Cijin Island

The ferry from Gushan to Cijin takes about five minutes and costs less than a coffee, which felt almost insulting given how completely the mood shifts once you land. We rolled our bikes off the boat — you can rent them on either side — and within two minutes of pedaling the harbor din had gone quiet, replaced by the specific clatter of a beach town: flip-flops on pavement, someone’s radio playing Mandopop, the smell of grilling squid drifting from the seafood street.

The Old Lighthouse and the Fort

Cijin’s lighthouse sits at the island’s northern tip, a white tower first built by the Qing and rebuilt by the Japanese, and the walk up through Cihou Fort’s brick ramparts gives you the best framing of Kaohsiung harbor you’ll find anywhere — container ships threading in and out past the sandbar like it’s an ordinary front yard. Lia climbed up ahead of me and called down that she could see all the way to the Pier-2 warehouses across the water. She was right.

Seafood Street, Unhurried

Cijin’s seafood street runs the length of the ferry terminal and does not pretend to be anything other than what it is: a long row of tanks holding your dinner until you point at it. We ordered grilled clams in garlic and basil, a whole steamed fish we didn’t catch the name of, and something the vendor translated loosely as “sea worm” that I ate on principle and don’t regret. Everything gets eaten at plastic tables facing the beach, which means dinner comes with a sunset whether you planned for one or not.

The Beach Nobody Photographs Right

Cijin’s beach itself is unglamorous by tropical standards — grey-gold sand, moderate surf, families more than influencers — and that’s exactly why I liked it. We rented a beach umbrella for the equivalent of two dollars and did nothing for two hours, which is not something either of us is good at, and which Kaohsiung somehow made easy.

When to go: Year-round as a day trip from Kaohsiung, though October to April brings the most comfortable temperatures for the beach and the bike ride around the island’s southern end.