Port of Kaohsiung

Port of Kaohsiung 高雄港
Port of Kaohsiung
Location
Country	Taiwan
Location	Kaohsiung
Coordinates	22°36′48″N 120°16′45″E / 22.61333°N 120.27917°E / 22.61333; 120.27917
Details
Opened	1858
Operated by	Port of Kaohsiung Branch, Taiwan International Ports Corporation
Statistics
Annual container volume	9.47 million TEU (2005)
Website http://www.khb.gov.tw

The Port of Kaohsiung (POK; Chinese: 高雄港; pinyin: Gāoxióng Gǎng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ko-hiông-káng) is the largest harbor in Taiwan (Republic of China), handling approximately 10 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) worth of cargo in 2007. The port is located in southern Taiwan, adjacent to Kaohsiung City, and surrounded by the city districts of Gushan, Yancheng, Lingya, Cianjhen, Siaogang, as well as Cijin. It is operated by Taiwan International Ports Corporation, the Taiwan's only state-owned harbor management company.

The port was a natural lagoon before eventually developed through into a modern harbor over the period of several hundred years. At the time of 16th century, some villages had already established on the seashore of the present-day Kaohsiung, which was called as "Takau" by natives at that time. The colonists of Dutch East India Company (VOC) arrived at Takau in 1620s and then began to develop the lagoon. The port, historically referred to as the "Takau Port" (Chinese: 打狗港; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tá-káu-káng), developed gradually during the Dutch Era, Koxinga Era, and the early Qing Dynasty.