananas and the area became known as the banana capital of Taiwan (台灣香蕉王國的故鄉).
During the Japanese colonial period, Taiwan became the top supplier of bananas to Japan – they even referred to them as “green gold” (青黃金).
The Japanese renamed the area Qishan (旗山 or “flag mountain”) after a mountain in the area.
Between 1925 and 1930, wealthy banana merchants constructed 19 Western-style baroque buildings along Qishan’s Zhongshan Road (a name that usually means “Main Road” in Taiwan).
In the 1970s, nearby Yanping 1st road was widened and became the city’s modern main road. However, the more traditional businesses along Zhongshan Road continued to thrive.
In the following decades, Zhongshan Road or “Qishan Old Street” gradually transformed into a popular destination for Kaohsiung locals seeking nostalgic flavors and architecture.
Today, Qishan Old Street is lined with baroque façades, cultural landmarks like the old Qishan Train Station, and foods so good that one even has a Michelin award.
Yet Qishan remains well off-the-beaten-path for foreign visitors — when I went, I didn’t see a single foreign tourist the whole day.
As a fun nod to the district’s banana capital status, many of the foods on Qishan Old Street today are banana-flavored.
Even the Starbucks in Qishan (here) sells some banana-focused snacks and Qishan Old Street mugs (read about some of the coolest Starbucks in Taiwan here).
Also see my guides to other “old streets” in Taiwan, like Jiufen Old Street, Shifen Old Street, Shenkeng Old Street, Nanzhuang Old Street, and Anping Old Street.
When to Visit Qishan
Qishan Old Street is open year-round, with the exception of a few days around Lunar New Year.
This is one case where weekends are actually better – that’s when most locals go, so the street will be more bustling, with everything open. Weekdays will be much quieter, with some shops closed, especially on Mondays.
Also, don’t go too early. Most shops and vendors don’t open until around noon, and some not until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Aim to go in the mid-afternoon and head back to the city after dinner.
I’ll include GoogleMaps links so you can check the current opening times for all my recommended food stalls below.
Getting to Qishan Old Street
It only takes about one hour to reach Qishan Old Street from Kaohsiung city center, whether you hire a private charter, drive yourself, or go by public transportation.
By Private Charter
If you can’t drive yourself, you can charter a car for the day on KKday.
- This private car charter with Meinong Folk Village
- This private car charter with Fo Guang Shan Monastery
By Car
I drove to Qishan Old Street. Taking off from Tainan, where I had spend the night before, I started my day by driving to Liugui Giant Buddha (六龜大佛, here) then taking a soak at Baolai Public Hot Springs (寶來溫泉, see my guide).
From there, I drove to Qishan Old Street on the way back to Kaohsiung. I ended my car rental near Zuoying HSR station (most Kaohsiung car rental shops are around there). Then I rode the Kaohsiung MRT to my hotel in the city center.
With a car, there are many other possible places you could visit in the region. A few you could consider are Meinong Folk Village (a Hakka cultural center with gorgeous hand-made paper umbrellas), Tianliao Moon World, Fo Guang Shan Monastery, and E-Da Theme Park.
At Qishan Old Street, I found a free parking lot here. It was a 10-minute walk from there to the southern end of the old street. There are a few paid parking lots which are a little closer – just search for them on GoogleMaps.
By Public Transportation
From the Kaohsiung city center, ride the MRT Red Line to Zuoying HSR Station.
If you’re coming from other cities in Taiwan, then you can ride the HSR to Zuoying station or regular train to Xinzuoying station (which is connected to the HSR station). See my guides to booking HSR tickets or regular train tickets.
From this bus station outside, ride bus EO1A (swipe EasyCard) for 30 minutes to Qishan Bus Station (旗山轉運站, here). From there, it’s a 5-minute walk to the southern end of the old street.
You can find the bus times here. Click on 時間表 to find the timetables. The first table is weekdays, second table is Saturdays, and third tables is Sundays. 旗轉 is Qishan and 高鐵 is Zuoying HSR Station.
You can also simply use GoogleMaps directions to find the times.
To make a full day trip, consider spending the morning at Fo Guang Shan Monastery. From there, you can walk around 15 minutes and then catch a bus (30 min) to Qishan Old Street (use GoogleMaps directions to find the plan this route).
Also consider to add a stop at Meinong Folk Village (美濃民俗村, here), which is 15 minutes by bus past Qishan Old Street (again use GoogleMaps).
Visiting Qishan Old Street
We’ll visit Qishan Old Street from south to north, since most people arrive from the south.
Most English translations of the vendor names below are my own.
Qishan Train Station
Qishan Train Station (旗山車站, here) sits at the southern entrance to Qishan Old Street.
The historic (1913) train station was part of the Kaohsiung Sugar Railways (糖業鐵路), a network of Japanese-built light railway lines for transporting sugar, bananas, and other goods between processing plants and ports in Kaohsiung.
This Japanese-style wooden building is one of the best preserved of its kind in Southern Taiwan. Today it houses a small shop and local history museum (entrance TWD 30).
When I visited, my favorite part was the small toy model train doing rounds above visitors’ heads inside.
There’s a Sugar Railways train parked at the back of the station. Visitors can sit inside the original train car – it doesn’t go anywhere, but it moves and makes sounds that simulate actually riding it.
Lost Deer Candy Art Shop
In the small lane directly opposite the side of Qishan Train Station, there’s a super cool traditional candy and dessert shop called Lost Deer Candy Art Shop (迷路。麋鹿 糖藝鋪, here).
The shop does some very classic traditional Taiwanese desserts like black sugar candy and dragon’s beard candy (龍鬚糖) wrapped around various fillings, including strawberries and grapes.
They also have some modern variations of traditional desserts, like a version of the classic Taiwanese ice cream peanut brittle wrap (花生捲冰淇淋), except with a black, charcoal infused wrapper and crushed pistachios.
Hsiu Ming Pig Heart & Glass Noodles
From the start of Qishan Old Street, a short one-block detour can be made to Hsiu Ming (秀明豬心冬粉, here), a Michelin Bib Gourmand winning hole-in-the-wall local eatery.
Running strong since year 75 on the Taiwanese calendar (1986), the shop is known for its signature pig heart with glass noodles (豬心冬粉).
Other dishes praised by guests are the braised pork rice with soft boiled egg (月見肉燥飯) and mushroom meat stew (香菇肉羹).
Jin Jixiang Rainbow Xiaolongbao
I wasn’t feeling adventurous enough for the pig heart noodles on my visit, so I had my first bite to eat at Jin Jixiang Rainbow Xiaolongbao (金吉祥彩色小籠包, here).
The shop is located on the left side of the northern end of the first block of Qishan Old Street.
For TWD 70, I got eight delicious, soup-filled dumplings, which came in five different colors: white (original), green (spinach), red (red yeast), brown (angelica), and orange (carrot) – all contain a pork filling.
They also offer vegetarian ones, which have plain white skin (see my guide to ordering vegetarian food in Taiwan).
Banana Train
As I was enjoying my xiaolongbao, I couldn’t help but notice the banana-themed stall across the street, called Banana Train (旗山香蕉車, here).
The vendor sells all things banana – banana shaved ice, banana soft serve ice cream, banana cakes, bananas covered in sprinkles, banana iced teas, banana candies, and the list goes on.
I simply couldn’t resist getting a banana soft-serve ice cream. While the banana flavor is of course clearly fake, it’s a fake flavor I usually enjoy.
Anyone who grew up in Western country in the 1980s or 90s like me will probably be reminded of the fake banana-flavored medicines we took as kids.
Chao Lin’s Ice & Fruit Shop
The 80+ year-old Chao Lin’s Ice & Fruit Shop (朝林冰果室, here) is one of the most famous and longest-running vendors on Qishan Old Street – you simply have to try it.
The signature item on the long menu here is the star fruit juice with almond jelly (楊桃杏仁露).
Mine came out as a cup of iced star fruit juice, which is sweet and a hint sour – locals compare the flavor preserved fruit.
On top, they placed a hunk of almond jelly. I followed the locals and used the plastic spoon provided to stir and mash the jelly before drinking it. The end result is a pleasing combination of flavors and textures.
Interesting translation note: the “almond” used to flavor the jelly is not actually almond but rather apricot kernel, which to Western people will taste like fake almond flavoring or marzipan. Almonds and apricot kernels are both called 杏仁 in Mandarin.
If the stall’s busy when you arrive, which it invariably is, take a number first. When your number comes up, you can place your order.
Qishan Tianhou Temple
Two hundred-year-old Qishan Tianhou Temple (旗山天后宮, here) is the spiritual heart of Qishan.
The temple is dedicated to Matsu, goddess of fishermen and the sea, who is venerated across Taiwan. Tianhou (heavenly mother) is one of her nicknames.
Interestingly, the temple backs Qishan Old Street, so I had to walk down the small lane to find the front of it.
When I visited, there just happened to be some kind of ritual ceremony going on, with a spirit medium (乩童) in traditional apron waving around a ritual staff.
I didn’t have belly room to try them, but the crispy donuts at this bakery near Qishan Tianhou Temple look delicious.
Signature Shaoxing Fried Rice
On the second block of Qishan Old Street, left side, is Signature Shaoxing Fried Rice (獨家紹興炒飯, here).
Some locals claim that this shop makes the best fried rice in all of Kaohsiung. The rice is fried with Shaoxing (紹興), an aromatic cooking wine that originated in a city of the same name in Zhejiang province, China.
The menu, which includes English, has their signature dish, Shaoxing Fried Rice, right at the top. Shaoxing has a distinct nutty, umami flavor, and this dish highlights it. There’s also fried instant noodles with Shaoxing.
The menu also has a long list of other fried rice options, like fried rice with pork, seaweed, dried plum (a local specialty), bacon, mutton, ketchup, shrimp eggs, or kimchi, just to name a few.
Crispy Intestines Luwei
Just after the above spot but on the opposite side, I saw a tempting luwei stall called Crispy Intestines Luwei (旗山老街脆腸滷味, here).
Don’t be turned off by the name – luwei (滷味 or “braised foods”) refers to a variety of meat, vegetable, and tofu dishes which have been slowly braised in a flavorful broth and are then served at room temperature.
Simply take your pick of items from the display and they will dress them up for you.
Chen’s Vermicelli Soup
Mee sua (麵線羹 or vermicelli thick soup) is one of my favorite Taiwanese dishes. In Taipei and the north of Taiwan, the soup usually comes with oysters and pork intestines. However, in the south, they often add other ingredients.
At Chen’s Vermicelli Soup (旗山老街陳麵線羹, here), the thick soup comes with pork meat, fried pork ribs, intestines, and milkfish balls.
Mine came garnished with (optional) fresh cilantro, plus I got to add my own black vinegar and spicy sauce.
As a Taipei person, this dish was a real treat for me.
The stall is tucked under the covered arcade (騎樓 of qilou) of a building at the right-side corner of the intersection of Zhongshan Road and Yongfu Street.
The right side of block of Qishan Street just after it has particularly impressive baroque architecture.
Wu Family Traditional Tofu Pudding
The last stall I tried (I was saving the cutest dish for last) was at Wu Family Traditional Tofu Pudding (吳厝傳統豆花, here), close to the northern end of the old street.
This popular tofu pudding (豆花 or douhua) shop enticed me for one particular reason: their little piggy-shaped tangyuan (小豬湯圓).
Besides the insanely cute pig glutinous rice balls, my dessert came with some of the more usual ingredients – taro balls, tapioca pearls, and the tofu pudding itself.
If you’re looking for a super cute, Insta-worthy photo to finish off your Qishan Old Street visit, here you go!
Other Things to See and Do in Qishan
While Qishan Old Street is really the main draw, there are a few other small attractions in town.
A couple blocks west of Qishan Old Street, Qishan Wude Hall (旗山武德殿, here) is a beautifully restored Japanese-era martial arts hall.
Further west from it, there’s a large Confucius Temple (旗山孔子廟, here) in Gushan Park.
Just east of town, across Qishan River, is Qishan Sugar Factory (旗山糖廠, here). Locals flock to this former Sugar Factory to hang out and buy ice cream, but when I stopped here, I found it hardly worth a visit.
To finish, here are a few more random shots of Qishan Old Street and yummy foods I saw there:
