Zuoying

Zuǒyíng (左營) is one of the oldest settled areas in Kaohsiung, with roots tracing back to the Kingdom of Tungning in the 17th century. The Qing administration established the seat of Fengshan County here in 1684, fortifying the settlement with earthen walls and a moat. After the Lin Shuangwen rebellion breached the defenses in 1787, the county seat was relocated to Fengshan, but the walls were rebuilt in stone in 1825 and Old Walled City (鳳山縣舊城) survives today as a national monument. Adjacent to the old city, Lotus Pond (蓮池潭), ringed by elaborate temples and pagodas, is Kaohsiung’s most visited scenic attraction, with the Kaohsiung Confucian Temple (高雄孔廟) on its northern shore.

During the Japanese colonial era Zuoying was transformed into a naval district; the base remains the largest Republic of China Navy installation to this day. After 1949, the surrounding area became home to 22 military dependents’ villages (眷村), the largest single-service concentration in Taiwan, collectively designated a cultural landscape in 2010. Villages such as Jianye New Village (建業新村) and Mingde New Village (明德新村), both built on Japanese colonial era officer housing, remain well-preserved examples.