10 Best Family Things to Do in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung Metropolitan Park is rich in ecological resources, offering diverse plants, flowers and fruits across 4 seasons, as well as a variety of forest, grassland and swamp habitats. If you're lucky, you might spot animal rare species, such as the crested honey buzzard and fairy pitta bird. 

The public park is a great place for primary school students to learn outside of school. There's a sundial in the park square that's shaped like a golden rooster. The trees are sparse, providing excellent conditions for an invigorating walk, while children can run around in the large open space. You can also enjoy leisure facilities, swimming pools, ice rinks, and environmental exhibition centres in the park.

Kaohsiung's Suzuka Circuit Park is the only overseas go-kart track authorised by Japan's F1 circuit. Located in Taroko Park, children get to drive a variety of go-karts themselves. Before hitting the road, they must first get a "driver's licence" by attending a training class. This class simulates real driving situations, with traffic lights and road crossings. 

After passing, your kids can experience the thrill of being a movie stunt driver. A round of go-kart racing includes straight-line overtakes, sharp stops and forced collisions on the mini-F1 track, which is shaped like figure 8. Families can drive off-road vehicles at Suzuka Circuit Park, crossing mountains on rugged roads and ford creeks. 

The Kaohsiung National Science and Technology Museum (NSTM) is a popular tourist attraction for families. At the museum, children can learn about science in everyday life, learn traffic safety rules, and energy conservation.

One of the museum's highlights is the massive spiral slide, which spans 27 metres in height and 63 metres in length. One of the tallest slides in Asia, it takes only 16 seconds to get to the basement level from the 6th floor. The slide demonstrates gravity, centrifugal force and acceleration. You can experience life as an astronaut at the Air Navigation and Aerospace exhibit, which has a simulation of the surface of the moon.

Shoushan Zoo is home to wild animals from Asia, Africa, Australia, and the USA. Each has its own distinct personality – the Indian hornbill has had only 1 mate throughout its life, while the old elephant loves playing in the water. The wildlife centre has multiple ecological parks where children can get close to the animals. The children's ranch has Boer goats, ponies and rabbits. The staff also regularly distributes free fodder so that the children can feed them. 

Birds fly overhead as you walk in Shoushan Zoo's open-air bird park. You might occasionally encounter peacocks strolling down the path, so remember to wait for them to pass. The zoo also has a shallow paddling pool for kids to swim during warmer days. 

The Taiwan Sugar Museum, built in 1901, served as an important sugar manufacturing base during the Japanese occupation. The former factory, Japanese-style dormitories, clubs and air-raid shelters have all been retained after ceasing its operations in 1999. A trip to the sugar factory isn't complete without enjoying shaved ice, which is available in the old theatre. A must-try is the red bean yeast ice, which has a mild flavour.

The onsite park is a popular photo spot – you can see old railway tracks and several retired locomotives and carriages on display. The factory also offers a unique mini-train ride that takes about 12 minutes. 

Tianliao Moon World is famous for its rare badlands terrain, caused by a crustal movement that lifts the seabed. A moonscape of grey and bare mud hills lines either side of the trails within the park. Called Moon Road, the lack of grass means that the layered structure of the hills is clearly visible. There's an observation deck overlooking the spectacular terrain. 

Surrounding the park are mud volcanoes and springs, which erupt throughout the year. You can learn more about the terrain in the area at the geological centre. The mud hills are fragile, so climbing is prohibited. 

DIY baking is a popular family activity in Kaohsiung. Many pastry factories and dessert shops offer baking courses in which you order, bake and decorate your own cakes. You select what you want on a computer, put on an apron and hat, and start cooking. You're provided with all baking materials, utensils, flour, egg glaze, diced fruit, and moulds, which saves the trouble of assembling ingredients. 

Each course has recipe sheets and flat-panel videos for you to follow, as well as instructors on hand to help. Teaching children how to bake and have them enjoy their own creations gives them a sense of accomplishment – it's also a great stress reliever for adults.

Kaohsiung has many sheep farms offering interesting activities for all ages. Kids will be delighted to act as a farmer for a day. Some ranches occasionally need helpers for lambs – your kids can learn how to feed the lambs with milk bottles. Milking sheep by hand is one of the best things to do here. You can even drink the sheep's milk immediately after it's sterilised and cooled. Other interesting activities on the sheep farms include hunting for frogs, fishing and paddling.