The Kaohsiung City Government said it is mulling turning the historic landmark, the North Gate casemates into a scenic spot for visitors to view the sunset and Kaohsiung Harbor.
The gate, located in the city’s Gushan District (鼓山), was built by Koxinga’s (鄭成功) son Zheng Jing (鄭經) in 1681 as a watchtower guarding what was then the Cihou (旗后) area.
Although the gate is a municipal historic site, it has been inaccessible to the public for the past 60 years because of a Ministry of National Defense military deployment there.
The city’s Urban Development Bureau said yesterday that the ministry had agreed to allow the city government to open the site overlooking Sizihwan (西子灣) to the public.
The bureau added it would send a proposal to the city’s Cultural Assets Review Board in six months on how to revive the landmark and its neighborhood.
In related news, Urban Spotlight Arcade, another city landmark, was reopened on Saturday after the company managing it ceased trading in July last year because of poor business and a monthly NT$300,000 royalty the company had to pay to the city government.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said the city government had decided to lower the royalty for the site, charging the new company operating the site about 6 percent of its turnover.
The Urban Spotlight Arcade — an illuminated walkway at the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit System’s Central Park Station — was launched during the term of former Kaohsiung mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).
Chen called the arcade “an enchanting and unique scenic spot,” saying that the city government had come under great pressure to reopen the site since the withdrawal of the company that previously managed it.
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