Cijin Island

Cijin is the narrow barrier spit that shelters Kaohsiung harbour, and although it is connected at its southern end by a road tunnel, almost everyone arrives on the short ferry from Gushan, which carries scooters and bicycles as well as people. From the pier a street of seafood restaurants and shell stalls runs to a dark grey beach that faces the strait, long enough to walk for a while and backed by a shaded path. A steep lane climbs the hill above the pier to a white lighthouse with an octagonal tower, first lit in the 1880s and rebuilt since, with a view straight down the harbour mouth at the ships coming in. Further south the spit narrows to a wind turbine park and a stretch of quiet shore.

What you actually see

• The harbour ferry - a five-minute crossing with scooters and bicycles rolled straight on board.
• Cijin lighthouse - a white octagonal tower on the hill above the pier, looking down the harbour mouth.
• The black sand beach - a long dark shore facing the strait, with a shaded walkway behind.
• The wind turbine park - the open southern end of the spit with turbines above the shoreline.

When to go

November to April is dry and comfortable; the summer months are hot and bring afternoon storms. Sunset from the beach is the popular hour and the ferries are busiest just before and after it. Weekends and holidays fill the seafood street. Go early if you want the lighthouse hill and the beach without company.

Honest expectations

The seafood street is aggressively touted and prices for shellfish are often quoted by weight in a way that produces surprises, so agree the price first. The beach is not for swimming: currents are strong and the water off a working harbour is not clean. Ferry queues at weekend sunset are long. Much of the spit is ordinary and the light-strip of shops is tightly packed.

Nearby

Sizihwan beach and Shoushan are across the water at the ferry terminal.